Dreams and Nightmares: Big Parts of Our Lives? Essay

E very(prenominal) ane peaces. Humans, dogs, primates, rats, and the rest of earths inhabitants all experience the relaxing and necessary state of sleep. It appears to entirely be an unconscious(p) state inwrought for survival however, much more is going on than meets the eye. Sleep is tended to(p) by trances, a term associated with adventures, experiences, and conflicts, which happen in sensation and only(a)s idea during those hours while one is fast asleep in bed. solely plurality imagine from the moment they enter this world to the day they leave, only if whether or not they remember what they experienced the previous night varies. I, of course, am no exception and learn dreams dating years back to my young days that aim remained in my memory.Upon waking, I recall having a confused, amused or disturbed reaction to these dreams and even remember some of them touch on the rest of my day or middling my life in general. The new-fang conduct premiere of the movie Inception, a movie revolving around the dream world, has helped flutter my interest into the dreams and their true purpose. I have been pondering if they have a bigger role in our lives rather than alone a fount of entertainment while we sleep. Prior to beginning research, my factual hold outledge of dreams was kind of limited to my personal experiences, as I have had my fair helping of dreams as well as nightm atomic number 18s.I knew that dreams were usually perceived as happy and nightm atomic number 18s were almost always affright experiences. Some dreams could as well be interpreted for deeper meanings. Lastly, prior to researching, I knew dreams only lasted a portion of the time, and one usually had a difficult time remembering the content of the dream upon awakening. Through my research I wished to discover how nation argon touch on by their dreams and nightm ars in their behavior, mood, and their overall physical bring roundth. I alike wished to know if there were any old evidences of events which happened in direct correlation to dreams. I was hopeful in finding the true meaning of dreams and how big of a role they genuinely have in our lives. daydreams do not fix and go as they please the period when lot experience dreams is when they are peacefully sleeping. When one finally falls into a slumber, the frame and headway follow a cycle by dint of and through five sleep phases (Obringer). In the first phase, one is in a very light sleep where it is easy to be wakened, and as the cycle continues one falls into a deeper and deeper sleep. Up to the fourth phase, muscle activity greatly declines, breathing and intent rate slow d declare, and the brain sends out the slowest of the brain waves, Delta Waves. Up to this point, kn sustain as Non REM sleep, the body and genius are at basically full relaxation without experiencing rapid eye movement. The fifth phase, however, is when things appear to reverse. As the body enters the fifth stage, known as Rapid-Eye Movement, or R.E.M, the center of prudence and breathing rate accelerate, blood pressure rises, and brain activity affixs to the analogous level as when one is awake (Obringer). This is the period when most aspiration takes place.The body also appears to get paralyzed by an amino tart during this stage and it is suggested that this paralysis could be natures way of fashioning sure we dont act out our dreams (Obringer). REM was named after the movement of the eyes during this period, where the brain tells the eyes to move and scan a scene that only exists in the mind (Dement 299). One goes through this inherent five-phase cycle about four or five times a night, with each dream only lasting about five to twenty minutes (plat Group 24). How could an event with such a short term possibly have a big touch on our lives?Dreams have been deemed important and meaningful in our lives for thousands of years. From the Babylonians and Egyptians to the Greeks and the Romans, dreams have been believed to be of great importance. In ancient times, deal believed most of the dreams to be displace from the gods and nightmares to be sent from demons (Diagram Group 4). They believed dreams helped heal the sick and injured, delivered messages and demands from the gods, and even foresaw the future (5-7). In afterward years, theories began to develop about the purpose of dreams. One of the most respected theories came from Sigmund Freud, a well esteemed psychologist.Freud believed that dreams attend to to uphold in maintaining sleep through possible disturbances When one is sleeping and is exposed to a disturbing stimulus, mental processes would work to incorporate the dream into a dream rather than forfeit the person to be woken (Robbins 14). For slip, a loud noise in the idealists environment would be morphed into thunder in a dream by the mind to keep the dreamer asleep (Robbins 14). He also claimed that dreams used signs to show us ou r hidden aggressive and sexual passions (The Diagram Group 32). Others suggested that dreams showed ones hidden ambitions and fears, ones desire for power and ones past memories. Everything seen in a dream is a projection of the dreamer. Despite the theory, it was clear that dreams had a purpose in life rather than just to entertain dormant minds.From the earliest moments in time, people have wakened from sleep just after going through an experience they could have sworn had actually occurred however they had only just experienced a dream, or a series of images, sensations, ideas, and feelings occurring in the mind during sleep. As time has passed and dreams have been recorded and recalled, categories of dreams have been developed transparent dreams, where one knows hes dreaming nightmares, disturbing dreams with trouble and frightening images go on dreams, repeating dreams with little variation healing dreams, dreams that affect the body prophetic dreams, dreams seemingly to p redict the future progressive dreams, a duration of dreams that continue over period of nights and epic dreams, vivid dreams that one cannot hack (Dream Moods Inc).All these dreams have the common underlying fact that they reflect your own underlying thoughts and feelings and everything in your dreams are personal to you (Common). Dreams have been described as links to our subconscious. It is said that the subconscious never stops taking in all the factors, events and people that affect ones life total heat Reed talks about a higher(prenominal) self, or the own, which watches everything we do, say feel and think. Our high self never goes to sleep, it is always awake, watching, impact and seeing things from an objective perspective as we struggle through our lives (Dreams). henry Reed, a psychology professor at UCLA, used the term higher self to refer to the subconscious of the body.The body and mind may sleep, moreover the subconscious does not, as if analyzes everything tha t one saw, experienced, smelled, etc and all different aspects of a persons life. It recognizes stress and other negative factors impacting our lives, and, as a result, dreams are created in order to help people solve puzzles and get on with their journey through life. The subconscious can make believe images and embed symbols deep down of dramatic stories in dreams so that you can see yourself from the inside, and be cap open of solving personal issues one may never have recognized forwards, or has just neglected in hopes it would go by (Dreams). Dreams provide valuable insight deep within oneself, and have led to affect many peoples lives upon returning to reality.Dreams experienced during the night may majorly affect people for the rest of their day once awake. Dreams revolving around the body can help in avoiding potential health problems and aid in the healing process when one is sick or suffer (Dream Moods Inc). Bodies have the capability of condemning the mind through dreams that something is wrong before physical symptoms even appear, idle wordsing to many people making emergent doctor and medical appointments. Dreams also have the ability to overall heal the mind and body through a feeling of rejuvenation. Progressive and recurring dreams help people solve problems they usually do not cause directly and usually try to avoid. These can also be called problem solving dreams, as they allow one to explore different options and approaches to a problem, situation or relationship. Prophetic dreams appear to show future actions and events, or provide a sneak peak, before they occur in ones life.These have potential to greatly alter ones actions during the day, as one may try to change the future depending on the content. Dreams, in general, also have potential in determining ones mood for the following day. Those that cause strong emotion or feelings canaffect the body practically as much as does an emotion when awake (Walsh). A dream that causes e xtreme sadness can pass by to one absorbing that emotion and feeling it throughout the rest of the day. Dreams are packed with symbols and metaphors that can lead to realizations of feelings deep within oneself, such as hidden feelings of being powerless, vulnerable, alone or ashamed (Pliskin 123). If one realizes the symbol and attempts to change the feelings, dreams actually can be life changing experiences. some other area dreams serve in is in the creativity department.They sometimes serve as store houses for inspiration, as The Dream Foundation says, Artists, musicians, dancers, sculptors, and inventors are able to dive deep into the source of inspiration and explore the vast reaches of their own creative potential by meeting face to face with the unconscious. The Beatles popular hits Yesterday and Let It Be, Robert Louis Stevensons The Strange gaffe of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide, and works by artists such as Billy Joel and Beethoven are all examples of creations based off drea ms. Dreams have the potential to have a very large role in determining the actions we take in life. Upon awakening, one must remember this concept Dreams serve as the verbalize of our subconscious, and if its ignored, it may try to gain your attention in a more powerful way. A more negative and powerful subject of dream is the nightmare.The word nightmare actually alludes to a night devil, who people used to believe would approach you as you were sleeping and press against your agency which caused the nightmares (Robbins 10). Of course this belief has been discredited exactly it has not stopped peoples lives from being greatly affected by nightmares. What exactly could be behind you having a nightmare? Well, besides the chance that you may just have a nightmare one night, there are other pre-sleep activities that may cause nightmares. A late night snack actually leads to an increase of the metabolism and also increases brain activity (WebMD). Medications and drugs may also be un derlying factors, as they affect the brain in legion(predicate) and varying ways. Lastly, post-traumatic stress disorder can lead to nightmares as it causes people to relive past horrifying experiences. Nightmares are caused by many things that impact and increase brain activity, as well as just past drear memories.However, these nightmares greatly impact ones body. They can lead to sleeping deprivation, or insomnia, as they actually make one stir to sleep because of the chance of a recurring nightmare. Sleep deprivation so leads to other medical conditions such as heart disease, depression and obesity. receivable to quickened heart rate and increased blood pressure from the fear and anxiety associated with nightmares, natural closing can even actually occur for those with bad heart conditions. Along with all the physical effects on the body, nightmares, just like dreams, act as warnings and have deeper meanings while analyzed. One example of a common nightmare is being in an out of go steady car.This may be a signal that you feel your life is febrile (Dreams Foundation). If you find a way to slow life down this type of recurring nightmare may cease. If one tries to ignore or settlement nightmares, the subconscious, who is behind the content of the dream, may try to speak louder to get our attention (Dreams Foundation). They may start affecting our waking lives in sickness, accidents, relationship difficulties or other unfortunate issues that force us to deal with the problem. Although nightmares seem very negative one must remember this concept An avoidance or denial approach is much like putting a luck aid on a cars blinking anele light because the light seems annoying (Dreams Foundation). Why ignore something that can potentially change your life for the better?The information I collected on dreaming led me to conclude that dreaming is, in fact, a abundant part of our lives. Dreams virtually act as the voice of our subconscious and they warn us , help us and just sometimes allow us to go on adventures that are impossible in reality. Dreams occur for our benefit. That being said, nightmares occur for our benefit as well. Despite all the negative effects nightmares may have, they, just as dreams do, provide a window into our hidden and concealed problems and ambitions. The purpose of dreams is not to supply pure entertainment while asleep, but to get out suppressed feelings that can change our life for the better.I was strike to find that dreaming actually may lead to death as some people with worse heart conditions could die from the increase in heart rate while dreaming. I was also surprised to find that many artists are inspired by what images or people they see in their dreams. Further questions I have include how our mind is able to create places and people weve never seen before and yet make them meaningful and familiar to us? This research has most definitely assailable my eyes to whats really going on when my eyes are closed. In the future when I dream I shall be driven to find what the meaning is to me and how it can possible change my life for the better. Dream on.