Gender And Dreams

The study of dreams began in 1953 after Eugene Aserinsky and Nathaniel Kleitman discovered REM sleep - a period of rapid eye movement that corresponded with vivid dream recollections (Aserinskiy and Kleitman). Since that time, psychologists have sought out what the biological purpose of dreams was. Dream psychology can be a difficult field of study due to the fact that we have not found an accurate way to record dreams, relying on the subjective recollections of the subject upon waking them up. There are some questions that we can currently answer, such as What is the content of dreams? To begin, we know that dreams vary greatly in length, from a few seconds to twenty minutes and that humans tend

Why do we dream? What do our dreams mean? Dreams are a sequence of images, ideas, and feelings that involuntarily occur most commonly during the REM stage of sleep. They come in a wide variety of types, from the peculiar to the downright terrifying; the dreamer has no control over what they experience in their dreams. Though neurologists have been studying the human brain for decades, we still don’t fully know why we dream or what their significance is. Some psychologists theorize that dreams are closely linked to our subconscious mind, expressing our deepest fears or desires, allowing us to be what we cannot be. Others believe that dreams serve no function at all and are simply our imaginations running wild. In the words of Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis, “The dream is the liberation of the spirit from the pressure of external nature, a detachment of the soul from the fetters of matter.” (The Interpretation of Dreams)

Dream content reflects aspects of waking-life experiences. After memories are made, they are often fragmentally merged with other information to construct larger, holistic dreams. Autobiographical memories are predominantly represented in dreams in comparison to episodic and semantic memories. Among various characteristics from waking-life experiences such as places, people, and events, emotions are highly incorporated into dream content. There is also a decreasing relationship between the cognitive demand of an activity and the frequency in which that activity occurs in dreams. Dreams tend to include material from experiential memories and events from the preceding day as well as experiences from 5-7 days prior. The recurrence of memory content in dreams seems to support the hypothesis that dreaming helps with memory consolidation, or particularly the content which is reflected in dreams.

A series of thoughts, images, and sensations that occur during a person’s mind during the time that they sleep is known as a dream. Dreams go way back until the beginning of mankind, even to the BC era during the time that Egyptians and Greeks were the leading force! The Egyptians examined the meanings behind the dreams we have and analyzed the symbols. There are a numerous amount of reasons behind our dreams. People must ask all the time, what is the reasoning behind dreaming? Why do we dream? What is the meaning behind the dream I had? In an average lifetime, approximately six years is spent dreaming. Every single person on this planet dreams and just because one might not remember doing so, it was still done. One might have several dreams occur throughout a normal night of sleep that lasts from about seven to eight hours. Everyone has dreams and each experience is distinctive and personal. Some can contain vivid pictures or memorable illustrations of reality and others can be unreal or abstract. In a way, they all have certain meanings to them and there can be messages hidden that are trying to tell someone something. An abundant amount of people are always curious as to why they dreamed what they did and spend time looking for those answers.

To many people, dreams are the thoughts that occur while sleeping, having almost mystic qualities. For millennia the significance of dreams has escaped even the brightest of philosophers and intellectuals. Many people have speculated about why people dream and what meanings the dreams have but in recent times two theories have gained credibility in answering those questions. The first theory is Sigmund Freuds and the other is known as the cognitive theory of dreams also known as biological determinism.

“Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing around with sick people- then go be a nurse like other women- or just get married and be quiet...” (38). Walter Younger, one of the protagonists of the play, makes this sexist comment towards his sister, Beneatha, and her desire to become a doctor. Walter belittles Beneatha’s dream by implying that women are only fit for supporting roles just like their mother, Mama Lena. Debuted on Broadway in 1959, the dramatic work, A Raisin in the Sun, is composed by Lorraine Hansberry, who depicts the issues of sexism and dreams. Considering these themes, how can we explore the presence of dreams as well as the ideology of sexism that is registered in Black America? Through Walter’s quote, Hansberry’s screenplay challenges gender stereotypes through Walter and Beneatha while exploring Mama 's domestic narrative; these three characters also underscore sexual oppression and the meaning of dreams.

Sigmund Freud, the inventor of psychoanalysis, once said that “most dreams are a sort of way for the unconscious mind to express its desire” (Freud). Sigmund Freud thought as dreams to be an idea that people strive for in life or the answer to a problem. He also concluded that dreams are “the fulfilment of a wish” (Freud). Freud thought as a dream to be something that people desire in life, or want to conquer in life. To him, dreams were something that could fulfill one’s life. However, Freud also noticed “punishment dreams and anxiety dreams” (Freud). Instead of these dreams doing something good for a person, they could be doing the opposite. Overall, one belief is that dreams can complete peoples lives, or deteriorate lives.

The journal entry begins by introducing the concept of nightmares and the negative emotion that is followed by such occurrences. People who are experiencing negative emotions more frequently are often times more likely to having nightmares or other intolerable dreams. The journal also points out how many people who experience nightmares also experience frequent dreaming in general. All the data contrived from people who experience frequent nightmares found that these people experience a wide variety of dreams that are usually triggered by a state of severe emotion. Another form of dream experienced by such people is Day-dreaming. The journal explains that people with a higher occurrence of nightmares, experience dreams in many other forms. They also are more prone to letting their mind wander even when they are not fully asleep. These people may experience similar states of

As we lay ourselves down every night to put our bodies to rest, our brains begin doing something extraordinary. It begins piecing together images, creating scenarios, simulating sensory perception, and adding in emotions and fears. They can make us wake up with a smile on our face or in a cold sweat. Dreaming is such a strange and often inexplicable phenomenon, but something we all do just about every night. People have theorized the process and the utility of dreams for centuries. However, much of the accepted knowledge we have a bout dreams today is still only theory. In fact, hardly anything about the dreaming experience is concrete because it is an experience

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A dream, by definition, is a sequence of emotions, ideas, images, and sensations that involuntarily occur in the mind at various times; typically during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000). Throughout history, dreams have been the cause of much speculation; holding both philosophical and religious interests (Hobson, 2009). Before the days of scientific research, opinions varied regarding dreams, and their usefulness in psychotherapy. Dreams were often viewed as either being divinely inspired or having derived from a dark, evil source. Even in today’s scientifically advanced society; dreams are still not totally understood.

The purpose of the subjects describing their dreams is to see if there are correlations between the events in the dream and an event in life. A particular subject, ten-year-old Mary, showed a powerful connection with one of her dreams and a situation that she was in. The researchers were informed before the experiment that Mary’s parents divorced when she was five. Mary made a scene of a recurrent dream she had, where a wolf and a dog are present. When interpreting the meaning of her dream, Mary describes the wolf as her dad, “tearing apart” her family, and the dog as her mom who serves to protect her (Swan and Schottlekorb, 2013). Just from the subject’s own thoughts, it is evident that things happening in life cause dreams to be what they are: interpretations of those events. Mary clearly thinks that her dad is the “bad guy” in her life and her and her mother have a more devoted relationship. Even five years after her parents were divorced, Mary had dreams relating to this matter. Events that are extremely emotional can alter the content of our dreams causing the theme and objects in them to connect to events and people we

The mystery of dreams have fascinated people for years. Do they have significant meaning? Do they predict the future? Is our subconscious mind trying to warn us about our waking state of mental health and awareness? There are an abundance of websites and books that help interpret significant bits and pieces of dreams that we remember. Using a few of these websites I’ll interpret a few of my own dreams and what significance they may have had at the time that they occurred and how each one can be used as a coach for future challenges.

The dream is an example of women’s dependence of

Another study showed the difference of dreams between different culture and genders. Dutch investigators Waterman, de Jong, and Magdelijns analyzed the dream differences between men in women in The Netherlands and North America. When it came to dreams of physical aggression it was shown that The Dutch men had 32% and American men had 50%. American men had some of the highest aggression within dreams compared to various places around the world, except that of Native American and African tribes. This shows a lot about how your culture and how you were raised can affect your