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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The stuff dreams are made of

We all have them, but don’t read too much meaning into these nighttime dramas.

By Allie Smith
 Patrick Henry High School

You’re at school sitting in your regular seat listening to the same boring English lecture. Suddenly, you realize you forgot to wear shoes, but no one seems to notice. Your English teacher turns into your math teacher and, all of a sudden, you’re taking an exam you forgot to study for — and can’t even begin adding two and two.

You look at the person next to you, and realize all of your classmates have transformed into zombies.

Then, you wake up.

Dreams. We all have them, some of us more than others, and usually four or five times a night. But what causes a person to dream such ridiculous scenarios when we’re asleep?

To put it simply, our body may be asleep, but our brain isn’t. Our brain is still thinking and imagining.

Edge staff members Gordon Day and Tyrell Rush kept logs for a week and wrote down the dreams they remembered.

Tyrell, a senior at William Fleming High school, dreamed that he was in a lounge. A waiter asked him what he wanted to eat, but he dozed off and went up to a hotel room to sleep. He turned on the radio and heard a song with lyrics he had written, but it wasn’t him singing.

Gordon, a Craig County High School senior, dreamed that new recruits for the Army were marching through his school. He was waiting for the end of the line to pass so he could get in, too.

Dreams never seem to make sense, as shown by Tyrell and Gordon. They occur during rapid eye movement — or REM — sleep, when brain areas associated with imagery and emotion become more active, but logical parts of the brain are shut down, according to the psychology textbook, “Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior” by Dennis Coon.

This helps explain why dreams are so bizarre and usually jump from one story to another. Your brain just doesn’t think straight when its logic is gone.

Ever have that dream where you’re being chased by someone or something horrible, but some physical impairment gets in the way? You try to run but your legs won’t move, or you try to scream, but no sound comes out of your mouth.

This happens because during REM sleep, brain cells that normally control your balance and actions are activated, but messages from those cells are blocked from reaching your body, so no movement occurs.

Your brain is told the body is running, but gets no feedback from your legs.

So how does your brain solve this problem? It creates a chase drama to justify why your legs aren’t working. The brain searches through your stored memories, and a story is manufactured.

Sometimes, those stories turn scary. But don’t worry, nightmares usually only occur once or twice a month.

Want to get rid of a recurring nightmare? Try something called “imagery rehearsal.” Before bed, think of a way to change your nightmare so it ends happily.

Mentally rehearse the change right before you fall asleep. This way, your brain has a new image to ponder.

Some psychologists think there are hidden meanings and symbols in dreams. For instance, Sigmund Freud said dreams are based on wish fulfillment. If someone was hungry, they’d dream of food. And if someone was lonely, they’d dream of love.

Does that mean Gordon wishes he could join the Army?

Other psychologists think dreams simply come from everyday events and memories, which has been proved . Maybe Gordon saw something on TV that day about a marching army.

Try keeping a dream log . Make sure you write your dream down as soon as you wake up so it doesn’t vanish from your mind, because dreams have a tendency to do that.

Maybe you’ll find that you want to live in France, or that you’re in love with your chemistry partner.

Whatever happens, sweet dreams!
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