Types of dreams and their characteristics

In a dream, our body continues to act. During this natural process, scientists single out sleep and dreaming, visions (or hallucinations), dreams. In terminology, we will deal with later. Initially, it should be mentioned that all kinds of dreams represent a correspondence of spiritual phenomena, which in the combined allegorical form can explain the future and the past of man.

The main types of sleep

The following types are distinguished:

• Daily;
• Seasonal periodic (hibernation of some animals);
• narcotic;
• hypnotic;
• pathological.

Types of sleep and their characteristics

In addition to the main varieties, there are still natural and artificial ones. They are considered as the main two kinds of sleep. The natural process most often occurs both in humans and in animals unexpectedly, without any outside influences. Artificial appearance is caused by various factors and influences (electrosleep, narcotic, hypnotic).

The natural kinds of sleep of a healthy adult and most mammals are inherent in the periodicity. Nevertheless, the periodicity and alternation may differ. The adult person basically sleeps at night, and is awake during the day. This periodicity is called monophasic. There are people who rest for a day two times - the main night's sleep and an extra day. This is a two-phase periodicity. Most mammals use polyphasic kinds of dreams: they are able to fall asleep and wake up during the night and day several times, without the need for strict adherence to the alternation of periods of rest and wakefulness. Children also have a polyphasic sleep regimen. This can be seen on the example of newborns, which are most of the time in this physiological state. It, however, several times a day is interrupted due to natural needs, but further, because of the influence of education and the environment, the rhythm of sleep begins to rebuild, approaching a similar one in an adult.

Artificial types of sleep can be regulated by the dosage of the influence of the factors that cause them (hypnotic tablets, electric current, etc.).

The length of the frequency of natural sleep in different animals is very variable, and even in individuals of one species it sharply differs in different segments of the year.

The scientists show greater interest in the so-called seasonal hibernation of animals. Zoologists examine its causes and physiology.

Classification of natural dreams

Natural are those types of dreams that a healthy person is able to see from time to time:

• Healthy (by some signs restores reality);
• A vision (restores a person's awakened picture, which he already saw in his dream);
• Predictive sleep (includes some caution);
• Dreams (they embody in dreams what impressed a person in reality);
• Ghostly night vision (repeated appearance of certain images in a dream, most often it happens to children and people in old age).

Among all listed only the first three types of sleep deserve special attention, since the latter two in most cases lead to errors.

Pathological sleep

In its etiology, this state in the process of its manifestation is divided by scientists into a number of varieties. It occurs only during anemia of the brain, when it receives insufficient blood supply; In the presence of high pressure, when tumors develop in both hemispheres or if the brain stem is damaged in some areas. Often, pathological types of sleep can occur for many days, and this can last up to several years. This condition is changeable, accompanied by a lowered muscle tone, and increased.

Pathological dreams are often confused with hypnotic states, but this is not the same thing. Hypnosis can be caused by special environmental influences or by some actions of a person, which inspires another one or another need for a phase of sleep. During the pathological variant of the physiological state, the cortical voluntary activity is disconnected. In this case, partial contact with others and the presence of sensorimotor activity is preserved. The nervous system during this dream can be both in the inhibited-inhibited, and in the excited state.

Periodic diurnal sleep

As mentioned earlier, 3 types of dreams are distinguished in a healthy person: monophasic (once a day), diphasic (two times), and in infancy - also polyphase.

The newborn generally spends about 21 hours in the dream phase; A child aged from six months to 12 months a day sleeps 14 hours, up to 5 years - 12 hours, from 5-10 years - about 10 hours. The adult person sleeps an average of 7-9 hours a day. In the older age, the duration of sleep is somewhat reduced.

Lack of sleep

Prolonged absence of proper rest (from 3-5 days) is characterized by the appearance of mental disorders. An arbitrarily irresistible craving for sleep begins: it is possible to prevent his offensive only by means of strong painful stimuli-needle pricking or electric shock. In a person deprived of sleep, a pronounced decrease in the rate of reactions, with brain work, fatigue increases and the accuracy of operations decreases.

Not so noticeable with prolonged insomnia changes in vegetative functions. They are manifested only by a slight decrease in body temperature and a slight slowing of the pulse. But not everyone feels light physiological and psychological changes, with 40-80-hour sleeplessness the consequences can be more severe.

Narcotic sleep

Narcotic types of sleep are manifested in the form of temporary disconnection of consciousness. There comes the oppression of reflexes with a complete decrease in muscle tone. The person deepens into this state with the help of anesthesia, which affects the central nervous system.

During the patient's immersion in anesthesia, the functioning of the medulla oblongata continues, since in its area there are vital centers - the vasomotor and respiratory centers. If the impact of narcotic substances continues for a long time, then a deepening of the described state may occur, as a result of which paralysis of these centers is recorded. A long narcotic sleep leads to the death of the patient.

Hypnotic sleep

Reasoning about what kinds of dreams happen, we will continue with a more detailed description of the hypnotic sleep. This condition has not been fully understood to this day. It is not known what causes the very phase of dreams. During the onset of this condition, there are tangible physiological changes in the processes of central and autonomic nervous systems, as well as other organs and systems of the human body.

Seasonal periodic dream

These kinds of dreams are also known as hibernation, numbness or deep sleep. This type of condition is characterized by a significant decrease in body temperature, while energy costs and the intensity of each physiological process are reduced. Hibernation is characteristic only of certain species of animals.

Animals that are able to maintain body temperature due to internal heat production are called endothermic. There are also ectothermic organisms, which are called cold-blooded organisms. A person is warm-blooded, which means that he refers to endotherms as well as mammals with birds. That's why people can not go into hibernation, their body temperature does not allow them to withstand prolonged sleep. But there are warm-blooded, which nevertheless fall into seasonal sleep, they are called heterothermal endotherms.