Understanding And Using Dreams To Learn And To Forget

Sleep is broken up into 90-minute blocks called “ultradian rhythm”
Slow-wave (non-REM) sleep takes place earlier in the night
As sleep progresses throughout the night, REM sleep takes up more time
Things that happen in slow0wave sleep: motor learning, motor skill learning, details about specific events
Lack of REM sleep tends to make people emotionally irritable – we tend to catastrophize small things because we can’t unlearn the emotionality of events
The mechanisms of Ketamine and PCP bear striking resemblance to patterns of REM sleep and are sometimes used as therapeutics
“Sleep deprivation isn’t just deprivation of energy or deprivation of immune function, it’s deprivation of self-induced therapy every time we go to sleep.” – Dr. Andrew Huberman
New research highlights that it may be more important to get a consistent amount of sleep versus the hours of sleep each night
To improve sleep quality: limit fluids before bed, perform resistance exercise during the day to limit alcohol.

Sleep is generally broken up into 90-minute cycles called the ultradian rhythm
Earlier in the night, we have more slow-wave sleep (non-REM) and less REM sleep
For every 90 minute cycle, REM occupies more time – the more sleep you get, the more REM you have

Acetylcholine: tends to modify and amplify brain circuits associated with attention and focus
Norepinephrine: tends to modify circuits associated with alertness and desire to move
Serotonin: released and modifies circuits associated with bliss and remaining still
Dopamine: released and associated with amplification of pursuing goals, pleasure, and reward

Lucid dreaming: dreaming in sleep but being aware that you’re dreaming and, in some cases, directing the dream
Occurs in about 20% of people
Can cause people to not feel as rested and can disrupt sleep’s restorative effects

Characterized by brain activity in which the brain is metabolically active
No acetylcholine in non-REM state of sleep, meaning there’s no real focus
Active neuromodulators: norepinephrine, serotonin
If you are going to sleep walk, this is the cycle in which it would happen
Motor learning (e.g., learning a new dance, exercise, etc.) is most likely to take place in slow wave sleep
Slow wave sleep is also important in cognitive information – details, spelling, etc.

REM sleep occurs more as the night of sleep progresses
The circuitry involved in conscious eye movement is active
We’re entirely laid out and paralyzed
Paralysis during sleep can spill into waking – this can even come with hallucinations – a lot of alien abduction recaps include both of these traits
Our experience is hallucinatory during this time
Serotonin and norepinephrine are absent
REM sleep is one of the few times in our life where norepinephrine is absent so there’s no chemical manifestation of fear and anxiety
This period of sleep allows us to review things that happened or troubling situations in the absence of fear and anxiety
Nightmares probably take place in slow-wave sleep
Lack of REM sleep tends to make people emotionally irritable – we tend to catastrophize small things because we can’t unlearn the emotionality of events
REM sleep solidifies associations and gives things meanings – with a lack of REM sleep, even simple things like the word “the” looks misspelled and distorted
REM sleep eliminates meanings that don’t matter so we don’t blow things out of proportion – we take events of the day and uncouple the expression of emotionality
“Sleep deprivation isn’t just deprivation of energy or deprivation of immune function, it’s deprivation of self-induced therapy every time we go to sleep.” – Dr. Andrew Huberman

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) EMDR: psychotherapy designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories
During EMDR, patients are guided to perform lateral eye movements mimicking REM sleep (therefore turning off norepinephrine), allowing patients to access traumatic events without the emotion
EMDR is most successful for single event trauma, like a car crash, robbery, etc. – not prolonged experiences like childhood abuse, divorce

The mechanisms of Ketamine and PCP bear striking resemblance to patterns of REM sleep
Ketamine and PCP both function to disrupt NMDA receptor in the brain
Ketamine prevents the learning of emotions soon after trauma
Ketamine is kept in some emergency rooms and sometimes administered to people who witness a loved one traumatically dying in front of them
Ketamine is about becoming removed from the emotion of an experience

Getting a regular amount of sleep each night might be more important than the duration
Consistently getting the same amount of sleep is better than getting more hours some nights and fewer others
Limit drink a lot of fluid right before sleeping
Resistance exercise can induce a greater amount of slow-wave sleep involved in motor learning and acquisition of fine details
Alcohol hinders deep restorative sleep