SofiaCacho#4

5/9/16
InterestProject
LLL

SleepandDreams

Sleepisatrulyslipperytopic,asnotmanypeoplechoosetodelveintothismostintricate
subject.Asfarasdreamsgo,evenfewerstudieshavebeenconductedtotryandtellwhydreams
occur.Sincethisprocessofsleepinganddreaminghasbeenapartofmankindsincethedawnof
time,whyhasn'tanyonecrackeditsmysteries?
Onesimplequestionthatmanyscientisthaveponderedoveristhereason
why
wesleep.
WilliamDement,thefounderofStanfordUniversitysSleepResearchCenter,isoneofthese
scientists.After50yearsofresearch,hestated,AsfarasIknow,theonlyreasonweneedto
sleepthatisreally,reallysolidisbecausewegetsleepy.Someproposethatsincewedon't
knowexactlywhatsleepis,wecantfullygraspitsfunctions.However,scientistscanconfirm
thatsleepisessential,asthehumanbrainandtheimmunesystemcannotfunctionproperly
withoutafullnightssleep.
Yetsometimeswearearenotabletogetafullnightssleepbecauseofcertainsleep
disorders.Intotal,thereareabout70differentsleepdisorders,whichareusuallyclassifiedinto1
of3groups:lackofsleep,disturbedsleep,andexcessivesleep.Someoftheseincludecommon
diagnosessuchasObstructiveSleepApnea(disorderinwhichbreathingrandomlystops/starts
whilesleeping),ortheraredisorderofFatalFamilialInsomnia(theinabilitytosleep).About40
millionpeopleintheUnitedStatessufferfromchroniclongtermsleepdisordersandabout20
millionsufferfromoccasionalsleepproblems.

Eventhoughwedontknowwhywesleep,scientistcanconfirmthe4stagesofsleep,
onebeingcalledrapideyemovementsleep(REMS).REMSisaphaseofmammaliansleepin
whichtheeyesrapidlydartundertheeyelids.Thisperiodmakesup2025%ofadultsleep,andis
theperiodwhenyourbrainisthemostactive.YeteventhoughREMSisanimportantpartofour
sleepingschedule,thereare3otherstagesthatcomebeforeREMS.Theyinclude:NREM1,
NREM2,andNREM3.These3stagesarewhenyouarefallingasleepandgettingreadyfor
REMS.
SinceyourbrainisactiveduringthisperiodofREMS,youexperiencewhatwehumans
liketocalldreams.Eventhoughwedon'tremember9599%ofourdreams,weusuallydream
46dreamsanight,thefirstonebeingabout5minutesinlengthandthelastonebeing45
minutestoanhourinlength.Yetwhywedontrememberourdreamsisstillveryenigmaticto
scientists.Onetheorysuggeststhatsinceweresimplynotconcentratingwhenwesleep,andthat
iswhyweonlyremembercertaindreamsthatwedeemimportanttoconcentrateon.Another
theorysuggeststhatwedontrememberourdreamsbecausenorepinephrine(thehormonethat
assistsmemory)istemporarilyturnedoffaswesleep.
Yetwhywedreamisstillaquestionthatstumpsmost.Evenwithallthetechnology
availabletousinthe21stcentury,onlytheoriesexistastosaywhywedream.Onetheory
suggeststhatweevolvedtodreamforphysiologicalreasons.Anothertheorysuggeststhatsince
ourbrainisveryactiveduringREMS,dreamsarejustthemeaninglessbyproductofourbrains
activity.However,thoughtherearemanytheories,scientistcanstillnotsaytheyknowexactly
whywedreamorwhatbenefitstheybringtous.

Whenwehavenightmares,dontsomepeoplewakeupinthemiddleofthenight,
confused?Ifapersonsuffersfromfrequentnightmaresandoftengetswokenupbythem,itmay
beconsideredasleepdisorderonitsown.Thisdisorderiscalledchronicnightmares,andaffects
5%ofthepopulation.Thisdisordermaycauseafearofsleeping,whichleadstomoreserious
disorders,suchassleepdeprivation.
Whenpeoplehavedreamsthattheyremember,theyusuallylookupwhattheirdream
meanonlineorinadreambook.Sincescientistsaren'tsurewhywedream,theydontknow
exactlywhatweusethemfor.Therefore,scientistbelievedreaminterpretationcanbeincorrect
orismainlyguesswork.Manyofthesecommonwebsitesorinterpretersarenotbackedup
scientifically,andareusuallytheauthorsinterpretationofdreams.Onlyverygenericdreams
(calleduniversaldreams)arebackedupscientifically.Thesedreamsincludebeingnudein
public,orbeingchasedbyacriminal/monster.Thoughdreamsmayserveapurposeinour
everydaylife,unfortunatelywehavenotcrackedthecode.
Inconclusion,thoughtherereallyisn'tmuchtogooff,sleephasstillfascinatedmany
sleep/dreamscientistsandhasbroughtforthmanythingstoponderabout.Thistrulyriveting
topicissounexplored,onlythesurfaceofinformationwasdiscoveredbyscientists.Wedont
knowwhywesleep,butweknowofupto70differentsleepdisordersthatoccurinmankind
today.WeknowaboutREMS,butwedontreallyhaveacluewhyoursleeppatternsareso
intricate.Thisisveryfascinating,andithasallscientistsstumped.
Eventhoughweknowagooddealaboutsleep,whataboutdreams?Scientistshave
provedthatmostdreaminterpretationisjustfolly,andcanonlyprovidetheoriesastowhywe

havedreams.Yetwiththecomingage,newtechnologiesandnewideasareatourdisposal,and
wejustmightcrackthesecretcodeofthethingeveryhumanhascometoknown.