Wenatex Blog | Healthy Sleep for a Better Life

Did you know that you can learn to control your dreams… or that the most common dream is that your partner is cheating? I didn’t until I read this eye-opening (pardon the pun) article this morning.

We know so little about our dreams but this article has taken views from dream experts and collated them into 9 concise and interesting points that you might find very enlightening like I did.

Read the article for yourself at http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/9-things-about-dreams

If you have a view or personal experience on the subject, please let us know, we would love to hear from you.

If you are interested in the subject of healthy sleep and want to learn more, Wenatex conducts free seminars on the subject all over Australia. If you are interested in registering to attend one in your area, go to http://www.wenatex.com.au/seminars_registration.asp

A colleague recently alerted me to a fascinating article which highlights a recent discovery by scientists who found electrodes that can “record neuron activity in the part of the brain that controls memory” which means that they may be able to tap into the thoughts and dreams of people who are not able to communicate in any other way.

This is a fantastic discovery and one that we should watch for future updates.

Read the article at http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/us-scientists-hope-to-record-peoples-dreams/story-e6frfku0-1225944886499 and let me know your thoughts.

Do you remember your dreams? Do you often have freaky dreams? Have you experienced a recurring dream?

The study of dreams is a fascinating area - researchers have discovered a lot in the last few years but there is much more to learn.

A really good article I read this morning gives a fascinating insight into the science behind dreams. If you are interested in the subject and wish to read the article, go to http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/freaky-dreams-what-do-they-mean.

Please share your thoughts and experiences.

To make the most of your dreams, you need to get a good night’s sleep. Wenatex conducts free seminars on the benefits of a healthy night’s sleep in local venues all around Australia and New Zealand. If you wish to find out more, please register your interest at http://www.wenatex.com.au/seminars_registration.asp.

More and more research is coming out linking memory with sleep. I read quite a good article this morning  that suggests that sleep assists “prospective memory” — things we intend to do — as opposed to “retrospective memory” — things that have happened in the past.

The example used in the article is:  Before sleeping you remembered you had a message to deliver to your colleague and you would see him in the conference room tomorrow, sleep enhances the likelihood that you will tell him in the conference room, but not in some other context, the office, elevator, the mail room, for example.

Read the full article at http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/01/memory-and-sleep-intertwined/15275.html

The human brain works in mysterious ways. Do you have an opinion? I would love to hear it.

Wenatex have free seminars all over Australia, New Zealand, and Toronto Canada educating people about the benefits of healthy sleep. If you are interested in coming along, you should register your interest at http://www.wenatex.com.au/seminars_registration.asp

The function of sleep is yet to be fully understood but new research has shown that for fire ants, lack of rest for the workers seems to ensure that queens get to live a long and comfortable life. 

Queen fire ants get more than 9 hours sleep each day and it appears that they dream during REM sleep. On the other hand, worker ants get only 4 hours 48 minutes of sleep each day ensuring that 80% of the workforce is awake and active at any one time.

It appears that as a result of their comfortable lifestyles, queen fire ants can live for several years where hardworking sleep deprived worker ants are live only for a few months.

There is a lot we can learn from the insect world, don’t you think?

Check out the full article (written by the BBC about a study in the United States) at http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8100000/8100876.stm

Can we solve problems in our sleep particularly in the REM sleep phase? Some researchers believe so and this article looks at some major discoveries made in dreams. One of the examples that interested me was the writing of the song ‘Yesterday’ by Paul McCartney.

Please also read some of the comments at the bottom, they support the article really well.

Personally, I am convinced I solve problems during sleep… or at least mull them over and wake up with a clear idea on how to solve them.

The full article was published by BBC News in the UK and can be found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8092029.stm. Let me know what you think.

While researching all things “sleep”, I came across an article about Lee Hadwin, who is just fascinating! Lee is a “sleep artist” and even though he has no inclination towards being an artist when awake, he draws fabulous works of art in his sleep.

Lee has been a sleepwalker since the age of four and started drawing in his sleep 14 years ago. “It started out just being scribbles everywhere, and I still do scribbles from time to time. But then I started doing proper artwork, really complicated things. Without the video footage we have got, I wouldn’t have a clue I was doing it.”

The interest in Lee’s work has been building with galleries around the work keen to show his work.

The article that sparked my interest was written by the North Wales Post where Lee lives, about Lee doing his bit recently for charity, http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2009/05/05/sleep-artist-does-his-bit-for-charity-55578-23540823/

If you are interested in this fascinating sleep artist, see his website at http://www.leehadwin.com/?p=118

A story such as this brings home to me just how little we know about sleep and its effects on the body and mind. Please let me know your thoughts.

Jane Teresa Anderson, who is a trained scientist and also a published author of books about dream interpretation sent us an EXCELLENT contribution to this post; “Why Do We Often Dream of Sex and Action?”

I decided to share it with you as an new entry instead of merely a comment.

Thank you Jane Teresa for your input, patience and wisdom.

I recommend you to visit the Following Links:

http://www.dream.net.au

http://www.wenatex.com.au/article_dreaming.asp

Be wise and have fun

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Yes, it’s true, the areas of the brain most active during dreaming are the areas involved in sensing and processing emotions, instincts, drives (such as sex, which is also instinctual and emotional), as well as the areas of the brain that normally, while we are awake, sense and process what we see, hear, smell, touch and taste.

The reasoning part of the brain is pretty much switched off during dreaming! You only have to look at your dreams to realise this is true. Logic has little place in the dramas dreams weave.

In simple terms, the right brain is active and the left brain is sleepy during dreaming.

Here’s the good bit:

Dreams - once interpreted - give you the opportunity to understand how your unconscious mind is programmed. This is important because it’s your unconscious mind that’s in control of how your life turns out . Your fears, whether you know about them or not, dictate how you act in life no matter how much you think your reasoning brain is in control.

Your deepest beliefs about life, the ones that affect how you go about your life and what happens in your life as a result, are anchored in your emotions. These beliefs are mostly unconscious, and because your unconscious mind is a more powerful driving force than you conscious mind, it ‘wins’.

So - isn’t it wonderful that dreams allow you to observe the emotions and beliefs that are really in the driving seat of your life? Knowledge is power - once you know about your unconscious patterns they can be changed.

Yes, we’re reasoning, logical creatures, and this distinguishes us from non-human animals. Yes, we can put a cap on our emotions and drives while we are awake. But I’d argue that being able to remember and interpret our dreams is also what distinguishes us from non-human animals, and it is this ability that enables us to be super-human: to evaluate our unconscious patterns and beliefs and change them so that we truly master our lives and the way we respond to the world.

Oh - you want to know more about sex dreams?

What is the personality of your dream sex partner? Choose three words to describe his or her personality. If the sex is good, you may be unconsciously absorbing these traits into your life. If the sex is not so good, the same applies but you may not be too happy about this fact. However, every dream is unique and it’s the rest of your dream storyline that is the key to the interpretation.

Hope this helps,

Jane Teresa

D R E A M S

Information provided in this blog is to be used for educational purposes only. It should NOT be used as a substitute for seeking professional diagnosis or treatment of any disorder.