Psychology 5.2

* Dreams are repressed desires * Provide access to the unconscious * Use symbols to represent something other than we would normally think * Freud

* Dreaming is the brain's attempt to make sense out of random electrical activity that enters the forebrain during REM sleep * Dreams are a response to this electrical activity and have no meaning

* During dreaming, unneeded neural connections are cleaned up or cleared out which is why the brain creates random electrical energy

* Allows us to learn by integrating new and old information * Brain would become overloaded if we don’t dream

* Lets us work out solutions to problems

* Dreams are the interplay between the psychological triggering of brain waves and the psychological function of the imagination and interpretation parts of the mind

* Mental experience that occurs during REM sleep and consists of vivid images * Eyes move * Irregular heart rate, breathing, body temperature * Muscles become paralyzed

* Lucid Dreaming * When a sleeper is aware of dreaming while a dream is happening * Can take control of the dream * May be able to change dream to help/heal ourselves as we sleep

* Creative vs Non Creative * Dreams of obstacles- not people they have to overcome * More animals * More story like * vivid * More about assault and victimization * Things happen to them * Not a lot of control

* Dream manipulation * Dreams can be manipulated * Insert characters in dreams but what happens depends on who it is and what they do * By varying the character we can vary the outcome

* Dreams-Age and gender * 3-4 animals and home * 5-6 more activities and feeling * Girls more pleasant thing and a more active role * Boys more unpleasant dreams and a passive role * 7-8 boys unpleasant dreams have almost disappeared * 9-10 more about school and happiness * more about people their age, less of sadness * increase in dreams where people are angry

* Necessity of dreams * If we don’t dream we become irritable, have trouble concentrating, memory lapses

* Insomnia * The difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep * Causes: depression, drugs, stress, scary scenes * Treatment: medication, regular schedule

* Narcolepsy * Uncontrolled, recurring, sudden onset of REM sleep and total loss of muscle control * Cause: anxiety or stress (exact cause is unknown) * Treatment- medication

* Sleep Apnea * Frequent stoppage of breathing during sleep that last at least 20 sec * Sleep is interrupted when breathing is restored * Signals: heavy snoring, snorting, and daytime sleepiness

* Night Terrors * Sudden awakening in which sleeper sits up, eyes open in terror and may scream * NREM sleep * Usually doesn’t remember * More common in males

* Hypersomnia * Excessive sleep; over 12 hours a day * Hard for the person to wake up and may feel drowsy all day * Causes severe depression, drugs, physical disorders

* Sleepwalking * Walking or sitting up during NREM sleep * No critical judgment * Need to be monitored

* Sleeptalking * Talking during NREM sleep * Speech not usually understandable * More common in children

* Nightmares * Disturbed dreams that occur during REM sleep * Common themes: monsters, being pursued, being accused or punished unfairly, inadequate in some way * What parents can do: take them seriously, don’t shame them, try to work through it, if they feel if they are in charge, they may work out problem causing nightmare