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The following is a visitor-submitted question or story. For more, you can submit your own sleep story here, or browse the collection of experiences and questions other visitors have shared here.
A Combination
by Random Girl
(Asheville N.C, USA)
I think that to try and reduce the cause of dreams to one simple reason is a very narrow-
neurons firing, external stimuli, and subconscious desires.
I believe this due to personal experience. On several occasions, my dreams have incorporated sounds that were happening around me. One such time was when my alarm was going off in the morning, I was having a dream that I was in a car. The noise of my alarm presented itself as the radio of the car malfunctioning in my dream. As for subconscious desires, I know a lot of my dreams have revolved around things that highly interest me, such as aliens, space travel, flying, etc. So maybe that means my subconscious desire is to meet an E.T or to fly? lol. Not to mention the thousands of people who have had dreams that warn of dangers and such. If someone were to dream a day in advance of a huge tornado that was to strike their home, are you going
to dismiss that as "random neurons firing"? I don't think so.
Obviously though, not every dream has a meaning, so I guess all the random weird ones that make no sense probably are just random neurons firing. I guess the human brain is to complex to ever really completely understand though. Remember, we normally only use around 10% of it. That doesn't mean the other 90% of it isn't there or usable under some sercumstances... That might explain
psychic powers or advanced senses/ perception. Maybe those people who have it use more of
their brain? Just my theory...
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Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.
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Sleep Debt: How Much More Will You Achieve When You Reduce Yours?
The Stages Of Sleep: The Journey Through The Night
Delayed Sleep Phase: You Want To Sleep But You're Not Tired Yet
Paralyzed at Night: Is Sleep Paralysis Normal?
Sleep In Words: Smart, Strange, and Funny Quotes About Sleep
Sleep Disorders In Children: What's Keeping Your Child From A Full Night's Rest?
Attacks of Pavor Nocturnus (a.k.a. Sleep Terrors, Night Terrors, or Incubus Attacks)
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The Zeo
A revolution in personal sleep tracking, the Zeo is a wireless headband that transmits your brainwaves in realtime to a dock (pictured here) or your smartphone. The result? You can wake up and see exactly what stages of sleep you were in during the night! Unprecedented personalized sleep knowledge.
Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide
Ever woken up paralyzed? A surprising number of us have, believe it or not. But few know the actual causes of this phenomenon, and fewer still how to exert control over it. Dream researcher and sleep paralysis expert Ryan Hurd shares breakthrough insights into how to do just that.
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