Mod 9 (part 2)

Major Sleep Disorders

• Sleep disorders involve ongoing issues that affect the quality and duration of sleep.

• Key sleep disorders include:

  • Insomnia: Difficulty falling or staying asleep; affects 1 in 5 adults.

  • Narcolepsy: Characterized by sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness; affects 1 in 2000 adults.

  • Sleep Apnea: Repeatedly stopping breathing during sleep; affects 1 in 20 adults, usually discovered by a sleep partner.

  • REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: Involves acting out dreams with vocalizations and motor behaviors, more common in older adults.

  • Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking: Common in children, with sleepwalking occurring in about 1 in 15 people.

  • Night Terrors: Mostly occur in children; it’s a terrifying experience where the child appears distressed but cannot be comforted.

Importance of Awareness

• Awareness of these disorders is crucial because they can severely impact life quality and safety (e.g., narcolepsy while driving).

• Understanding prevalence helps to normalize conversations about sleep issues; example: the commonness of insomnia.

Functions of Dreams

• Dreams consist of thoughts, images, and emotions experienced during sleep, primarily during REM sleep.

• Research links REM sleep stages with vivid dreams and emotional processing.

Dream Content

• Most dreams reflect ordinary daily experiences, often expressing unresolved thoughts or emotions.

• Negative themes are predominant in dreams, with 80% involving distressing events.

• Occasionally, dreams feature sexual content (1 in 10 to 1 in 30).

Trauma and Dreams

• Nightmares may help process trauma and fears, facilitating emotional regulation.

• Specific groups, like musicians, report themes related to music more frequently in dreams.

• Individuals with disabilities might have dreams reflecting their unique experiences (e.g., blind individuals dreaming through non-visual senses).

Theories of Dreaming

Freud's Theory: Wish Fulfillment

• Freud posited that dreams serve as a safety valve for expressing wish fulfillment.

• Dreams contain:

  • Manifest Content: The remembered storyline.

  • Latent Content: The underlying meaning and unconscious desires.

Information Processing Theory

• Dreams play a role in memory consolidation and emotional processing.

• Sleep deprivation negatively impacts academic performance.

Activation-Synthesis Theory

• Dreams arise from random neural activation; the brain synthesizes this activity into coherent narratives.

Cognitive Development Theory

• Dreams might reflect cognitive development, simulating life experiences and potential scenarios.

• Importance of REM sleep declines with age; younger individuals spend more time in REM sleep, reflecting brain growth and memory consolidation.

Conclusion

• Understanding and recognizing the role of sleep and dreams helps in managing mental health and improving cognitive function.

• Prioritize adequate, restful sleep to prevent cognitive and emotional decline.