REM and Non REM Sleep | Non REM Dreams

Rose knows there are ways to determine the pros and cons of Non REM sleep and REM sleep.  We can examine the research and make an educated guess by looking at the individual results from quality and quantity of sleep.  REM sleep was discovered in 1952 when Aserinsky and Kleitman witnessed rapid-eye-movement in children.  By the 1960’s due to the activities during dreaming by the body’s autonomic nervous system, Wilse Webb characterized this as “Autonomic Storm”.  When REM starts your blood flow increases breathing becomes uneven, heart beats irregular and extremities show involuntary movements.  Your body becomes paralyzed and as a result is at the mercy of the autonomic and peripheral systems. 

A REM dream is filled with vivid, emotional and physical energy and is the most active state of the sleep process.  Life’s experiences are what dreams are made of, but most dreams consist of three types; the learning dream, the flight or fight dream (some may consider this as a nightmare) and the sexual dream.  Personally I have had learning dreams on other planets but that is totally another article.  REM dreams last about two hours of sleep at night which is necessary to restore energy and avoid restlessness and irritability during the waking hours. 

Non REM sleep or NRS is when there isn’t any rapid-eye-movement and lasts 4 to 6 hours each night.  NRS allows for deep sleep between periods of REM sleep.  Researchers have found that REM sleep is often referred to the dream state, however it has been reported that there are more dreams during Non REM sleep.  NRS dreams resemble the thinking dreams and might be where we figure out problems and stress issues in our daily lives.  Also sleep problems such as night terrors, sleepwalking and talking in your sleep occur during Non REM dreams. 

Flight or fight dreams can be categorized as nightmares which occur during REM sleep and are generally shorter than other dreams because they usually wake up the sleeper.  Nightmares could be considered a “wake up call” as they can be associated with the dreamer’s fears.  If a person is afraid of health issues and has a nightmare about having cancer this negative dream could change into a positive lifestyle change such as eating better and exercising.

Not all nightmares are remembered or wake you up, if the issue causing the nightmare cannot be overcome by the conscious.  It is our subconscious worries, fears and phobias that makeup nightmares that are most remembered.  If you are able to control your nightmare as in a lucid dream, which is a conscious dream right before waking, you should try to resolve the dream before you fully wake up.  If someone is chasing you, you should turn and face your suppressor.  Overcoming your fears in your dreams will allow you to better understand yourself and feel more confident to solve problems during the day.

The reason why we dream in REM sleep or Non-REM sleep can be as simple a question as to why we need to sleep, period.  All we know is that all humans dream and even a fetus has been reported to show rapid-eye-movement.  Experiments have proven that over 80% of individuals participating in a sleep study test were dreaming when they were awakened.  Some researchers believe dreaming maintains brains functionality and releases dopamine neurons.  Dopamine has many functions in the brain, including important roles in behavior and cognition, voluntary movement, motivation and reward, sleep, mood, attention, and learning.

Sweet Dreams,

Rose Sheepskill