Mystery of Dreams (1)

7/31/2019 Mystery of Dreams (1)

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Psychology

BS (CS)-8

SUBMITTED TO:

SHAKEELA IBRAHIM

SUBMITTED BY:

WAQAR AHMED KHAN

CIIT\FA08-BCS-065\ISB

OSAMA SALEEM


M. ADNAN BASHIR

CIIT\SP09-BCS-029\ISB

USMAN AHMED


HAFIZ HASSAAN SAEED


HANA ABID




MYSTERY OF DREAMSA Study through Cognitive Psychology

INTRODUCTION

Defining Dreams

WHAT ARE DREAMS?

WHY DO WE DREAM?

Dreams have been a subject of mystery dating as far back as 4000 B.C and haverecently emerged as a whole new study in the field of psychology. Dreams havebeen around for as long as the first civilization came to be and have been a normalpart of human existence, yet it is a riddle to many. In our dreams, we can goanywhere, we can be anybody, and we can do anything. Dreams have influencedmighty kings, given insights to world-changing scientists and inspired gifted artists.The curious artists and the scientists throughout time have studied dreams andsearched for people who could interpret them. Dreams are an endless fascination forhumanity.

A dream, according to modern psychology, is defined as a "sequence of sensations,images, thoughts, etc, passing through a sleeping person's mind". Researchersagree that there is a purpose and importance to dreaming. It’s how we process our outer and inner worlds. Most times the dreams make sense to us. Then there arethose highly symbolic dreams that trouble, frighten or engage us. In modern society,dreams have been studied by famous psychiatrists like Freud, Jung, Hobson, etc.The importance and power of dreams is well established. Research has showed thatpeople who are deprived from entering the dream phase of sleep exhibit symptomsof irritability and anxiety. In one dream study, volunteers are woken up right beforethey enter into the dreaming phase. This study shows the importance of dreamingand its role in your well-being and health. Some researchers believe that dreams

help you to tackle stress and that dreaming is a necessity and helps to recharge themind and revitalize the body. On one side, prominent scientists argue that we dreamfor physiological reasons. On the other side, people claim that dreams areessentially mental nonsense devoid of psychological meaning. The idea that dreamsare nothing more than "meaningless biology" does not sound logical as everything inthis universe has a meaning and purpose. Dreams are, at very least,“meaningful biology”. Interpretation of dreams differs among people because of theirdifferent situations, perception and way of thinking.



Thesis statement: From the ancient era to the modern days, humans have tried todecipher the mystery of dreams. This research report is an attempt byundergraduate university students, taking the course of psychology, to explaindreams in detail and also describe theories, processes, interpretation, analysis andapplication in real life.

Research methodology

This research report is based upon:-

- Theoretical study

- Group discussions

- Questionnaires and surveys

Theoretical study through books and articles was done. A poll was also conducted bydistributing 20 survey forms. Group discussion with volunteering peers was also putinto account.

PICTURE DEPICTING HEARTBEATS OF A PERSON DURING LUCID DREAMING



LITERATURE REVIEW

Dream Theorists

Sigmund Freud:

According to Freud, dreams always have a manifest and latent content. The manifestcontent is what the dream seems to be saying. It is often bizarre and nonsensical. Thelatent content is what the dream is really trying to say. Dreams give us a look into our

unconscious. Freud’s theory states that dreams carry our hidden desires.

Carl Jung:

Carl Jung also believed in the existence of the unconscious. However, he did not seethe unconscious as animalistic, instinctual, or sexual; rather spiritual. According toJung, dreams are a way of communicating and acquainting yourself with the

unconscious. They serve to guide the waking self to achieve wholeness and offer asolution to a problem you are facing in your waking life. Calvin Hall:

Calvin S. Hall focused his study of dreams on the content, aptly referred to as content analysis. Because dreams are in essence thoughts, it is a cognitive process. Dreamsprovide a map or route to the inaccessible regions in your mind, otherwise known asthe unconscious. Hall believed dreams are the best way to discovering personalthoughts and to explain your behavior.

Edgar Cayce:

Cayce theory states that dreams are our body’s means of building up of the mental,spiritual and physical well-being. It is a way of quickening the dreamer to his/her ownhuman potential. By getting a good night’s sleep, any person can develop moremature values, stretch their thinking, and right one's self.

Crick and Mitchinson:

Crick and Mitchinson based their theory on the fact that the cortex, unlike other parts ofthe brain, is made up of richly interconnected neuronal networks in which each cell hasthe capacity to excite its neighbors. It is believed that memories are encoded in thesenetworks and when one point of the web is excited a pulse travels through the networkprompting recall. These networks have a tendency to become overloaded. If a lot ofmemories with extreme emotions are sent for encoding the brain needs an outputsource which is in the form of dreams. Too many memories in one network mayproduce either bizarre associations to a stimulus, which creates our fantasies, the sameresponse whatever the stimulus, creating obsessions, or associations triggered without

any stimulus, which creates hallucinations.



Reference:

Articles from “Sigmund Freud’s theory of dream analysis”

Internet source http://www.realmeaningofdreams.com/what-are-dreams-theories.html

MAIN STUDY

The Dreaming Process

The Stages of Sleep:

The stages in the sleep cycle are organized by the changes in specific brain activity.

Stage 1: Entering into light sleep. This stage is characterized by Non-rapid eyemovements (NREM), muscle relaxation, lowered body temperature and slowed heartrate. The body is preparing to enter into deep sleep.

Stage 2: Also characterized by NREM, this stage is characterized by a further drop inbody temperature and relaxation of the muscles. The body's immune system goes towork on repairing the day's damage. The endocrine glands secrete growth hormones,while blood is sent to the muscles to be reconditioned. In this stage, one is completelyasleep.

Stage 3: Still in the NREM stage, this is an even deeper sleep. Metabolic levels areextremely slow.

Stage 4: In this stage of sleep, eyes move back and forth erratically as if watchingsomething from underneath eyelids. Referred to as REM sleep or delta sleep, thisstage occurs at about 90-100 minutes after the onset of sleep. Blood pressure rises,heart rate speeds up, respiration becomes erratic and brain activity increases.Involuntary muscles also become paralyzed or immobilized. This stage is the mostrestorative part of sleep. The majority of dreaming occurs in this stage. If you areawakened during this stage of sleep, a person is more likely to remember dreams.These stages repeat themselves throughout the night during sleep. As the cyclerepeats, less time is spent in stages 1 to 3 and more time dreaming in stage 4. Inother words, it will be quicker to get to stage 4 each time the cycle repeats.

While dreaming, the human body undergoes noticeable changes. Adrenaline rises,blood pressure increases, and heart beats faster. Given this hyperactivity, it should beno surprise how someone with a weak heart can die in their sleep. During REM, bloodpressure and heart rate fluctuate and increase. It sounds like the body is goes througha lot, but in fact, it is quite the contrary. During REM, human bodies are completelyimmobile and your muscles remain completely relaxed. A person may shift in bedthroughout the night, but when in REM, he or she is completely still. The mind is as

http://www.realmeaningofdreams.com/what-are-dreams-theories.html






active as it is during waking. However, chemically it is different. REM is controlled bythe excitability level of the cholinergic neurons. Noradrenalin and serotonin aremissing in the brain when in the dream state. These chemicals allow the brain to carryout task, solve problems and remember things. This is a reason why people find it sohard to remember your dreams.

Reference:

Brain basic: understanding the sleep (NINDS.com)

Characteristics of Dreams (Hobson’s Study)

A sleep researcher, J. Allan Hobson, identified five basic characteristics of dreams.

1. Dreams often feature intense emotions: It is quite normal to have highly evocative dreams featuring extreme emotions.

Whether one dreams of intense fear (being chased by a crazed axe murderer) or

public humiliation (finding yourself naked on stage). Hobson's dream research

found that the three most common dream emotions are anxiety, fear and

surprise.

2. Dreams are often disorganized and illogical:

When dreaming (non-lucidly), certain parts of conscious brain are shut off,

allowing fantastical thought processes to run wild. The resulting dreams are

illogical scenarios with disorganized content. Hobson formally identified that

dreams contain "illogical content and organization, in which the unities of time,place and person do not apply, and natural laws are disobeyed".

3. Dream content is accepted without question:

Dreaming minds fully accept the bizarre and illogical characteristics of dreams

due to powerful emotional state. According to Hobson, people create strong

emotions and perceptions in the dream world that support what we're

experiencing, no matter how strange.

4. Dreams often contain bizarre sensory experiences:

In dreams, the human mind has to "let go" of the experience of lying asleep inbed and submit to a full range of sensations produced internally by the dream

world. One may experience the realistic sensation of flying, falling, or even

running in slow motion. Despite these being rare experiences in waking life, they

are quite common among dreamers.

5. Dreams are often difficult to remember:

REM sleep is characterized by low levels of serotonin and high levels of



acetylcholine, making dreams difficult to store in short term memory. In fact,

dream research suggests that 95% of regular dreams are forgotten upon waking.

Reference:

Time Magazine- Article on “REM dreaming”

Types of Dreams

Daydreams:

Day dreaming occurs when we are half awake. Daydreaming is often disregarded and

neglected aspect of dream study because it is often overlooked as fleeting and

wandering thoughts. When daydreaming, a person accesses the right part of brain,which is the creative and feminine side of personality. Daydreams are often viewed as

light-hearted in nature. They are just silly fantasies and wishful thinking. Even worrying

over things can be classified as a form of daydreaming.

False awakening dreams:

In false awakening dreams people think they have woken up and gone about daily

morning routine: getting up, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast and going to work,

only to wake up "again" and realize that what just happened is just a dream. That

sensation is referred to as false awakening dreams.

Lucid dreaming:

This is consciously perceiving and recognizing that one is in a dream while one

is sleeping, and having control over the "dreamscape", or dream world within a dream.

A person in a lucid dream with full control may morph the dreamscape into any virtual

reality that person pleases, all with properties that feel identical to that of wakeful

consciousness.

Nightmares:

Nightmares arouse feelings of intense terror or distress. Bad dreams are often lengthyand occur in the latter part of night (REM). During a bad dream, the person sleeping,

usually experiences a feeling of having a threat to his life or safety. Bad dreams are

common among children and the frequency of their occurrence decreases, as one

grows older. Bad dreams are caused by an unstable emotional state. Bad dreams occur

under great mental stress and pressure.



Recurring dreams:

Recurring dreams are the ones that are said to have incomplete and unsatisfactory

endings. Even if it is a happy dream, if it has an incomplete end, it will recur. Recurring

dreams tend to occur when you are vulnerable to something, and they stop in a state

of relaxation.

Healing dreams:

Healing dreams serve as messages for the dreamer in regards to their health. The

Ancient Greeks called these dreams "prodromic". Many dream experts believe that

dreams can help in avoiding potential health problems and healing when you are ill or

when you are grieving. Research shows that asthma and migraine sufferers have

certain types of dreams before an attack. Bodies are able to communicate to mind

through dreams. The dreams can "tell” that something is not quite right with your bodies

even before any physical symptoms show up. Dreams of this nature may be telling the

dreamer that he or she needs to go to the dentist or doctor. If you can understand the

language of dreams, your dreams will serve as an invaluable early warning system.

They can help inform advice and heal.

Signal dreams:

Signal dreams help you how to solve problems or make decisions in your waking life

Epic dreams:

Epic dreams (also referred to as Great Dreams, Cosmic Dreams or Numinous Dreams)

are so compelling and vivid that one cannot ignore them. The details of such dreamsremain with a person for years, as if he or she just dreamt it last night. These dreams

possess much beauty and feels like a life-changing experience.

Progressive dreams:

These show different options and various approaches to a problem, situation or

relationship. Progressive dreams occur when a person has a sequence of dreams that

continue over a period of nights. Such dreams are problem-solving dreams and help to

explore one’s abilities.

Mutual dreams:

Mutual dreams are described as such when two people have the same dream. Mutual

dreams may be planned, meaning that two people actively work toward achieving one

dream scenario or goal. It is a way to improve communication and build trust. Mutual

dreams can also be spontaneous. A friend, a significant other, faraway relative, or

someone can also have the same dream on the same night as as another person.



Premonitory dreams:

Premonition is an early warning about an event in the future; an indication of something

evil that is about to happen, a forewarning about something unpleasant, a boding of bad

news.

Precognition:

Precognitive dreams are dreams that foretell incidents of the future. Precognition

dreams are often correlated to premonition dreams; there's a small difference though.

While premonition is necessarily used to refer to a feeling of evil to come, precognition

implies knowing the future. Precognitive dreams are those types of dreams which give

knowledge of the future. Precognitive dreams give future sight; which means that an

individual acquires future information that cannot be deduced through sensory

perception. Precognitive dreams convey information that is not derivable from presently

available data. This is something beyond normal human understanding and this makes

precognitive dreams, a psychological process of perception. Precognitive dreams

provide the means to obtain information that is not quite obtainable through one's

physical senses.

Reference:

The dream journals by Chandler and Sharp

Internet source http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/the-health-benefits-of-dreams

Causes of nightmares

Prolonged use of certain medications may lead to bad dreams. Beta-blockers,

tranquilizers and antidepressants could be a reason behind bad dreams. Also, recent

withdrawal from sleeping pills may cause nightmares. They could also be a side effect

of certain medicinal drugs. For example, drugs that are administered for physical factors

that contribute to bad dreams include fever as also sleep and breathing disorders. Sleep

apnea (abnormal breathing during sleep) and Narcolepsy can cause unpleasant

dreams. Sometimes, pregnant women are found to have bad dreams. When people are

stressed from daily life or for anyother reason they tend to have nightmares.

Reference:

Internet sourcehttp://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/the-health-benefits-of-dreams

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/the-health-benefits-of-dreams










Ways to stop nightmares

Step 1: Fix a specific bedtime for yourself and strictly maintain that under all

circumstances. That means you must go to sleep at a certain time every night. At the

same time, you must get up in the morning at a scheduled time.

Step 2: Stop watching television one hour before your bedtime. A scary movie, sad news

on TV can influence your thoughts and stimulate bad dreams. Rather, spend the last

one hour of the day with some pleasant thoughts. Never mind even if those thoughts

belong to your fantasy world and is slightly weird for real!

Step 3: If you get nightmares every night or very often, then you must analyze them.

Write down every detail about the bad dream that you can remember. Then try to figure

out the cause by understanding dreams. If you think it is triggered by stress or anxiety,

then talk to your friend or relative about it. This will ease off the tension in your mind.

Step 4: Keep yourself stress free. Meditation just before you sleep is a great way of

relaxing the mind. You can reverse count from 100 to zero with your focus on the

breathing. Regular aerobic exercises also help you to control mental stress in a much

better manner.

Step 5: Eliminate the external factors that can cause bad dreams. Avoid excessive

consumption of alcohol. If you suspect that you are getting bad dreams after starting

any new medicine, then talk to your doctor about its possibility. They may change the

medicine.

Reference:

The dream journals by Chandler and Sharp

Dream Interpretation

Dream interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to dreams. Symbols are thelanguage of dreams. A symbol can invoke a feeling or an idea and often has a muchmore profound and deeper meaning that any one word can convey. At the same time,these symbols can leave you confused and wondering what that dream was all about. Acquiring the ability to interpret dreams is a powerful tool. In analyzing dreams, onecan learn about deep secrets and hidden feelings. Every detail, even minute elementsin a dream is important and must be considered when analyzing your dreams. Eachsymbol represents a feeling, a mood, a memory or something from your unconscious.Look closely at the characters, animals, objects, places, emotions, and even color and



numbers that are depicted in your dreams. Even the most trivial symbol can besignificant.

Articles from “Sigmund Freud’s interpretation of dreams”

ANALYSIS

We conducted a survey and after analyzing the results we found that similar age groupshave almost similar dream experiences. We arrived to a conclusion that this might bebecause of the common circumstances these people are in. Upon having discussionwith people we learned that people often experience dreams which are opposite toreality and their personality or actions. Some people claimed that they mainly dream oftheir fears coming true, while others dream of everyday situations. Survey showed thatmany people dream of familiar disturbing situations. Through our survey we learned thatwomen get more disturbing nightmares than males. Many have similar nightmares suchas earthquakes or wild animals. This basically relates to their fears or some experience

that they might have had in past. Research shows that dreams are both influenced byenvironment and state of mind.

BOOKS FOR PERSONAL INTEREST

If you are interested to learn more about dream psychology then here aresome books that might be of interest:



CONCLUSION

Dreams have been thoroughly researched and studied in the field of psychology.Dreams are a very important part of life but no one really bothers to give them morethen moments thought. It’s easy to see how you overlook them once you know what

they are, where they come from, and how to interpret them. A very important pointabout dreams was said in the Internet article “Dream Central’s Unique Method of Dream

Analysis” “Sometimes you’re sleeping mind can arrive at conclusions far better than ournormal thinking process.” Thank you all for your undivided attention and hope you allgot some new knowledge about your dreams.

Mystery of Dreams (1)

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