Sleep and Dreams

Dreams

The topic and mystery of dreams has not been fully solved and may never be. What is certain is that dreams are closely linked to the sleep phases, which in turn have a strong influence on your well-being. Due to your current state (separation), overstimulation of the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic/parasympathetic), these sleep phases are of course no longer “normal.”

There are many theories and approaches to interpreting dreams. The fact is: when you dream, your psychological waste is being cleared out. Your subconscious is working, and very actively at that. Unprocessed things and experiences are processed and brought into consciousness. Many items from short-term memory are also moved into long-term storage. It is also believed that experienced events that have not yet been processed are compared and assigned to similar situations reaching back into the earliest past (infancy), which we can no longer consciously remember.

Dreams (not daydreams) are therefore a very important component of the psyche’s processing of experiences.

Sleep

As already mentioned, sleep is one of the three basic human drives. It is the drive whose deprivation leads to death second fastest. It is therefore essential for survival. Sleep itself is divided into 5 different phases.

During sleep, a person normally goes through these phases 2-5 times:

The Five Sleep Phases

1. The relaxed waking state - This is the point at which, in your current situation (separation), you experience heart palpitations, sweating, restlessness, and anxiety, as your sympathetic nervous system is overstimulated

2. Light sleep, falling asleep

3. Light sleep phase

4. Medium sleep depth

5. The deep sleep phase

REM and Non-REM Sleep

Phases 2-4 constitute the REM sleep phase (Rapid Eye Movement), named after the rapid eye movements during these phases. During these phases, you dream. Although this is the lightest sleep, you are harder to wake than during the deep sleep phases. That is why this phase is also called “paradoxical sleep.” The non-REM phases are called “orthodox sleep.”

Effects of Sleep Disorders

If you are prevented from dreaming (REM phases) — for example by your nervous condition, alcohol, or other addictive substances, including certain sleep-forcing medications — the sleep phases become displaced. “Paradoxical sleep” is eventually made up, while “orthodox sleep” is shortened.

Important

It is believed that “paradoxical sleep,” because you dream during it, is very important for the soul/psyche, while “orthodox sleep” is purely for physical energy restoration.

When these sleep phases are displaced, you can answer for yourself how you will feel after some time.