Hi Huong and Ly!  Finally caught up on notes!  I will get you a sleep log soon.  I am finding this whole sleep and dream topic so interesting!  We have so much to learn from teachers like Huan!  Hope you are having a great weekend!  Elizabeth

5/15/14 Follow-Up/Warm-Up

§  What did you listen to when you went to sleep? PLAYLIST

§  How do you like it? I REALLY LIKE IT

§  How was your sleep with the room darker and music?  MY SLEEP WAS BETTER LAST NIGHT. 

§  How was it better? IT WAS EASIER TO FALL ASLEEP.  I LIKED LISTENING TO MUSIC. I WAS ABLE TO RELAX MORE THAN USUAL.

§  How long do you think you slept? PROBABLY FIVE HOURS. IT WAS A LITTLE HOT.

DREAMS

Dreams offer visual, verbal and emotional stimulation; often broken into nonsensical storylines.  Everyone, dreams – even if you do not remember your dreams! On average, a person will spend 6 years of their entire life dreaming during sleep. Adults dream an average of 4 times per night, each dream lasting an average of 10 minutes. We will forget 90% of all dreams we have.  Half of the content of any dream is forgotten within 5 minutes. Nearly all dream content is forgotten in 10 minutes.

§  What type of stimulation do dreams offer? VISUAL

§  On average, how many years will a person spend dreaming during sleep? 6 YEARS

§  An adult dreams an average of _______times per night, each dream lasting an average of ________minutes.  4........ 10

§  What percent of our all dreams we ever have will we forget? 90 PERCENT

§  Do you remember your dreams? SOMETIMES

Our brainwaves are actually more active when we are sleeping than when we are awake!  Not everyone dreams in color and some people dream exclusively in black and white. It is said that in our dreams we see faces of only those we have met in our lives, even if they are strangers, weather we remember them or not.  Dreams can be inspirational, and are recognized as launch pads for many of our greatest inventions.  Examples include Google (Larry Page), Alternating Current Generator (Tesla) and the Periodic Table (Mendeleev).

§  When are our brainwaves more active? Awake or asleep? ASLEEP

§  Do people dream in color or black and white? BOTH

§  Dreams can be a source of inspiration and invention.  Name one invention that was launched in a dream. Name one inventor who was inspired by a dream. GOOGLE  LARRY PAGE

§  Do you remember faces, or see familiar people in your dreams? I DREAM ABOUT PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, MOSTLY PEOPLE I KNOW.

Theories on why we dream are varied.  Five theories offered by Dr. Ilana Simmons in Psychology Today include: 1) to practice responses to threatening situations 2) to create wisdom for future decisions 3) to “defragment” our hard drive 4) to experience emotional learning and 5) that there is no real reason for the images and emotions we experience in dreams.  Cognitive scientists have found that our amygdala, or “fight or flight” part of our brain, fires more often in REM, or deep dream, sleep.  Also, the part of our brain that practices motor activity, like running, increases during REM!  With this, Dr. Simmons theory that we practice responses to threatening situations would make sense; our body is preparing to react and protect us when we are awake!

§  Spell amygdala. AMYGDALA

§  What happens to motor activity when we sleep? MOTOR CONTROL INCREASES

§  Do you recall practicing responses to threatening situations during sleep? YES, I HAVE DREAMS OF BEING CHASED. THOSE DREAMS SCARE ME BECAUSE I CAN NEVER RUN FAST ENOUGH TO GET AWAY.

Dr. Simmons second theory on dreams; that we create wisdom during sleep, is fascinating.  Our brains would be completely clogged up if we attempted to remember every image and interaction we come across each day!  If sleep and dream serves to process and file away our daily experiences; maybe this is how we can call on “memories” or experiences that aide us in making future decisions! Along the same lines, Dr. Simmons third theory, that we “defragment and clean up” our brains hard drive, is a nice one.  When someone defragments a computer, they are cleaning it up; shuffling connections and erasing inefficient links.  With dreams, perhaps we are re-ordering and streamlining our thoughts!

§  What is another theory about dreams? TO DEFRAGMENT OUR MENTAL HARD DRIVE.

§  What do you think of this? IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

§  Why? EVERY NIGHT MY BRAIN MAKES SENSE OUT OF THE INFORMATION I HAVE EXPERIENCED DURING MY DAY.

§  How so? I SORT ALL THIE INFORMATION I HAVE WITNESSED IN MY DAY......Is this why you get so little sleep?...YES