Analytical Summary of "Sleep and Dreams"

In the 14th module called "Sleep and Dreams" Robert S. Feldman surveys the stages of sleep, the necessity of it, the function and meaning of dreaming, sleep disturbances, circadian rythms and daydreams.

Firstly, the author explains five stages of sleep and clearly distinguishes REM sleep during which human's heart rate and breathing increases, blood pressure rises and eyes start to move rapidly. Robert S. Feldman claims that it is unknown, why people must sleep, however, some sleep is necessary for human's physical and psychological health.

The second topic, author pays great attention to, is "dreams". It is clear that absolutely all people dream during REM stage of sleep. Many psychologists try to understand what do dreams mean and there are three main theories: unconsious wish fulfillment theory, dream-for-survival theory and activation-synthesis theory.

The next topic is sleep disturbances. According to Robert S. Feldman, there are many people who suffer from sleep problems such as insomnia, sleep apnea, night terrors or narcolepsy. Others have problems because of circadian rythms (biological processes that occur repeatedly on approximately a twenty-four-hour cycle) disorders. The result of all these factors might be fatigue, irritability, etc.

The last issue, that the author explains, is daydreams - fantasies that people construct while awake. Robert S. Feldman claims that fantasy can contribute to the psychological well-being of some people by enhancing their creativity.

To sum up, sleep and dreams are more that just time of tranquillity, and scientists work for a long time to get answers to questions such as why and how long should people sleep, what do dreams mean, etc.