Sleep & Dream Journal Assignment
The three main theories of dreams:
1. Wish Fulfillment: Freud's theory that dreams carry our hidden desires and that these dreams
can be interpreted by the dreamer. A release of the Id.
2. Problem solving model: a number of researchers think that dreams are for problem solving.
One scientist in particular, named Fiss, claimed that our dreams help us to register very
subtle hints that go unnoticed during the day. This explains why "sleeping on it" can provide
a solution to a problem. Unfortunately, there are also arguments against this theory of
dreaming. For a start, most people only remember a very small number of their dreams. So if
our dreams contain important answers - why don't we remember them better?
3. Activation-synthesis: The activation-synthesis model of dreaming was first proposed by J.
Allan Hobson and Robert McClarley in 1977. According to this theory, circuits in the brain
become activated during REM sleep, which causes areas of the limbic system involved in
emotions, sensations and memories, including the amygdale and hippocampus, to become
active. The brain synthesizes and interprets this internal activity and attempts to find meaning
in these signals, which results in dreaming. This model suggests that dreams are a subjective
interpretation of signals generated by the brain during sleep. While this theory suggests that
dreams are the result of internally generated signals, Hobson does not believe that dreams are
meaningless. Instead, he suggests that dreaming is "…our most creative conscious state, one
in which the chaotic, spontaneous recombination of cognitive elements produces novel
configurations of information: new ideas. While many or even most of these ideas may be
nonsensical, if even a few of its fanciful products are truly useful, our dream time will not
have been wasted."
Your Assignment: Remember dreams in enough detail to answer all questions and complete
analysis. Remember in detail and THINK in detail about what you remember.
1)
Keep a “Sleep and Dreaming” journal (see below) until you have at least 5 solid dreams.
Include whatever information you remember as listed in the chart.
Hints to remembering your dreams:
 Keep a pen and pad next to your bed before going to bed.
 When you awaken keep your eyes closed and run through the dream until it is fixed in
your mind.
 Tell yourself: “I’m going to wake up after a dream.”
 Set your alarm for 15 minutes before you normally get up. Since dreams often occur then,
there’s a good chance you will recall one.
2) Include an analysis of all 5 of your dreams. You may use the following websites for input:
 www.sleep.com
 www.dreamdoctor.com
 www.dream-analysis.com/dreams
Sample Journal Format: Please download from SWIFT and type to expand the boxes as needed:
Dream Journal
NIGHTTIME SLEEP:
Complete upon awakening
Time you went to bed
Time you woke up
Number of times you awoke
during the night
Amount of time spent awake
during the night if you woke
up
Dream Details:
1. Setting (indoors,
outdoors)
2. Characters (relatives,
friends, strangers)
3. Nature of the interaction
(friendly, aggressive)
4. Activities (running,
climbing, speaking)
5. Outcome (success, failure)
6. Emotions (fear, happiness,
confusion)
7. Relationship of the dream
to the previous day’s
events or to the next day’s
planned activities
My Analysis