Strange but True: Less Sleep Means More Dreams

Sleep, what Shakespeare would describe as "Nature's soft nurse," can quickly turn into nature's curse when messed with. One may think that the deprivation of sleep is no big deal, but in fact sleep deprivation can quickly turn back to bite you. Many people who sleep well after a long period of sleep deprivation declare that they experience dreams that are very vivid and feel terrifyingly real. " I imagine that's what it’s like when you're on heroine," Eva Salem said after experiencing a vivid dream of a crocodile attack after being sleep deprived for many months. Neurologist Mark Mahowald addressed this new discovery by stating, "When someone is sleep deprived we see greater sleep intensity, meaning greater brain activity during sleep; dreaming is defiantly increased and likely more vivid." This response to sleep deprivation is referred to as REM rebound.

REM stands for "rapid eye movement," a state of the sleep cycle in which our brain activity closely resembles that of being conscious. During the REM state of sleep our mind begins to experience what we might refer to as dreaming. Over the course of an average life span, a human being will spend about twenty-seven years dreaming. REM is one of five states that make up the sleep cycle. The first four states are called the four stages of non-REM. Each of the four states of non-REM generate an individual brain frequency. The first phase of the sleep cycle is identified by the state the body is in when it’s in-between sleeping and being awake. During this stage many people will experience a feeling of falling. The second phase of the sleep cycle is identified as the stage where the brain begins to slow with the exception of a few short bursts of activity. The third and fourth state of the sleep cycle is when the body changes into slow-wave sleep. During the third and fourth phase is identified by the bodies severe decrease heart and breathing rates. Finally after the four non-REM stages end, the REM stage can begin.

Throughout an average night of sleep the body will repeat the sleep cycle about five times. The cycle lasts about ninety minutes in all, however during the first cycle of the night REM will only last around a total of five minutes. As the night goes on, the total amount of time spent in REM will increase. Most often before waking we have experienced a forty-minute phase of REM. Because the brain gives most of its priority to slow-wave sleep (non-REM), REM is the stage that is reduced or lost when we become sleep deprived for a night. Scientist have proven that losing thirty minutes of REM one night can cause a thirty-five percent increase in REM the next night. Not only that, but subjects participating in the REM research stated that when they laid down to sleep, having about twenty-five minutes of REM from the night before, they experienced extremely vivid dreams.

No one is really sure why the body and the brain must make up for lost time spent in REM. Is it really that important? There are some very puzzling discoveries made by scientists researching REM. For example, some of the larger brained mammals, such as dolphins and whales, do not have a REM stage in their sleep cycle. However, studies show that when rats are deprived of the REM phase for four weeks, they die of a cause still unknown. Babies, both in and out of the womb, spend seventy-five percent of their time asleep in the REM phase. People who are using alcohol, nicotine, antidepressants, and blood pressure medicine, all lose time in the REM phase. Although the importance of REM is not scientifically proven, there are a few theories. Various theories put forward the idea of REM regulating neurotransmitter levels, and body temperature. Some Psychologists even believe that dream vividness has nothing to do with the deprivation of REM, but rather all our dreams are related to our anxiety level. There is however evidence that dreaming assists us process and soak in memories.

My Response:

I myself, having experienced very vivid dreams, found this article extremely intriguing. I never had any idea how important each phase of the sleep cycle was to our bodies. Although it does not apply to humans, death of the rats deprived of REM was shocking. I can’t help but wonder what the complete purpose of REM and our dreams is. I defiantly think that more research should be done in this area. In my opinion it seems like an open possibility that increasing REM could cure many mental diseases such as post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, memory problems, or stress in general. Even if there is no curing involved, I would love for the mystery and meaning behind dreams and REM to be solved. It is altogether fascinating to me and probably many others.

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