What Is Sleep?
REM and Non-REM Sleep: Classroom Discussion
REM and Non-REM Sleep. As indicated in the text, there is a difference between REM and
non-REM sleep in terms of dream content. In addition, there is debate regarding what
dreams actually tell us about the individual who is having them. Investigate these issues
with students by having them keep a dream journal for 2 to 3 days. Ask them to bring their
journals to class and incorporate the following questions into your discussion:
a. Differentiate between REM dreams and non-REM dreams.
b. Examine the dreams’ content based on Freud’s theory of manifest and latent content.
c. Discuss the dreams’ content based on the activation-synthesis hypothesis.
d. Discuss the dreams’ content based on the evolved threat-rehearsal strategies.
Time: 20 minutes