3 replies to this topic

[Harry1984a]

I have collected some material about "Sleep-Science" (handouts, my old school
books, some articles, listenings etc.) to provide you a small insight into the topic. I
tried to use the latest scientific Information towards this topic to provide an
inventional insight. So the section "What is new" should be the best place for my
article.

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People really do not know what happens when / while they are sleeping...
are you interested or even scared *g*? Read the lines below...
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General Infos about "sleep"

There are several reasons for sleep. One is that our bodies are like batteries
which need to be regularly recharged.

Another is that they need time to repair themselves, fight infections and build new
cells. This “recovery” happens all the time, but in fact it’s much easier when the
bodies are relaxed.

Thirdly, people sleep, because we need to dream. Experts aren’t sure how dreams
work, however they are necessary for mental health. An indicator for dreams is
the ‘R.E.M.’ sleep. This means that though our eyes are closed, they move rapidly
from side to side. Furthermore scientist have found out, that people woken
in ‘R.E.M.’ sleep usually can remember their dreams, whereas others can’t.
Experts are of the opinion that people who were prevented form dreaming might
go insane.

Some scientists have found out that people always dream in colour, but they
cannot remember the colours. Whereas others believe that one third of the
dreams are in black and white and the others in colour.

Babies need more sleep than elders, approximately about 16 – 14 hours a day.
Old people hardly sleep 6 hours. Babies’ dreams are full of impressions they gain
through their senses, like love or hunger.


Insomnia

Lots of people suffer form insomnia, which means that you have difficulty
sleeping. In general everybody has to face sleepless nights from time to time, for
example before an important exam. It is very annoying, however there are some
handy tricks to avoid insomnia:

- People should take plenty of exercise during the day to relax the muscles.
- Don’t eat a heavy meal and never drink coffee or Red Bull after 8.00 pm.
- Leave your bedroom window slightly open to have cool and fresh air.
- Futhermore read for a while before you put the light out. This will help to
relax your mind. (Or you take sleeping pills :-) )


Creative / Famous dreams

Quite a number of artists, writers and scientists have reported that dreams have
been important to them in their work. Their dreams have helped them to create
something new or inspired them to create an original work of art.

Goethe, kept a notebook and a pencil by his bedside, because when he would
wake up in the middle of the night with a new poem, he would jot it down
immadiately.

One of the most famous images of the 19th century literature, the Frankenstein
monster, was also the product of a dream. Mary Shelley had a terrifying
nightmare after an evening talking about ghosts.

The German chemist F. A. Kekulé, who discovered the molecular structure of
benzole, said that it was revealed to him in a dream, where the atoms were
dancing in the form of long chains before his eyes.


Daydreams

The daydream is the only dream you can have without going to sleep, and
because you’re awake, you can choose what you dream about. They are
necessary to escape from what’s going around you. In general people have
daydreams when they want to think about something more interesting or more fun
than whatever it is they are supposed to be thinking about. Daydreams can
appear at schools or on a long and boring car trip.

Grown-ups also daydream,
however they call it thinking or using their imagination. A number of writers,
artists and scientist prove that these “short holidays“ can produce wonderful
pictures or ideas.


Nightmares

Basically dreams are really enjoyable, but there are dreams where terrifying
things are happening to you. These are the so-called nightmares. These
unpleasant dreams can be a kind of action-replay dreams, that means you dream
about something what you have faced the day before. However there are also
nightmares that are linked to the future, such as nightmares before examinations.


Types of dreams

The symbols and situations which appear in our dreams are part of a complex
visual language. It’s a highly personal language which doesn’t always mean what
it seems to mean. However, there are certain dreams that are fairly widespread
and seem to have a universal meaning relating to problems and matters that
concern all of us.

falling
Falling symbolises the fear of losing control over one’s feelings or over a certain
situation (connected with money, work, school, ...) . It also has an emotional
significance even in everyday speech, for example we talk of falling into
temptation or of falling in love.

running from a pursuer
Over 70 % of people report dreaming of being chased or pursued. They also feel
trapped and unable to escape. Such dreams are related to frustrating or worrying
situations of real life.

climbing
Climbing in a dream usually signifies striving to achieve something which is
particularly important to the dreamer. However this requires a lot of effort, such
as an unfulfilled ambition.

floating
The person who dreams that he is floating in the air, suffers from an inferiority
complex. In this dream she feels superhuman and compensates his desperate life.
your teeth falling out People who dream about this are going to face financial
difficulties for a while.

I hope that my article helps you with this (difficult) theme... and

"Good night... i wish nice dreams *g*"

Greetings from Austria
Harry1984

PS: If you want more information goto amazon or something like that. There
are a lot of books dealing with this topic.

[YudzzY]

i'm a bit lost.. but that psychology101 chapter sleep ? i've done that, and i still forget about what was in it!
nice info, and i hope you wrote it yourself..
but this info here, its incomplete nah? there are lots more to add to it, i will search for it and will add it as i get coz i dont have the book with me rite now..

hmm.. sleep well ;-)

[Quatrux]

I have read your post and I really liked it, it was interesting for me, I think that I felt all those types of dreams and more, but the dreams in which I dream something and later create.. did not happened to me yet, I think I am no artist and I don't really suffer from nightmares..

What about dreams where you dream, for example a girl you love or a very good friend or an important person in different situations ?

[Sarah81]

Quite a number of artists, writers and scientists have reported that dreams have
been important to them in their work. Their dreams have helped them to create
something new or inspired them to create an original work of art.

Oh, absolutely! The ideas for stories and stuff like that are the only things that I really appreciate about my nightmares. I have them at least three times a week ... but at least none are terrifying enough to make me wet the bed, hehe.