Monday, January 7, 2008

Analyze Dream: Dreaming Sleep Stage

Analyzing Your Dreams the Four Stages of Sleep

Regardless of age, every human dream anywhere from four to seven times a night. We now know that babies experience dream sleep while still in their mother’s womb. What they dream about, of course, is a mystery. What animals dream about is a mystery as well, but most mammals dream as well. In this Readabout article, we analyze dream and study stages of sleep.

Analyze Dream: Dreaming Is Essential To Your Well-Being
Surprisingly, science is still uncertain of the exact function of dream sleep. However, it is a documented fact that dreams are essential to our psychological and physical health. Research volunteers given drugs to disrupt dream sleep experienced all manner of psychological problems, including problems concentrating, irritability and even waking hallucinations.

The sleep cycle or dreaming sleep stage is divided into four distinct stages, and every person cycles through all four stages each night. Every cycle contains a stage of dream sleep, and every person experiences a number of distinct dream stages, and a number of distinct dreams every night.

Typically, the only dreams that are recalled, if any are recalled at all, are those dreams that take place closest to waking. The closest the dream occurs to waking, the more likely remembered. If a dreamer wakes in the middle of dream sleep, he or she will remember his or her dream perfectly and vividly in even the tiniest detail. We know this from years of studies of dreams.

Analyze Dream: The Stages of Dreams
Lets explore the four stages of sleep, including dream sleep, in greater detail.
Stage 1:
The first stage of sleep is a very light one, and it is very easy to be awoken or disturbed during this stage. Stage one of sleep usually lasts for only a few minutes, and the sleeper quickly moves on to stage two.

Stage 2:
Stage two is a much deeper level of sleep than stage one. It is in stage two of sleep that dreams begin to form. At this point in the dream cycle, there are usually no clear images. Dreams at this stage mostly consist of vague ideas and thoughts drifting through the dreamers mind. The sleeper will continue and enter stage three.

Stage 3:
Stage three is a still deeper sleep. In stage three of the sleep cycle the sleepers muscles have all relaxed, and his or her heart rate and respiration have both slowed down. The sleepers blood pressure also falls during this stage of sleep, and the breathing is even and steady. During this deep stage of sleep, the sleeper would be very difficult to awaken. Typically the sleeper can only be awakened by a very loud noise or the shout of his or her name. After a time, the sleeper will enter the final stage of sleep.

Stage 4:
Stage four of sleep, also known as REM, or rapid eye movement sleep, is the deepest stage of sleep, and the one in which the most dreams occur. During this stage of sleep it is very difficult indeed to wake the sleeper. During REM sleep, the blood pressure and heart rate will fluctuate, and the sleeper’s brain will light up. Studies of dreaming patients have shown that more brain activity occurs when we are dreaming than when we are awake.

REM sleep got its name from the rapid movements of the eyes under their closed lids. These eye movements are the distinguishing characteristic of dream sleep, and proof that dreams are occurring. Most REM sleep lasts only for about 10 minutes. After that time, the sleeper returns to the deep sleep that characterizes stage four of the sleep cycle. The sleeper will return after a time to a period of REM sleep, then cycle back into stage four. This process repeats from four to seven times a night.

This article, Analyze Dream: Dreaming Sleep Stage, explored dreaming and the dream cycle. You now know the stages of dreaming wach one of us goes through every night. We have learnt that even babies and animals dream. We also learnt that dreams are vital to our mind health. Read more articles on Readabout to know more about your dreams.
From : ReadAbout.Net

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