PERSPECTIVES / DREAM DESTINATIONS
When we sleep, several biological processes occur that help us prepare for when we are awake. The brain makes sure to store new information, while also getting rid of unnecessary waste. Specifically, the brain’s glymphatic – which functions more or less like a waste clearance – clears out unnecessary information from the central nervous system, removing by-products that have built up throughout the day. When sleeping, the body repairs cells and regrow, restores energy and releases different kinds of molecules, like hormones and proteins.
Without these regular procedures, our bodies wouldn’t be able to function. In short, sleep is critical not only for maintaining good health but for long-term survival. Sleep also assists several brain functions – such as converting short-term memories into long-term ones. This helps creative processes, aids in decision making and develops problem-solving skills. Sleeping is thus an essential part of being alive, while dreaming is an experience that allows us to travel without even leaving the bed.
“To sleep is to dream, and to dream is to travel.”
Sleep (or the four stages of REM)
REM stands for “rapid eye movement”, which refers to the pace of eye movements when we sleep. In the first non-REM stage, the body and brain both begin to transition from being awake to a sleeping phase. The brain’s electrical oscillations change from an active pattern of brainwaves to a slower rhythm. Muscle tone throughout the body relaxes. The mind begins to wander, and we can sense that we are letting go of the real world and approaching the universe of dreams.
When we enter the second non-REM stage, the body temperature will drop, while the heartbeat and breathing become slower. While this is happening, the brainwaves are slowing down. This is the stage when we slumber.
The third stage of non-REM sleep is deep sleep, which is what makes us feel physically rested and restored. Heart rate, breathing and brain activity all drop to their lowest point when this happens.
The fourth stage of sleep is REM, dream-filled and light in comparison to the previous stage. Generally, this is reached 90 minutes after falling asleep, but will only last ten minutes the first time. However, the length increases with each REM-cycle. With increased age, we tend to experience less REM sleep.
Dream a little dream
To sleep is to dream, and to dream is to travel. Even without leaving one’s home, a window in one’s mind is open to other places, exotic continents and even distant planets. Dreamworlds are a mythical place, and even though scholars have debated the issue for centuries, no one knows exactly why we dream, or even how the images are created.
Some researchers have suggested that dreams help to store important memories and knowledge that we need in life, while also at times acting as a guide to sort through complicated feelings. Dreams can also help in forming new brain connections, which helps with memory recall.
“Nightmares can be a visualization of your deepest fears, but can also be considered a tool to help you meet the source of your anxiety in a safe space.”
To fall asleep is to be excited and curious of what is to happen: where will the dreams take you tonight? Will you meet a long-lost friend, visit a strange destination, or will they allow you to spend more time with family and loved ones?
Studies have suggested that dreams stem more from imagination than from perception, which suggests that dreamworlds to a large degree are organized by emotions, desires and fantasies rather than rational thought.
Nightmares can be a visualization of your deepest fears, but can also be considered a tool to help you meet the source of your anxiety in a safe space.
Times to sleep
There are many different times of day that are suitable for sleeping. To quietly sway between the states of being awake and asleep, the early morning hours when everyone else in the world is asleep, is a sublime experience. Not sure what time or even day it is, allowing the body to go in and out of sleep, is an everyday luxury.
Equally pleasant is going to bed early, when everyone else is preparing to go out to restaurants, bars or theatres. When your neighbours and friends change into their dinner outfits and have the first drink of the evening, you put on your wool pyjamas and slip in between cool, soft sheets made from organic, Egyptian cotton, turning off your notifications and instead reading a favourite novel before going to sleep early. To read is the pre-phase to dreaming, accessing worlds distant from the one you currently are in by traveling through your mind’s eyes.
A favourable time for sleeping is to indulge in the afternoon nap, to temporarily close the door to the outside world, forgetting about the demands of colleagues and co-workers, allowing oneself to disappear into the surreal world of dreams, if only for a few moments. More efficient is the so called “disco nap”; a brief, restorative nap before a night on the town. It is about creating balance – first comes rest, then action follows.
“To sleep on a train or a boat is to be lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sensation of existing inside a large, moving vessel, gently rocking you to sleep with transporting you where you want to go.”
Places to sleep
To sleep on a train or a boat is to be lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sensation of existing inside a large, moving vessel, gently rocking you to sleep with transporting you where you want to go. You fall asleep in one town and wake up in another. At the same time that dreams bring you to imaginary places, the train or the boat has physically taken you to a new geographical destination.
Perhaps this is why so many appreciate sleeping in hotel rooms: in the first few moments after waking up, the temporary confusion of not recognizing the room can be quite pleasant. The scents are unknown and the unfamiliar feel of the bedsheets enhance the experience of being on a foreign journey, far from a safe harbour.
To rest in one’s own bed, on the other hand, is for many people the preferred place for sleeping. To be away is fun, but to be home is to feel safe and secure, in a place of habit and surrounded by things that feel comfortable and personal.
Ways of sleeping
To sleep alone is to sleep undisturbed by someone else’s sudden movements, alone with whatever the dreams choose to bring. Sleeping alone is being in complete control of pillows and sheets, movements and temperature. In a crowded world, sleeping alone offers relaxation and contemplation. No words spoken except for in the surreal landscape of dreams, nightmares and everything in-between.
To sleep together with another human can also be a blissful experience. To be together alone, deep in sleep but bodies intertwined, is to be intimate both mentally and physically, at the very moment when a person is at their most vulnerable.
The same, but in a completely different way, can be said to having your pet join you in resting. Dogs and cats will continually want to wake you up, put their paws on your face or make noises to draw you out of your slumber. Animals like to wake humans up so that they don’t have to be alone. This is not the most restful way of attempting to sleep, but there are other rewards, such as spending time with your pet, making them feel less alone when they dream of long walks, fluffy toys and the occasional bit of cheese snuck from the dinner table.
