Yanked Out Of Dreamland

For reasons I won’t go into here, I know that my sleep habits are unhealthy: I don’t go to bed until the early hours of the morning (maybe 4:00am or later), I don’t get to sleep for more than three hours at a time, for the most part, and there is too much light in the room when I do get some sleep.

That last one may surprise you, but it’s a proven fact now that the invention of the light bulb, and other devices that provide some illumination in the dark, are adversely affecting our health. (See Lights Out for more information on this and other sleep issues.)

But none of this is what I want to talk about here – not directly, anyway.

It seems as though one of the many mysteries about our brains is why we dream, and one theory has it that it’s our body’s way of assimilating the day’s activities and experiences – a time to forge new connections and make sense of everything.

So, here’s my question: if you are consistently awoken while you’re in the middle of a dream, what effect does that have on you (apart from leaving you permanently tired, of course)?

It seems to me that if the above-mentioned theory is true, then this has to have some impact, psychologically, emotionally, or just in terms of mental ability.

If your brain’s attempts at resolving the day’s issues are continually interrupted, aren’t there going to be some consequences?

If the day’s filing activities, if that’s what’s going on, are never completed fully, then what’s the effect on your long-term memory and associative recall?

And that what about the physical recuperation that might be going on while you sleep? It doesn’t seem that two to three hours is going to be enough, so that too will take its toll.

They say too that if you ask your unconscious (or subconscious, depending on which theory of the brain you subscribe to) a question, then it will eventually come back with an answer, but again, if this process is interrupted because you’re abruptly awoken, instead of being able to come to naturally and gradually, will it ever get the time to finish this task?

So many questions, and if I weren’t so tired and my unconscious could get enough time off from making sure my conscious mind and body are working OK, then maye it would give me the answers I’m looking for?

In the meantime, it’s nap time again – for a couple of hours, if I’m lucky.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT:


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