Dreams Blog

Students who took the Sleep and Dreams class at the Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington has conducted dream research via their own sleep patterns in a bid to test common ideas about this state.

The researchers were taught on the general mechanics of sleep and the aspects of their own sleep. This was shared by Associate Professor of Psychology Noel Wescombe, the course instructor.

The students were instructed to measure their sleep by putting on a headgear that can transmit data wirelessly to a device called Zeo, a gadget that’s similar to an alarm clock and can be placed beside the sleeper’s bed.

The graph produced by the Zeo reveals the stages of sleep by the student which could range from interrupted sleep or rapid eye movement (REM) or deep sleep.

Skipping sleep could result to an individual losing the level of REM sleep. Wescombe said that for participants sleeping four hours or less, they may likely have had deep sleep but still lacked REM sleep.

A study has discovered that the dreams we encounter during the early mornings can be very important especially when it comes to solving unanswered problems during the day. It only intensified the claim that dream meanings have significant impact in our lives.

The rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, a form of sleep in a dream state, is believed to be aiding the person in getting to the subconscious that could hold the answers to the problems we might have encountered the day before.
Experts said that we experience REM sleep about two hours in the span of an eight hour sleep. It may not be succession and could alternate with deep sleep.

About 80 participants underwent a series of tests with the researchers. It was discovered that REM sleep effectively increases the chance of that person to solve a complex problem. Problems may be related to dream meanings of patterns.

The participants were requested to find a solution to a set of creative problems the day after they had a good night sleep. The researchers discovered that those who experienced REM sleep were mostly the ones who solved the problem.

The study team was led by Sara Mednick of the University of California – San Diego.