Dreams

Standard: SSPBF2: The Student will compare different states of consciousness. a. Describe the sleep cycle and circadian rhythm, b. Explain why we sleep and dream, c. Investigate the validity of hypnosis as a state of consciousness,

Essential Question: What is the purpose of dreams?

Story Of Your Life You have the next 20 minutes to write a short story about yourself. The story should show you in the past, the present, and the future. That is, you should include A scene from your early childhood, A scene about a conflict in your current life A scene from your imagined future in which the conflict is resolved and elements of the first two scenes are also present.

States of Consciousness: Consciousness is our awareness of internal stimuli such as sensations, perceptions, emotions, and thoughts, as well as external stimuli in the environment. Some of the states of consciousness we experience in any given day may include focused awareness, in which we pay close attention to a certain part of our environment; daydreaming, in which we drift from one thought to another; and sleep, when our control over our thoughts is very low.

Sleep cycle: One important part of consciousness is our sleep cycle. Under ordinary circumstances, we have an approximately 24-hour sleep cycle in which we are most likely to be sleepy after midnight, and most awake 12 hours later.

Thought Questions: Does everyone dream? Why do people have trouble remembering their dreams? Are dreams in color? Is it normal to have nightmares? Is it true that if you dream that you die or that you hit bottom in a falling dream, you will in fact die in your sleep?

Thought Questions: Is it possible to control dreams? What is a nightmare? Who has nightmares? What causes nightmares? What can be done about nightmares?

Your Dream Journal: This exercise is designed to help you become more aware of your dreams, how often you dream, and what (if anything) can you learn from your dreams. First, staple several sheets of loose leaf paper together, Start recording your dreams right away, and continue until you have about 4 to 5 dreams.

PART I. Sleeping Dreams: Before falling asleep, DECIDE you are going to remember your dreams. Be patient; it may take a night or two for your unconscious to get the message. The most important thing to remember is that EVERYONE dreams and that once you believe you will remember them, you will! Keep the journal and a pen close to your bed and write down dreams you recall immediately, without interpretation. You may have more than one entry per night (everyone dreams between 4 and 6 times) of varying lengths (REM sleep gets longer, therefore, your dreams get longer later in the night). What should you record? Basically everything, uncensored, as you remember them... do not worry about proper English for this part. To be more specific write down: dialogue or any words the number and types of people (friends, strangers, relatives) objects the mood of the dream (happy, sad, scary, etc.) settings themes events timing in the dream relations to the dream and you (are you an observer, participant, seeing yourself as player?) If it's too difficult to record a part of the dream in writing, sketch a picture.

Part II. Written Report  Once you have about 4-5 dreams in your journal, try to analyze them using the following questions as guides (but feel to create your own "questions" also).  Were there any common threads, common ideas, running through the journal?  Are your dreams bizarre? Mundane?  Which dreams are most disturbing? Why? What do they mean to you?  What common symbols or objects did you record? What do you think these symbols mean?  Were you able to control your dreams as you remembered more and more of them?  How are your dreams relevant to your waking life?  Was the content of both journals identical on any days? What does this tell you?  What seems to be the main function of your dreams?  In other words, what did you learn about yourself by writing in the journal?

Tips to help you remember your dreams: Relax and keep telling yourself that you WILL remember your dreams Create a comfortable sleeping environment These dreams do not have to occur at night, dreams that occur during naps can be just as revealing If you can't remember a dream, when you wake up, just write the first words that come to your mind, as you look at them, a dream may come back to you. If you really get stuck, you can think about dreams you have had before, especially those that are reoccurring

Presentations: Present Dream Journals on Wednesday 2/16

Hypnosis: You are getting sleepy. You are getting VERY sleepy...