TITLE

Scientists Are Learning to Read—and Change—Your Nightmares

DESCRIPTION

Really an amazing and fascinating article about dreams, nightmares, their causes externally and internally.  The article further describes the neurobiology behind nightmares, the brain mechanisms, methods of study, and techniques to overcome very scary nightmares.  The beginning of the article describes a child’s nightmare of being chased by “The Running Legs.”   “Silly or not, childish or not, The Running Legs checked several boxes that would generally qualify it as a nightmare. It was recalled upon awakening—and may even have been the reason for the awakening. It caused distress the next day. It involved danger—in the case of nightmares, it’s most commonly some kind of physical aggression, a serious accident, a disease, or, yes, being chased.”  Further, an understanding of nightmares and causes may lie with human function:  “Nightmares may also involve being the person who causes harm to other people. “Humans are social beings,” says professor Michael Schredl, a sleep researcher at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, and nightmares may be sign that a bit of the social code that keeps us in line during the day and is fundamental enough to who we are that it apparently operates even in our sleep. From the time we emerged as a species we have depended on our acceptance within a group for our very survival, and violating the rules of that group could mean banishment. “I think those nightmares point to that importance,” Schredl says.”

The article can be understood along with the chapter on States of Consciousness and Sleep.  Students interested in this area should take the time to read the full article.

SOURCE

Time, August 6, 2020, by Jeffrey Kluger

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://time.com/5874444/science-of-nightmares/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-share-article&utm-term=health_sleep

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/pf6jr5m6

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•What is a nightmare?  What are the hypothesized causes of nightmares?

•How might early life experiences contribute to nightmares for adults?

•What are the brain mechanisms involved in nightmares?

•What are some of the “therapies” used for individuals who have chronic nightmares?

•Do you have a reoccurring nightmare?  Describe it in terms of the context of the research.