Stephen King: Writing and the Art of “Creative Sleep”:
“In both writing and sleeping, we learn to be physically still at the same time we are encouraging our minds to unlock from the humdrum rational thinking of our daytime lives.”
I dream, therefore I am.
Or, I sleep – which some say is like
a death because we have no memory
of our unconsciousness—
to sleep – perchance to dream—
Stephen King says we learn to be
physically still
when we are sleeping (and writing).
I’m not physically
still during the night.
I dare say, many others are not still
as they sleep, either. I am certainly
NOT still
as I write. The process
is – for me – mental
and physical gymnastics.
Pondering is not a still position.
Turning a thought over
and appraising each varied side
seems to help me move
in directions unthought
of, previously.
Yet, I see his point.
Perhaps, when we are physically
still, we encourage
our minds to
unlock rational thinking
of the daytime. That assumes
our daytime thoughts
are rational.
No deep silence or calm inhabits this
body, nor this mind. Maybe that
comes
with old age—I sure hope not.
Who says it’s rational thinking—
this consciousness
of which we speak?
By Annette Gagliardi
“To Sleep — Perchance to dream” (Shakespeare)
I wrote a focus article for a child development journal back in the 90’s. What peaked my curiosity was my preschooler, who regularly heard “the crack of dawn” for about four months. Along with basic information about REM and Non-REM sleep in that article, I discussed reasons for lack of sleep (hunger, pain, over-anxious or excited, cold).
I know I’m not alone, because the 60 percent of adults and 69 percent of children report having sleep problems a few nights or more, each week. (from the American Psychological Association)
Sleep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing, according to the National Sleep Foundation. (NSF)
The stages of sleep include:
Stage 1 is non-REM sleep—the transition from wakefulness to sleep is a short period of light sleep as our breathing, eye movements, brain waves and heart rate slow down and our muscles relax.
Stage 2 of non-REM sleep is the light sleep as our body temperature drops, eye movement stops, other body systems slow down. Even though brain activity is marked by brief bursts of electrical activity, the brain waves are slowing down further. This is the stage where we spend the most amount of time over the other stages.
Stage 3 of non-REM sleep is the period of deep sleep that helps us feel refreshed, and occurs for long periods of time during the first half of the night. Heartbeat and breathing are at their slowest during this stage.
REM Sleep occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep. Even though your eyes are closed, there is rapid eye movement. Most of your dreaming occurs now, while heart rate, blood pressure and breathing become somewhat irregular and faster—to near waking levels. As you age, you spend less time in REM sleep.
The most important thing about sleep, which takes up a third of our lives, is that we get enough quality sleep. Sleep is important for rest and rejuvenation, for maintaining brain pathways for learning and creating, and for concentration and responsiveness. Sleep impacts almost every system in the body, including the brain, heart, lungs, metabolism, immune functions, memory, mood and resistance to disease.
Circadian rhythm and homeostasis, two internal biological mechanisms, work together to regulate wakefulness and sleep. They control timing of sleep, sleepiness, tendency to wake without an alarm, and synchronize our biological clock based environmental cues such as light and temperature and continue in the absence of cues. These systems keep track of our sleep and our need for sleep, regulate sleep intensity, causes us to sleep longer and more deeply after a period of sleep deprivation.
That information makes perfect sense to me. When I retired, I spent about a month sleeping longer, taking naps during the day, and resting. It was like I was catching up for the thirty years of teaching long hours. I have heard other people say that when they retired, they spent some time just sleeping long hours.
In the case of jet-lag circadian rhythms become out of sync, creating a mismatch between the internal clock and the actual clock. This leads many people to ‘crash’ or have to spend extra time sleeping in order to get back on track for their customary sleep/wake cycle.
Many people nap, doze or get their forty winks during the day. For a busy parent a power nap may be just the thing to keep them going for the supper rush and after supper work. If you can get a siesta, good for you. When my kids were young, I packed a heap of housework and cooking into that 60-90 minutes of free time while they napped. I could have napped as well, but I still would have had to do that housework. So, for me an afternoon nap was just a dream.
But dreaming is one of the most important aspects of sleep.
“Memory is never a precise duplicate of the original . . . it is a continuing act of creation. Dreaming images are the product of that creation.” (From the Twenty-four-Hour Mind.” Rosalind Carwright)
Everyone Dreams. We may not remember anything we dream about in the approximately two hours each night when most dreams happen. Scientists think dreaming helps us process our emotions, the events from the day(especially the traumatic or exciting ones) and the stress and anxiety we experience. Usually, the most vivid dreams arrive during REM sleep.
I think we process what we eat as well. Think about the dreams you’ve had after eating a pastrami on rye with onion, honey mustard, dill pickle and gouda. Wow. Technicolor. However, the National Sleep foundation says there is no scientific proof that food affects our dreams. But that doesn’t stop us from speculating.
What we eat can affect our mood, can make us feel sleepy and can change the quality of our sleep (i.e. that 2 am heartburn). Certain foods, such as caffeine can affect our sleep by keeping us awake or waking us during the night. Foods such as alcohol or caffeine can interact with medications to keep us awake or wakeful as well.
An upset stomach – no matter what we’ve eaten, can create poor sleep or wakefulness at night.
When we eat is also a factor. Dining on a big meal just before turning in for the night boosts your body’s temperature and metabolism—two consequences that result in more brain activity during the REM stage. This could result in us waking — and remembering our dreams.
No matter when we sleep, or dream, getting enough of both will keep us healthier. And what we eat impacts our sleep, so here’s to great meals, eaten early enough to be digested before we sleep. And ,here’s to sweet dreams for all of you.
Resources:
The science of sleep: Dreaming, Depression, and how REM Sleep Regulates Negative Emotions.
by Maria Popova at: https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/08/13/the-twenty-four-hour-mind-rosalind-cartwright/
The twenty-four Hour Mind: The role of Sleep and Dreaming in our Emotional Lives by Rosalind Cartwright,
Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep/Dreaming
at: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep#5
Why Sleep Is Important by American Psychological Association at: https://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why
Is what you’re eating affecting your dreams? by the National Sleep Federation at Sleep.org:
https://www.sleep.org/is-what-youre-eating-affecting-your-dreams/#:~:text=And%20it’s%20not%20just%20what,(a.k.a.%20when%20you%20dream