In a dream, our body continues to act. During this natural process, scientists single out directly sleep and dreaming, visions (or hallucinations), dreams. We will deal with terminology later. Initially, it should be mentioned that all types of dreams represent a correspondence of spiritual phenomena, which in a cumulative allegorical form can interpret the future and past of a person.
Basic types of sleep
The following types of it are distinguished:
- daily periodic;
- seasonal periodic (hibernation of some animals);
- narcotic;
- hypnotic;
- pathological.
Types of sleep and their characteristics
In addition to the main varieties, there are also natural and artificial ones. They are considered as the main two types of sleep. The natural process most often occurs both in humans and animals unexpectedly, without any extraneous influences. An artificial appearance is caused by various factors and influences (electrosleep,narcotic, hypnotic).
The natural patterns of sleep in he althy adults and most mammals are periodic. However, the frequency and alternation may vary. An adult sleeps mostly at night and stays awake during the day. Such periodicity is called monophasic. There are people who rest twice a day - the main sleep at night and an additional day. This is a two-phase periodicity. Most mammals use polyphasic types of sleep: they are able to fall asleep and wake up several times during the night and day, without the need for strict adherence to the alternation of periods of rest and wakefulness. Children also have polyphasic sleep patterns. This can be seen in newborns, who are in this physiological state most of the time. However, it is interrupted several times a day due to natural needs, but then, due to the influence of upbringing and the environment, the rhythm of sleep begins to rebuild, approaching the same in an adult.
Artificial types of sleep can be controlled by dosage of the influence of the factors that cause them (sleeping pills, electric current, etc.).
The length of the frequency of natural sleep in different animals is very variable, and even in individuals of the same species, it differs sharply in different segments of the year.
Scientists show more interest in the so-called seasonal hibernation of animals. Zoologists are investigating its causes and physiology.
Classification of natural dreams
The species considered naturaldreams that a he althy person is able to have from time to time:
- he althy (by some signs restores reality);
- vision (restores to the awakened person the picture that he had already seen in a dream);
- predictive dream (includes some warning);
- dreams (embodied in dreams what made a strong impression on a person in reality);
- ghostly night visions (repeated appearance in a dream of certain images; most often this happens with children and people in old age).
Among all these, only the first three types of sleep deserve special attention, since the last two in most cases lead to delusions.
Pathological sleep
According to its etiology, this condition in the process of its manifestation is divided by scientists into a number of varieties. It occurs exclusively 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 affected in some areas. It is not uncommon for abnormal sleep patterns to occur over many days, and this may continue for up to several years. This condition is changeable, accompanied by both decreased muscle tone and increased.
Pathological dreams are often confused with hypnotic states, but they are not the same thing. Hypnosis can be triggered by specific environmental influences or by certain actions of a person whoinstills in another one or another need for a phase of sleep. During a pathological variety of the physiological state, the cortical voluntary activity is turned off. At the same time, partial contact with others and the presence of sensorimotor activity are preserved. The nervous system during this dream can be both in a depressed-inhibited state and in an excited state.
Periodic daily sleep
As mentioned earlier, a he althy person has 3 types of dreams: monophasic (once a day), diphasic (twice), and in infancy - also polyphasic.
A newborn in general spends about 21 hours in the dreaming phase; a child aged from six months to 12 months sleeps 14 hours a day, up to 5 years - 12 hours, from 5-10 years - about 10 hours. An adult sleeps 7-9 hours a day on average. In older age, the duration of sleep decreases slightly.
Lack of sleep
Prolonged lack of proper rest (from 3-5 days) is characterized by the occurrence of mental disorders. An arbitrarily irresistible craving for sleep begins: it is possible to prevent its onset only through strong pain stimuli - pricks with needles or electric shocks. A person deprived of sleep has a pronounced decrease in the speed of reactions, with brain work, fatigue increases and the accuracy of operations decreases.
Changes in autonomic functions are not so noticeable with prolonged insomnia. They are manifested only by a slight decrease in body temperature and a slight slowing of the pulse. But noteach person experiences slight physiological and psychological changes, with 40-80 hours of insomnia the consequences can be more severe.
Drug dream
Narcotic types of sleep are manifested in the form of a temporary blackout of consciousness. Reflex inhibition occurs with a complete decrease in muscle tone. A person deepens into this state with the help of anesthesia, which affects the central nervous system.
During the immersion of the patient into anesthesia, the functioning of the medulla oblongata continues, as in its area there are life-supporting centers - vasomotor and respiratory. If the effect of narcotic substances continues for a long time, then the described state may deepen, as a result of which paralysis of these centers is recorded. A long narcotic sleep leads to the death of the patient.
Hypnotic dream
The discussion about what types of dreams are, we will continue with a more detailed description of hypnotic sleep. This state has not been fully explored so far. It is not known what triggers the dream phase itself. During the onset of this condition, tangible physiological changes occur in the processes of the central and autonomic nervous systems, as well as other organs and systems of the human body.
Seasonal Periodic Sleep
These kinds of dreams are also known as hibernation, torpor or deep sleep. This type of condition is characterized by a significant decrease in body temperature, while energy costs and the intensity of each physiologicalprocess. Hibernation is characteristic only for some 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. A person is warm-blooded, which means that he belongs to endotherms in the same way as mammals with birds. That is why people cannot hibernate, their body temperature does not allow them to withstand a long sleep. But there are warm-blooded animals that still fall into seasonal sleep, they are called heterothermal endotherms.
