Dreams and Sleep: How It Affects a Person’s Well Being

Sleep is essential to a person's physical, mental and emotional well-being. In fact, children that get an hour less of sleep gain a higher chance of developing type two diabetes in their lifetime. Dreaming includes images, thoughts, and experiences while an individual is sleeping. As simple as dreams may seem, there is a process behind why we dream. There are also many reasons why we forget most of the dreams that we have. Our dreams can reflect our thoughts and emotions in relevance to the events occuring in our lives. Finally, each process of sleep has its own meaning and benefits.

The Process Of Sleeping

When sleeping, the brain does not automatically turn off. There is a step-by-step process when an individual lay down and goes to sleep. There are also two different groups of cells associated with sleeping. These cells are known as the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus, which are located in the hypothalamus, and the parafacial zone, which are located in the brain stem. It is when these two groups of cells switch is when the individual is considered to be asleep. In the first step of the sleeping process, a person will constantly cycle between rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement sleep. Another small group of cells, commonly known as the sub coeruleus nucleus, control the process of rapid eye movement sleep. Dreams most commonly occur during this phase of sleep. There are five different stages that occur during non-rapid eye movement sleep.

The first stage of sleep would be known as wakefulness. During the second stage of sleep, the individual would transition from being awake to beginning to fall asleep. This is also the stage in sleeping when the individual is still somewhat aware of their surroundings, but they are starting to dose off into a deep sleep. As the individual enters the next stage of sleep, their heart and breathing rate will begin to decrease. The next stage of sleep is commonly known as the slow wave sleep stage. This is mainly because of how slow the delta brain waves are moving during this stage of sleep. This is also the stage of sleep in which the body heals and repairs itself. Also, the time in which a person spends in this stage may decrease as the person becomes older.

Next, is rapid eye movement sleep. This is the stage of sleep in which we dream. The heart and breathing rates are at an irregular pace during this stage and the chemicals that our body produces during this phase of rapid eye movement sleep, prevents us from acting out our dreams. Benefits of Sleep While sleeping the appropriate amount every night is important, research has proven that a specific type of sleep has more benefits than others. The research “found that people who spent more time in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep — the phase when dreaming occurs — had lower fear-related brain activity when they were given mild electric shocks the next day. In fact, there have been surveys within the past few years that have calculated the average amount of sleep that Americans get now compared to ten or twenty years ago. ” America is now the most sleep deprived it has ever been. The nation hasn’t always been this sleep-deprived: Back in 1910, people slept an average of nine hours per night. Our culture of sleeplessness has been propelled by technologies like the light bulb and the Internet, which have given us more opportunities to stay awake in an increasingly 24/7 world.

As said previously, sleep is a vital part of life and it is necessary in order to function normally. One of the most common benefits of getting the appropriate amount of sleep is that it has a positive impact on a person’s memory. Sleeping plays an important role in processing, coding, and storing memory. Rest is also very helpful when a person is trying to learn or study a specific subject or concept. “Scientists studying the neural activity of mice found that a period of sleep immediately after learning a new skill encouraged the growth of synapses in the brain that were specifically related to that new learning. Tested on performance after periods of 1 and 5 days, mice that slept after the initial learning performed twice as well on the newly-learned task than mice that had not slept. ” Sleeping and plenty of rest can also enhance the ability to remember long term and short term memories. A sleep deprived individual may have trouble when it comes to retrieving those memories compared to someone that gets the appropriate amount of sleep. While creating and remembering memories are both very important, actually being able to process those memories is the most important. This process, also known as memory consolidation, is the process of memory that occurs while an individual is asleep. This is when the individual takes what they already know and this process secures this knowledge and creates it as a memory. There are many other benefits to getting a full night of rest besides creating and preserving memories. The appropriate amount of sleep causes us to feel more awake, healthy, and even puts us in a better mood. There are many necessary phases that our body goes through while we are asleep and that prepare us for the days to come. For example, sleep allows us to regain things that we may have lost during the day: tissue repair, protein synthesis, muscle growth, and it allows for our growth hormone to be released.

Another benefit is that those who get at least six hours of sleep every night, they tend to have a longer attention span. An individual that does not receive enough sleep can soon develop ADHD. This is most commonly found in children because when children do not get enough sleep they react in the opposite ways that adults do. When adults do not get enough sleep, they tend to be slow, weak and tired. When children do not get enough sleep, they tend to be very hyper. Finally, another one of the many benefits to sleep is that it has the ability to cure depression. According to Rachel Manber, “When their insomnia was fixed following CBT, depression treatment success doubled. Get them to sleep and they stopped being depressed. Other trials, including a recent one run by Colleen Carney Are ongoing, and have reported the same results”.

Risks of Not Sleeping

There are several health risks associated with sleep deprivation. Some of the health risks are ADHD, obesity, type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and even alzheimer’s. With that being said, sleep deprivation in America is now considered a public health epidemic. Also, the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration predicts that drowsy driving causes 1, 550 deaths and 40, 000 injuries annually in the United States. Sleep deprivation causes health problems because sleep initially affects an individual’s overall performance. This would include an individual's thinking abilities, how they react to certain events, and how well their brain forms memories. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that fatigue is a cause in 100, 000 auto crashes and 1, 550 crash-related deaths a year in the U. S. The problem is greatest among people under 25 years old”. Therefore, sleep deprivation can cause an individual to become less aware of the events happening on the road in front of them. A driver that is sleep deprived will seem as if they are a drunk or buzzed driver. This is because they are so fatigued that it can produce a similar outcome.

Another health risk to sleep deprivation involves that is can negatively affect the processes of the brain. Sleep is necessary for a individual's ability to store memories, problem solving and many other mental factors. “First, it impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently. Second, during the night, various sleep cycles play a role in “consolidating” memories in the mind. If you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t be able to remember what you learned and experienced during the day”. So, there are many processes that are developed while sleeping in the brain. Sleep and rest is necessary for the brain to be prepared for the next day. Not only is sleep important for the mind processes but, it also plays a huge factor on your body. According the National Sleep Foundation, “Sleep is important for healthy immune function, because it boosts your odds of fighting off infections that you may be exposed to on any given day. It also helps regulate body temperature, hormone levels, digestion, and appetite. ” So, having the appropriate amount of sleep can enhance an individual’s overall health including physical performance and immune processes. Sleep deprivation can cause illnesses due to the fact that not getting enough sleep can negatively affect a person’s body temperature, hormone levels and appetite.

In conclusion, sleep is one of the most important factors of an overall healthy life. Having the right amount of sleep each night can drastically change a person’s life. In fact, it can cure all of the negative health benefits that are caused by sleep deprivation, make you feel Running head: Dreams and Sleep 1 younger, and it can exercise all of the abilities of the brain that are vital to everyday thinking. Sleep can change a person’s overall health and is therefore the most important factor to a healthy life.