Definition of Dreams
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Dreams occur as mental activity during specific stages of sleep, often just before awakening.
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They reflect altered states of consciousness, including hallucinations, delusions, disorientation, emotional variability, and amnesia.
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The proportion of dreams during different sleep stages:
History of Dream Comprehension
- Freud’s Theory of Dreaming
- Sigmund Freud, the father of modern dream analysis, proposed that dreams are a discharge of repressed wishes.
- Disguised Censorship Theory: Dreams "encrypt" repressed desires to avoid disturbing the sleeper, requiring decoding to uncover the subconscious mind.
- Criticisms:
- Freud’s theories are not testable, which contributes to their popularity but limits their scientific validity.
- Different interpretations of the same dream suggest subjectivity and a lack of scientific objectivity.
Lucid Dreaming
- Definition: The ability to become aware of and control dreams while dreaming.
- Brain Activity:
- Normal REM sleep involves a shutdown of the prefrontal cortex.
- Lucid dreaming reactivates fast electrical brainwave activity in the prefrontal cortex.
- Scientific Proof: fMRI studies have shown distinct brain activity patterns during lucid dreaming, confirming its reality.
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This video explains the process, pros, and cons of lucid dreaming:
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Dream Manipulation and Novelty
- Hypnagogic Dreams: Vivid, sensory-rich dreams during the transitional phase between wakefulness and sleep.
- Experimental Insights:
- Novel experiences are more likely to be incorporated into dreams.
- Dreams distill the essence of new experiences, focusing on key elements rather than episodic memory replay.
Dreaming as Emotional Therapy
- REM sleep plays a vital role in emotional processing:
- Helps "forget" the emotional intensity of painful experiences while retaining memories.
- Reduces stress-related neurochemicals, providing emotional relief.
- Applications in PTSD:
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REM sleep can fail in PTSD patients due to elevated noradrenaline, preventing emotional recovery.
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This video introduces a way to stop nightmares and return to restful sleep with the Dream Completion Technique:
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