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Dreams have a foresight function, enabling us to find a way out of an immediate conflict. [I 2] To reduce the polysemy of the term, Jung sometimes speaks of the "intuitive function" of dreams. [G 3] This prospective function is not in fact a premonitory dream, but teaches the dreamer a path to follow. [2]
Sleep can follow a physiological or behavioral definition. In the physiological sense, sleep is a state characterized by reversible unconsciousness, special brainwave patterns, sporadic eye movement, loss of muscle tone (possibly with some exceptions; see below regarding the sleep of birds and of aquatic mammals), and a compensatory increase following deprivation of the state, this last known ...
Some researchers argue that the perpetuation of a complex brain process such as REM sleep indicates that it serves an important function for the survival of mammalian and avian species. It fulfills important physiological needs vital for survival to the extent that prolonged REM sleep deprivation leads to death in experimental animals.
This prevents dreams from resulting in dangerous movements of the body. [9] [10] Animals have complex dreams and are able to retain and recall long sequences of events while they are asleep. [11] [12] Studies show that various species of mammals and birds experience REM during sleep, [13] and follow the same series of sleeping states as humans ...
The cycle of waking-NREM-REM sleep is essential to mental health of mammals. It has been shown through experimentation that animals subjected to inability to enter REM sleep show an immediate attempt to quickly enter REM stages and long-term effects on motor coordination and habitual motor habits, eventually leading to the death of the animal.
One of the important questions in sleep research is clearly defining the sleep state. This problem arises because sleep was traditionally defined as a state of consciousness and not as a physiological state, [14] [15] thus there was no clear definition of what minimum set of events constitute sleep and distinguish it from other states of partial or no consciousness.
Most modern dream study focuses on the neurophysiology of dreams and on proposing and testing hypotheses regarding dream function. It is not known where in the brain dreams originate, if there is a single origin for dreams or if multiple regions of the brain are involved, or what the purpose of dreaming is for the body or mind.
A lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while dreaming. In a preliminary study, dreamers were able to consciously communicate with experimenters via eye movements or facial muscle signals, and were able to comprehend complex questions and use working memory.