Sleep and Dreams HSP3M

Sleep Roughly 1/3 of our lives is spent asleep Why do we sleep? Growth Replenish chemicals What if we don’t get enough sleep? Inattention Irritability Weakened immune system

Sleep cycles Roughly 90 minutes 4 stages of progressively deeper sleep REM sleep is when we are resurfacing Rapid Eye Movement The Dreaming stage The longer you’ve been sleeping, the more of your sleep is REM sleep

Dreaming Freud theorized dreams were an outlet for feeling we couldn’t otherwise express Interpreting dreams can reveal secret desires Freud thought a lot of dreams have hidden sexual meanings “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

Dream Interpretation Dream: You are being pursued or attacked by a menacing person, wild animal, monster or some other villain that may even catch, harm or kill you. Usual meaning: You are feeling threatened by someone or by a strong emotion of your own. You feel frightened, attacked and in danger. Occasionally your brain may be replaying an actual event in your own life.

Dream Interpretation Dream: You arrive late at the test room, after the test has begun, or you are unable to find the test room, or are handed a test for which you are completely unprepared or cannot finish in time. Usual meaning: You feel unprepared for something, that you will "never make the grade," or are playing the wrong part in your waking life.

Dream Interpretation Dream: You are nude or only partly dressed in public, or you may appear in public inappropriately dressed, as in wearing pajamas to work. Usual meanings: You feel exposed, vulnerable or awkward, or you may fear that you may have revealed too much of yourself in a waking situation.

Dream Interpretation Dream: You are falling through the air, frightened. A variation may be that you are sinking in water, in danger of drowning. Usual meanings: Falling dreams often signify that you feel insecure or as though you have no support. Drowning dreams often occur when you feel overwhelmed by having too much to do and are feeling ready to give up.

Freud and Dream Interpretation Wrote The Interpretation of Dreams Analyzed dreams to understand aspects of personality Motivation is the cause of our behaviour Freud believed nothing you do occurs by chance; every action and thought is motivated by your unconscious at some level

Freud and Dream Interpretation In order to live in a civilized society, we have a tendency to hold back our urges and repress our impulses However, these urges and impulses must be released in some way One way these urges and impulses are released is through your dreams

Freud’s Theory of Mind Id - centered around primal impulses, pleasures, desires, unchecked urges and wish fulfillment.  Ego - concerned with the conscious, the rational, the moral and the self-aware aspect of the mind.  Superego - the censor for the id, which is also responsible for enforcing the moral codes of the ego.

Freud and Dream Interpretation When you are awake,  the impulses and desires of the id are suppressed by the superego Because your guards are down during the dream state, your unconscious has the opportunity to act out and express the hidden desires of the id However, the desires of the id can, at times, be so disturbing that your mind translates them into more acceptable symbolic forms

Assignment Think of a dream you’ve had recently, or a recurring dream you’ve had, and try to interpret it – what is your unconscious mind up to?

Homework Read page 74 – 79 Answer questions 1-4 on p. 80