ZZZ Magazine

ISSUE 01 MARCH 2016

DREAM SYMBOLISM Hidden meanings behind your dreams.

HOW TO SLEEP WELL

Tips for sleeping like a boss

SLEEP DEPRIVED?

Sleep aid gadgets for your quality sleep

RANDOM SLEEP FACTS Fun sleep facts that will surprise you

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EDITOR'S

letter sleep has always been one of the most wonderous and mysterious concepts that I’ve wanted to research about. While researching about sleep, I learned how easily we overlook the importance of sleep to our physical, mental and emotional states. Therefore, creating a magazine that not only gives fresh information about sleep but also influences readers’ perception towards their lifestyle and its tight connection with sleep was something that I had in my mind while gathering contents. I am very thankful to the publication classmates and my teacher, Warrent for great support and creative feedback. I truly hope this magazine is informative and entertaining to read. Besides, I hope this magazine can open up new conversations about sleep and dream. Thank you for choosing zzz magazine.

CONTACT

STAFF

Website zzzmagazine.com

Editor & Art Director Kyu Won Lee

Email info@zzzmagazine.com

Writings Bloggers

Social Media facebook.com/zzzmag twitter.com/zzzmag instagram.com/zzzmag zzzmag.tumblr.com

Illustrator Kyu Won Lee

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SLEEP CYCLE

STAGES 1&2 You fall asleep but are not yet in a deep sleep.

STAGES 3&4 You are in a deep, restful sleep. Your breathing and heart rate slow down. Your body is still and starts recovering from exhaustion.

STAGES 5 Your brain is active and you dream. Your eyes move under your eyelinds in Rapid Eye Movement.

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STAGE 1 & 2

WHAT IS

sleep Sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles, and reduced interactions with surroundings. During sleep, most systems in an animal are in an anabolic state, building up the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems. Industrialization and artificial light have substantially altered human sleep habits in the last 100 years.

The diverse purposes and mechanisms of sleep are the subject of substantial ongoing research. Sleep seems to assist animals with improvements in the body and mind. A well-known feature of sleep in humans is the dream, an experience typically recounted in narrative form, which resembles waking life while in progress, but which usually can later be distinguished as fantasy. Humans may suffer from a number of sleep disorders. These include dyssomnias (such as insomnia, hypersomnia, and sleep apnea), parasomnias, bruxism, and the circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

SLEEP FACTS

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1 Sea otters hold hands when they sleep so they don't drift away from each other.

3 Doing something without sleep is likely to make you hungry as levels of leptin, an appetiteregulating hormone, fall.

In insomnia following bereavement, sleeping pills can disrupt grieving.

One of the biggest sleep distractions is 24-hour full internet access.

ZZZ ISSUE 01.

one little fact about sleep

5

6

STAGE 1 & 2

SLEEP

deprived?

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The Ostrich Pillow is a perfect sleeping device that lets you escape into a soft world of sleep. It blocks external sight and sound surrounding you, allowing you to enjoy the best nap in your space.

This tranquil turtle performs ‘magical underwater light effects’ from its glowing shell while it sings your child off to sleep, with either tranquil melodies or the soothing sound of ocean waves.

BEDTIME SNACK IDEAS It humidifies and scents the air around it using ultrasonic vibrations and its exterior appears space-age enough to be capable of ‘ultrasonic vibrations’ with its glowing lights and built in speakers.

• 1/2 Banana with peanut butter • 1/2 Apple with almond butter • Small cheese and quesadilla • Handful of nuts, such as cashews • Handful of figs or prunes • Medium glass of protein shake • Small yogurt with blueberries • Small cup of warm soup • One scrambled egg • Graham cracker with spread

The NRMA estimates fatigue is involved in one in 6 fatal road accidents.

ZZZ ISSUE 01.

one little fact about sleep

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8

STAGE 1&2

HOW TO

sleep better helpguide.org

ZZZ ISSUE 01.

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When it comes to sleep, it’s not just quantity that matters—it’s quality. How you feel during your waking hours ahinges greatly on how well you sleep. Similarly, the cure for daytime fatigue and sleep difficulties can often be found in your daily routine. Your sleep schedule, bedtime habits, and day-to-day lifestyle choices can make an enormous difference to the quality of your nightly rest. The following tips will help you optimize your sleep so you can be productive, mentally sharp, emotionally balanced, and full of energy all day long.

SUPPORT BODY'S NATURAL RHYTHMS Since the era of Freud and Jung it has been believed Getting in sync with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm, is one of the most important strategies for achieving good sleep. If you keep a regular sleep schedule—going to bed and getting up at the same time each day—you will feel much more refreshed and energized than if you sleep the same number of hours at different times. This holds true even if you alter your sleep schedule by only an hour or two. Consistency is vitally important. Try to go to sleep and get up at the same time every day. Sticking to a consistent sleep-wake schedule helps set your body’s internal clock and optimize the quality of your sleep.

Start by setting a realistic bedtime that will work with your lifestyle. Choose a time when you normally feel tired, so that you don’t toss and turn. If you’re getting enough sleep, you should wake up naturally without an alarm. If you need an alarm clock to wake up on time, you may need to set an earlier bedtime.

Avoid sleeping in—even on weekends or nights you’ve stayed up late. It can be tempting to sleep in on weekends, but even a couple hour difference in wake time disrupts your internal clock. The more your week-

end/weekday sleep schedules differ, the worse the jetlag-like symptoms you’ll experience. If you need to make up for a late night, opt for a daytime nap rather than sleeping in. This strategy allows you to pay off your sleep debt without disturbing your natural sleepwake rhythm, which often backfires in insomnia and throws you off for days.

Be smart about napping. As mentioned above, napping is a good way to recharge and make up for lost sleep hours. But if you tend to have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night, napping can make things worse. If insomnia is a problem for you, consider eliminating naps altogether or limiting them to 15 to 20 minutes in the early afternoon.

Fight after-dinner drowsiness. If you find yourself getting sleepy way before your bedtime, get off the couch and do something mildly stimulating to avoid falling asleep, such as washing the dishes, calling a friend, or getting clothes ready for the next day. If you give in to the drowsiness, you may wake up later in the night and have trouble getting back to sleep.

one little fact about sleep

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STAGE 1&2

Sleep Deprivation (2015). guysandgoodhealth.com

CONTROL YOUR EXPOSURE TO LIGHT Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone controlled by light exposure that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Your brain secretes more melatonin when it’s dark—making you sleepy—and less when it’s light— making you more alert. However, many aspects of modern life can alter your body’s natural production of melatonin and shift your circadian rhythm.

DURING THE DAY • Expose yourself to bright sunlight in the morning.

The closer to the time you get up, the better. Have your coffee outside, for example, or eat breakfast by a sunny window. Skip the sunglasses! The light on your face will help you wake up and feel more alert.

• Spend more time outside during daylight.

Try to take your work breaks outside in sunlight, exercise outside, or walk your dog during the day instead of at night.

• Let as much natural light into your home or workspace as possible.

Keep curtains and blinds open during the day, and try to move your desk closer to the window.

AT NIGHT • Avoid bright screens within 2 hours of your bedtime.

All nighttime light can interfere with sleep and your body’s rhythms, but the blue light emitted by electronics is especially disruptive. This includes the screen on your phone, tablet, computer, or TV. You can minimize the impact by using devices with smaller screens, turning the brightness down, or using light-altering software such as f.lux that adjusts the color of your display.

• Say no to late-night television.

Many people use the television to wind down at the end of the day, but this can backfire. Not only does the light suppress melatonin, but many programs are stimulating rather than relaxing. Try listening to music or audio books instead. If your favorite TV show is on late at night, record it for viewing earlier in the day.

• Be smart about nighttime reading. Not all e-readers are created equal.

Devices that are backlit, such as the Kindle Fire or the iPad, are more disruptive than those that are illuminated from the front, such as the Kindle Paperwhite or Nook GlowLight. Other smart options include e-ink readers that don’t have their own light source and good old-fashioned books.

Tiredness peaks twice a day, at 2 a.m. and 2 p.m.

ZZZ ISSUE 01.

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GET REGULAR EXERCISE

WIND DOWN AND CLEAR YOUR HEAD

Studies show that regular exercisers sleep better and feel less sleepy during the day. Regular exercise also improves the symptoms of insomnia and sleep apnea and increases the amount of time you spend in the deep, restorative stages of sleep. The more vigorously you exercise, the more powerful the sleep benefits. But even light exercise—such as walking for just 10 minutes a day—improves sleep quality. Just keep in mind that exercise is not a quick fix. It can take several months of regular activity before you experience the full sleep-promoting effects. So be patient. Focus on building an exercise habit that sticks.

Exercise speeds up your metabolism, elevates body temperature, and stimulates activating hormones such as cortisol. This isn’t a problem if you’re exercising in the morning or afternoon, but too close to bed and it can interfere with sleep. Try to finish moderate to vigorous workouts at least 3 hours before your bedtime.

If you’re still experiencing sleep difficulties, move your workouts even earlier. For some people, it can take up to 6 hours for the body to fully cool down after exercise to a temperature conducive to sleep.

Do you find yourself unable to sleep or waking up night after night? Residual stress, worry, and anger from your day can make it very difficult to sleep well. When you wake up or can’t get to sleep, take note of what seems to be the recurring theme. That will help you figure out what you need to do to get your stress and anger under control during the day.

If you can’t stop yourself from worrying, especially about things outside your control, you need to learn how to manage your thoughts. For example, you can learn to evaluate your worries to see if they’re truly realistic and replace irrational fears with more productive thoughts. Even counting sheep is more productive than worrying at bedtime.

If the stress of managing work, family, or school is keeping you awake, you may need help with stress management. By learning how to manage your time effectively, handle stress in a productive way, and maintain a calm, positive outlook, you’ll be able to sleep better at night.

BE SMART ABOUT WHAT YOU EAT Your daytime eating habits play a role in how well you sleep. It’s particularly important to watch what you put in your body in the hours leading up to your bedtime.

Cut down on caffeine. You might be surprised to know that caffeine can cause sleep problems up to ten to twelve hours after drinking it! Consider eliminating caffeine after lunch or cutting back your overall intake.

Stay away from big meals at night. Try to make dinnertime earlier in the evening, and avoid heavy, rich foods within two hours of bed. Fatty foods take a lot of work for your stomach to digest and may keep you up.

Also be cautious when it comes to spicy or acidic foods in the evening, as they can cause stomach trouble and heartburn.

Avoid alcohol before bed. While a nightcap may help you relax and fall asleep faster, it interferes with your sleep cycle once you’re out. To optimize the quality of your sleep, stay away from alcohol in the hours leading up to your bedtime.

Avoid drinking too many liquids in the evening.

Drinking lots of water, juice, tea, or other fluids may result in frequent bathroom trips throughout the night.

Caffeinated drinks, which act as diuretics, only make things worse.

THREE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES Relaxation is good for everyone, but especially for those struggling with sleep. Practicing relaxation techniques before bed is a great way to wind down, calm the mind, and prepare for sleep.

Some simple relaxation techniques include:

deep breathing

Close your eyes, and try taking deep, slow breaths, making each breath even deeper than the last.

progressive muscle relaxation

Starting with your toes, tense all the muscles as tightly as you can, then completely relax. Work your way up from your feet to the top of your head.

visualizing a peaceful place

Close your eyes and imagine a place or activity that is calming and peaceful for you. Concentrate on how relaxed this place makes you feel.

Insomnia is not defined by the sleep you lose each night, but by the drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, headaches, etc.

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STAGE 1&2

A good way to stay out of your head is to focus on the feelings and sensations in your body or to practice breathing exercises.

FIGURE OUT WHY YOU CAN'T SLEEP

Sailing in the Night (2015). Iveta Sērmūkša

CHANGE HABITS DISRUPTING SLEEP If medical or emotional problems are contributing to your insomnia, treating them first is essential. But you also need to look at daytime habits and bedtime routines that contribute to sleeplessness.

Some habits are so ingrained that you may overlook them as a possible contributor to your insomnia.

Maybe your Starbucks habit affects your sleep more than you realize. Or maybe you’ve never made the connection between your late-night TV viewing or Internet surfing and your sleep difficulties. Keeping a sleep diary is a helpful way to pinpoint habits and behaviors contributing to your insomnia. Stick to a regular sleep schedule. Support your biological clock by going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, including weekends. Avoid naps. Napping during the day can make it more difficult to sleep at night. If you feel like you have to take a nap, limit it to 30 minutes before 3 p.m. Avoid late meals. Try to avoid heavy, rich foods within two hours of bed.

In order to properly resolve your insomnia, you need to become a sleep detective. Emotional issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression cause about half of all insomnia cases. But your daytime habits, bedtime routine, and physical health can also play a major role.Sometimes, insomnia only lasts a few days and goes away on its own, especially when the insomnia is tied to an obvious temporary cause, such as stress over an upcoming presentation or a painful breakup. Chronic insomnia, however, is usually tied to an underlying psychological or medical issue.

Psychological problems and emotional distress.

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common causes of chronic insomnia. Other common emotional and psychological causes include chronic or significant life stress, anger, worry, grief, bipolar disorder, and trauma.

Medical problems or illness. Many medical conditions and diseases can contribute to insomnia, including asthma, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, hyperthyroidism, acid reflux, kidney disease, and cancer. Chronic pain is also a very common cause of insomnia. Medications. Many prescription drugs can interfere with sleep, including antidepressants, stimulants for ADHD, corticosteroids, thyroid hormone, high blood pressure medications, and some contraceptives. Common over-the-counter culprits include cold and flu medications that contain alcohol, pain relievers that contain caffeine (Midol, Excedrin), diuretics, and slimming pills. Sleep disorders. Insomnia is itself a sleep disorder, but it can also be a symptom of other sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and circadian rhythm disturbances tied to jet lag or latenight shift work.

English Bulldogs are the only canines known to suffer from sleep apnea, a breathing disorder.

ZZZ ISSUE 01.

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WAYS TO GET BACK TO SLEEP It’s normal to wake briefly during the night. In fact, a good sleeper won’t even remember it. But if you’re waking up during the night and having trouble falling back asleep, the following tips may help.

Stay out of your head. The key to getting back to sleep is continuing to cue your body for sleep, so remain in bed in a relaxed position. Hard as it may be, try not to stress over the fact that you’re awake or your inability to fall asleep again, because that very stress and anxiety encourages your body to stay awake. A good way to stay out of your head is to focus on the feelings and sensations in your body or to practice breathing exercises. Take a breath in, then breathe out slowly while saying or thinking the word, “Ahhh.” Take another breath and repeat.

Make relaxation your goal, not sleep. If you find it hard to fall back asleep, try a relaxation technique such as visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, or meditation, which can be done without even getting out of bed. Remind yourself that although they’re not a replacement for sleep, rest and relaxation still help rejuvenate your body.

Do a quiet, non-stimulating activity. If you’ve been awake for more than 15 minutes, try getting out of bed and doing a quiet, non-stimulating activity, such as reading a book. Keep the lights dim so as not to cue your body clock that it’s time to wake up. Also avoid screens of any kind—computers, TV, cell phones, iPads—as the type of light they emit is stimulating to the brain. A light snack or herbal tea might help relax you, but be careful not to eat so much that your body begins to expect a meal at that time of the day.

Postpone worrying and brainstorming. If you wake during the night feeling anxious about something, make a brief note of it on paper and postpone worrying about it until the next day when you are fresh and it will be easier to resolve. Similarly, if a brainstorm or great idea is keeping you awake, make a note of it on paper and fall back to sleep knowing you’ll be much more productive and creative after a good night’s rest.

IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP ENVIRONMENT If you make a consistent effort to relax and unwind before bed, you will sleep easier and more deeply. A peaceful bedtime routine sends a powerful signal to your brain that it’s time to wind down and let go of the day’s stresses. Sometimes even small changes to your environment can make a huge difference to your quality of sleep.

Keep your room dark, cool, and quiet. Keep noise down. If you can’t avoid or eliminate noise from barking dogs, loud neighbors, city traffic, or other people in your household, try masking it with a fan, recordings of soothing sounds, or white noise. You can buy a special sound machine or generate your own white noise by setting your radio between stations. Earplugs may also help.

Keep your room cool. The temperature of your bedroom also affects sleep. Most people sleep best in a slightly cool room (around 65° F or 18° C) with adequate ventilation. A bedroom that is too hot or too cold can interfere with quality sleep.

Make sure your bed is comfortable. Your bed covers should leave you enough room to stretch and turn comfortably without becoming tangled. If you often wake up with a sore back or an aching neck, you may need to invest in a new mattress or a try a different pillow. Experiment with different levels of mattress firmness, foam or egg crate toppers, and pillows that provide more or less support.

Reserve your bed for sleeping and sex. If you associate your bed with events like work or errands, it will be harder to wind down at night. Use your bed only for sleep and sex. That way, when you go to bed, your body gets a powerful cue: it’s time to either nod off or be romantic.

BEDTIME RITUALS TO HELP YOU RELAX Create a “toolbox” of relaxing bedtime rituals to help you unwind before sleep. For example: • Read a book or magazine by a soft light • Take a warm bath • Listen to soft music • Do some easy stretches • Wind down with a favorite hobby • Listen to books on tape • Make simple preparations for the next day • Dim the lights in the hours leading up to bed

You're less likely to have a traffic accident when daylight saving times ends.

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STAGE 5

Dream Symbolism dreamsymbolism.info

ZZZ ISSUE 01.

If something big happened the day before then surely any dream would have to be about this one event. When an argument occurs we will spend the day thinking only about this single event. It makes sense. Freud often has put forward the idea that dreams link to something in our past - a childhood event. But surely we will be more likely to think about things in the present. Of course we are shaped by the past but we view the past from where we stand in the present. Because dreams link often to events from the previous day it makes the whole job of interpreting them much easier.

It allows the scientific study of dream symbols.

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16

STAGE 5

Giant Sleep (2011). Guillaume Blackburn

A THEORY OF DREAMS

DREAMS ARE IMPORTANT

Since the era of Freud and Jung it has been believed that dreams are connected to our thoughts and feelings. This article tries to take this belief a stage further.

If dreams are connected to our thoughts and feelings, then surely if only one thing is going through our minds the night before, then we will dream about it. So then if we collect such dreams together then we will start to learn how the mind works. If we had an argument the previous day then surely we will be bound to dream about it. This book has concentrated on this one type of dream. I believe that this has allowed me to gain an insight into how the mind truly works. If you accept the basic idea that dreams link to thoughts in your mind right now then it becomes much easier to study them accurately. It is not often that there is more than one negative thing in your mind so any negative dream is easy to understand. So understanding a dream about a snake should not be so complicated.

Some people say that dreams are unimportant and mean nothing. But just try going without sleep for more than 24 hours and you will soon find that you will very quickly start to go downhill. You will become a total wreck unable to think clearly. Your physical and mental health will be impaired.

It is true that dreams are just one aspect of sleep. But surely something very important and essential to the human existence takes place in sleep. If you go without sleep it very soon damages you. One small American town held a sleep deprivation contest with the winner picking up a car. One contestant went completely insane walking into a nearby Gunmart, bought a gun and ammunition, then went on a shooting spree. Clearly if you go without sleep you very quickly lose your mind.

That's why many Governments use sleep deprivation as a form of torture. True it may not be dreams which are so important. There are many stages of sleep and

People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.

ZZZ ISSUE 01.

Dreams will tend to represent our best intuitions. They capture our thoughts and feelings.

Dreams represent our best guess. resent the vital conclusions that the mind has come to during sleep. Many animals function like this. If we had to process all memories and long term thoughts during waking hours our brain size would have to be increased massively. This method of storing vital thoughts during the day in short term memory then transferring it at night time makes the human brain highly efficient.

Though, the disadvantage is that we need to sleep on a regular basis. Sleep can have a very noticeable and positive effect on you. Think of the times when you went to sleep worrying about something then woke up feeling refreshed and able to put things into perspective. Sleep and dreams are part of this process where you allow yourself to calm down. Many children try to cram revision in the night before an exam but this is the worst tactic. If you lose sleep then your short term memory is affected. You lack concentration. Sleep and dreams improve both concentration and thinking.

Dreams are also very creative. Many mathematicians and computer programmers have reported how they can go to sleep thinking about a complex problem and when they wake up the answer that was eluding them suddenly appears in their mind. Dreams can be positive both intellectually and emotionally.

People suffering from depression tend to dream much more. This is connected to the continuous processing and reprocessing of bad memories. The mind desperately tries to cure itself. The dream mind may attempt through the night to solve the dreamer's emotional problems. However, many depressed people cannot snap out of a continuous cycle of depression.

They can dream and dream and it will not do them any good. Depressed people often wake up feeling drained of all energy. They simply go round in circles seeking a solution that is elusive. Their problems may indeed not have an immediate solution. So going over a problem in their mind will not be any help.

Matt Wilson at MIT's Centre for Learning and Memory, has conducted research into the brain and sleep.

He concludes that dreams help create wisdom. He placed rats in mazes during the day then noticed that similar patterns of neurons fired during REM sleep as

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had fired during the previous day at choice turning points in the maze. The rats were repeating important learning events during sleep. Dreams then helped reinforce crucial moments of learning the previous day.

Presumably other irrelevant data is ignored and forgotten as the brain processes through recent memories deciding what should be ignored and what should be remembered. So these crucial moments of learning or of wisdom will be stored. Other memories from the day will be forgotten. It makes sense that our brains use the night time to process through thoughts. It is quiet and when we are asleep we are about to concentrate all of energies into the previous days activities. We work through what has happened and transfer thoughts from short term to long term memory banks.

You realised that something might be wrong. Your mind makes rather speculative thoughts which may indeed be completely off the mark. But our minds are built to think in this way.

Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (1944). Salvador Dali

Elephants sleep standing up during Non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.

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STAGE 5

A THEORY OF DREAMS Since the era of Freud and Jung it has been believed that dreams are connected to our thoughts and feelings. This article tries to take this belief a stage further.

If dreams are connected to our thoughts and feelings, then surely if only one thing is going through our minds the night before, then we will dream about it. So then if we collect such dreams together then we will start to learn how the mind works. If we had an argument the previous day then surely we will be bound to dream about it. This book has concentrated on this one type of dream. I believe that this has allowed me to gain an insight into how the mind truly works. If you accept the basic idea that dreams link to thoughts in your mind.

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE For eight years I have studied dreams and I honestly believe I know as much as anyone on the subject. At first I knew very little. I interpreted dreams on the internet on forums. I was just guessing using standard dream symbols. Then I decided to collect dreams which I believed I knew the meaning of. I homed in on dreams where people gave plenty of background information. I then picked out dreams which seemed to be linked to reality.

My collection has helped me to build up a knowledge of how dreams work. I base my ideas on the following assumption – if dreams link to the mind then if we are thinking about just one thing then surely any dream we have will be about that one thing. If we have just had an argument the day before then any dreams we have will be about the resentments we have or the wish to resolve any bad feelings. This single technique has helped revolutionise the study of dreams. Previously any dreams we had were difficult to interpret because we often had no idea of what had caused and triggered the dream. But if this basic assumption is accurate then if we are only thinking about one thing we know for sure what any given dream is about. Now we can concentrate all our efforts on interpreting any given dream, with the sure and certain knowledge that we know what the basic subject is. It's about the project that we were thinking through the night before! It's about the bad foot that has been disabling us! Or it is about that argument we had yesterday. It's about any issue which has been dominating our minds. This method of study has proved immensely successful. It has pushed forward the understanding of dreams.

In particular the collection of dreams has revealed the possible purpose of dreams. They are highly symbolic and perhaps link to the language which the mind

uses to store information. It's all symbolic and hidden.

This is the language used by the mind to store vital new ideas and emotions. Symbolism has always been linked to dreams. But I believe that the various symbols together build up to form thought processes. The dream therefore represents the way the mind stores complex ideas and emotions.

DREAM INTERPRETATIONS THE DREAM: ”I am on a very old and slow bus going uphill. The hill is so steep that I have no confidence in it's ability to make the hill. I feel it will come crashing down.” > The symbols interact together to form a crucial new thought. The symbols have the following meaning when translated into the dreamer's real life circumstances.

UPHILL: ”I am doing things that I find difficult (difficult because it's harder to go uphill)” CRASH DOWNHILL: ”I fear that I will get overwhelmed and heading for an emotional crash.” > Together these two symbols join together to form the new thought that was in the dreamer's mind which was ”I am doing things I lack the confidence to do. I fear I will come crashing down to reality”. It is vital to see how dreams interact with the symbols. Take the following dream which also deals with hills.

THE DREAM: ”I am going uphill and confidently speed up without any difficulty.” > In this case the dreamer was on a high. He felt confident and able to perform any task. The speed with which he went up the hill represented his ability to handle difficult tasks. Most dreams deal with the formation of thoughts. Some dreams will deal with emotional feelings. The intuition also deals with the formation of emotions so dreams will also deal with the new feelings as they form.

No-one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans.

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ZZZ ISSUE 01.

Dream Symbols Flip over each word to see what they mean.

Actors

Aliens

Blood

Bomb

Dreath

Father

Fight

Intruders

Knife

A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year

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STAGE 5

A THEORY OF DREAMS Since the era of Freud and Jung it has been believed that dreams are connected to our thoughts and feelings. This article tries to take this belief a stage further.

If dreams are connected to our thoughts and feelings, then surely if only one thing is going through our minds the night before, then we will dream about it. So then if we collect such dreams together then we will start to learn how the mind works. If we had an argument the previous day then surely we will be bound to dream about it. This book has concentrated on this one type of dream. I believe that this has allowed me to gain an insight into how the mind truly works. If you accept the basic idea that dreams link to thoughts in your mind.

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE For eight years I have studied dreams and I honestly believe I know as much as anyone on the subject. At first I knew very little. I interpreted dreams on the internet on forums. I was just guessing using standard dream symbols. Then I decided to collect dreams which I believed I knew the meaning of. I homed in on dreams where people gave plenty of background information. I then picked out dreams which seemed to be linked to reality.

My collection has helped me to build up a knowledge of how dreams work. I base my ideas on the following assumption – if dreams link to the mind then if we are thinking about just one thing then surely any dream we have will be about that one thing. If we have just had an argument the day before then any dreams we have will be about the resentments we have or the wish to resolve any bad feelings. This single technique has helped revolutionise the study of dreams. Previously any dreams we had were difficult to interpret because we often had no idea of what had caused and triggered the dream. But if this basic assumption is accurate then if we are only thinking about one thing we know for sure what any given dream is about. Now we can concentrate all our efforts on interpreting any given dream, with the sure and certain knowledge that we know what the basic subject is. It's about the project that we were thinking through the night before! It's about the bad foot that has been disabling us! Or it is about that argument we had yesterday. It's about any issue which has been dominating our minds. This method of study has proved immensely successful. It has pushed forward the understanding of dreams.

In particular the collection of dreams has revealed the possible purpose of dreams. They are highly symbolic and perhaps link to the language which the mind

uses to store information. It's all symbolic and hidden.

This is the language used by the mind to store vital new ideas and emotions. Symbolism has always been linked to dreams. But I believe that the various symbols together build up to form thought processes. The dream therefore represents the way the mind stores complex ideas and emotions.

DREAM INTERPRETATIONS THE DREAM: ”I am on a very old and slow bus going uphill. The hill is so steep that I have no confidence in it's ability to make the hill. I feel it will come crashing down.” > The symbols interact together to form a crucial new thought. The symbols have the following meaning when translated into the dreamer's real life circumstances.

UPHILL: ”I am doing things that I find difficult (difficult because it's harder to go uphill)” CRASH DOWNHILL: ”I fear that I will get overwhelmed and heading for an emotional crash.” > Together these two symbols join together to form the new thought that was in the dreamer's mind which was ”I am doing things I lack the confidence to do. I fear I will come crashing down to reality”. It is vital to see how dreams interact with the symbols. Take the following dream which also deals with hills.

THE DREAM: ”I am going uphill and confidently speed up without any difficulty.” > In this case the dreamer was on a high. He felt confident and able to perform any task. The speed with which he went up the hill represented his ability to handle difficult tasks. Most dreams deal with the formation of thoughts. Some dreams will deal with emotional feelings. The intuition also deals with the formation of emotions so dreams will also deal with the new feelings as they form.

No-one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans.

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Dream Symbols Flip over each word to see what they mean.

An aliens dream may capture an everyday thought such as “Since I got arthritis I feel I am living in a strange new world”. So the aliens represent a whole new and some what frightening world opening up for the dreamer.

Actors in dreams could be your minds way of saying “Doing that does not come naturally to me” - because if something does not come naturally you have to pretend (act) in order to convince others.

A blood dream may simply translate into the word“suffering” and the dream captures the feeling “I have been suffering a lot after that cruel comment”.

A bomb dream may simply translate into the words “breaking point” or any explosive situation in your life. The dream may link to tension at work which has left you at “breaking point”.

A death dream may simply capture your worries that you do not spend enough time with your friend.

You may fear that the relationship is dying.

A dream about father may simply translate into a word like “sensible” and the dream capture a thought like “he needs to learn some responsibility. He really did not act in a sensible way yesterday”.

A physical fight in a dream may be symbolic of a “mental struggle” or “emotional battle”. The dream uses the fight to portray such everyday struggle in the dreamers life.

A dream about an intruder can translated into the words “unable to trust” and the dream captured the dreamers dislike of someone who was a gossip.

Dreams of knives could be symbols for a dispute which is very personal. Why? Because a knife fight is very personal and involved.

A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year

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DREAM

reviews From Movies To Musics, Discover Your “Dream Types”.

MOVIES ABOUT DREAMS

WARNING SHADOWS, 1923

AN ANDALUSIAN DOG, 1929

SPELLBOUND, 1945

Arthur Robison

Luis Buñuel

Alfred Hitchcock

A pompous dinner is held at the manor of a rich nobleman and his wife. Four guests feel a bit too invasive and start flirting with the woman, whereas the husband thinks little of the moves. A shadow-player attends the event and displays his talents to the people present.

Warning Shadows, the second item of the German Expressionist cinema in this list, displays the range of creativity in tinkering with film techniques uncommon in an early age of cinema. Lighting here is crucial, and the shadow-player arranges the dark silhouettes of the guests skilfully, entertaining them.

This is perhaps the most popular piece of surrealism in film. A short film with a considerable weight on it, An Andalusian Dog is a series of highly symbolic images that may or may not make sense. Some events in the film came from dreams Buñuel himself had had, others are clever literary references. All in all, it is a film of notable experimental editing and cinematography. Walt Disney in the short animation Destino, and even made his only film, Impressions de la haute Mongolie.

Bringing a singular premise for thematic exploration to cinema, especially for its time, this film has a Hollywood narration style intimately aligned with superb performances, cunning dialogue, and a myriad of precise medium and close-up shots. Hitchcock, being a pioneer in many elements of suspense and narrative construction of tension, this time flirted with psychoanalysis, a fertile field of study back then, and which up to this date has incited instigating explorations on the deepest dreams.

If it takes you less than 5 minutes to fall asleep at night, you're probably sleep-deprived.

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BOOKS ABOUT DREAMS

12,000 DREAMS INTERPRETED

THE ULTIMATE DICTIONARY OF DREAM LANGUAGE

Gustavus H. Miller

Briceida Ryan

Long ago, Gustavus Hindman Miller published his groundbreaking masterwork, 10,000 Dreams Interpreted, the most compelling and thorough study of all the symbols that appear in our dreamscape.

Miller offered an enlightening introduction to dream history and types, and organized his symbols into eminently logical categories.

One-third of our lives are spent in the dream world where our subconscious carries messages about love, success, and money that can help us in our waking hours. The Ultimate Dictionary of Dream Language offers readers the ultimate guide to uncovering the secret meaning of their dreams.

A LITTLE BIT OF DREAMS Briceida Ryan tase Michaels draws on a lifetime of experience as a dream analyst and three degrees in psychology to lead you through the magical forest of dream interpretation. In this eclectic, in-depth look at dreaming, she explores how dreams happen and why they are a reliable source of self-knowledge.

FANTASTIC DREAM SONGS

“ONLY IN DREAMS,” WEEZER

“DREAMS,” BRANDI CARLILE

“FLYING DREAM 143,” ELBOW

Weezer, 1994

Give Up the Ghost, 2009

Cast of Thousands, 2003

We are the only mammals that willingly delay sleep.