Sleep is a physiological state opposite to alertness that occurs periodically. Although contact with the external world is significantly limited, during sleep, intense mental processes vital for human life are carried out. Shepeleva Julia Vyacheslavovna, a doctor at the Ultrasonography and Functional Diagnostics Department of the National Hospital with a 95-year history, provides the following information about sleep and dreaming:
– During sleep, a consistent sequence of several repeated sleep stages occurs. REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep, is characterized by rapid eye movements. Non-REM sleep is slow sleep. The rapid eye movements during sleep are called paradoxical sleep. Each night, a person goes through five stages of sleep. About 90% of the dreams experienced during these stages are forgotten. This is a sign of good sleep. Dreaming is a connection between conscious and subconscious elements of the psyche. They are – our personality, emotional state, and health. Every image, dream, or even seemingly irrational thought actually provides information about a person, says the doctor.
Dreaming is very important for adapting to emotional states and stressful moods. Even unpleasant, frightening dreams help us prepare for real-life situations and increase stress resilience.
When waking during REM sleep, a person remembers their dreams. Some dreams are not remembered after waking in the middle of the night because the brain deletes random, insignificant information from consciousness.
“Better late than never,” says the folk wisdom. Despite feeling helpless and anxious before many problems we face, we remember the positive feeling that all problems are solved upon waking. During sleep, the emotional background harmonizes, and creative abilities increase. I wish you all pleasant dreams, good health, and peaceful sleep,” says Julia Vyacheslavovna.
