Sleep and Dreams

Sleep and Dreams

Sleep is one of the most essential components to leading a healthy life. Sleep is a necessity and is required from all individuals in order to live. Sleep is required in order to let your body rest and restore energy. Most adults require about eight hours of sleep a night, however not everyone requires the same amount of sleep. Children and older adults typically require more than eight hours of sleep. There are many consequences that can occur if an individual is not getting the required amount of sleep. An individual can endanger their physical and mental health as well as have low energy and have memory lapses (National Women's Health Resource Center, 2007). There are many different stages a person goes through when sleeping, dreaming is one of them. Dreams occur in every individual and take place every time they sleep, however some individuals can never remember their dreams. In this paper I will be discussing the need for sleep, sleep deprivation, insomnia, treatment for insomnia, sleep apnea, hypersomnia, narcolepsy, the different stages of sleep, REM and NREM sleep, dreaming, nightmares and night terrors.

The need for sleep is undeniable, in order to function in everyday living sleep is required. If an individual is not getting the needed amount of sleep they will experience sleep deprivation. Even if one hour of sleep is missed in a night it can effect your mood, memory, ability to pay attention, and can even effect your own health. The effect of sleep loss can be very disturbing to an individual, it can cause many reactions such as trembling hands, drooping eyelids, inattention, irritability, staring, increase pain and sensitivity, and general discomfort (Coon, Mitterer, Brown, Malik, & McKenzie, 2008). When individuals do not get the required amount sleep it can be associated with poor academic performances, unintentional injuries, and obesity in adults. Adults are becoming overweight due to sleep deprivation through a cycle, they become stressed which leads to insufficient sleep which then leads to hormone changes. A decrease in leptin and insulin, and an increase in ghrelin and cortisol can cause physical tiredness, this leads to less exercise and an increase in caffeine and sugars which can cause weight gain in adults (Noland, Price, Dake, & Telljohann, 2009). Severe sleep loss can cause a temporary sleep-deprivation psychosis which can cause extreme changes to an individual such as confusion, disorientation, delusions, and hallucinations. Hallucinations and delusions usually only appear after a sleep loss greater than sixty hours (Coon et al., 2008). Adolescents benefit from having consistent sleep times. If bedtimes and rising times remain the same throughout the week including weekends it can significantly benefit adolescents (Noland et al., 2009).

Many people suffer from sleeping disorders such as insomnia which includes difficulty in going to sleep, frequent nightmare awakenings, waking too early, or it can be a combination of all these problems together. Insomnia can have downward effects on an individual. It lowers people's ability to work and can damage their health and relationships (Coon et al., 2008). Temporary insomnia can be caused by stress, travel, or environmental factors. Chronic insomnia can be diagnosed if more than three weeks of sleeping problems occur, and can be due to psychological and physical conditions (National Women's Health Resource Center, 2007). Temporary insomnia is a condition that will be experienced by almost everyone at some point in their life, as it can be due to stress, travel, and environmental factors (Help Guide, 2009). Sleep specialists suggest that lifestyle changes and behavioural techniques should be used in order to treat insomnia. Some methods used for controlling insomnia are sleep restrictions which means to restrict your sleeping times to your normal bedtime hours, this way you do not break your sleeping rhythms. Stimulus control refers to linking a response with specific stimuli. Bedtime should only be associated with relaxation and sleep. Paradoxical intention is another helpful approach that removes the pressure of trying to get to sleep by changing the goal from trying to sleep to attempting to keep your eyes open as long as you can. This allows sleep to come unexpectedly. Relaxation is a good way to assist an individual to fall asleep. Strenuous exercise throughout the day promotes a good sleep, and is most helpful if done about six hours before bedtime. An individual should also try to increase the amount of starchy foods in their diet. Starchy foods can increase the amount of tryptophan which therefore increases the amount of serotonin in the brain causing relaxation, a positive mood, and sleepiness. Sleep restriction and stimulus control are the most effective methods for controlling insomnia (Coon et al., 2008).

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