Why Do We Sleep? | Episode 1207 | Closer To Truth

Video Statistics and Information

Video
Captions Word Cloud
Reddit Comments

Strangers: Read the rules and understand the sub topics listed in the sidebar closely before posting or commenting. Any content removal or further moderator action is established by these terms as well as Reddit ToS.

This subreddit is specifically for the discussion of anomalous phenomena from the perspective it may exist. Open minded skepticism is welcomed, close minded debunking is not. Be aware of how skepticism is expressed toward others as there is little tolerance for ad hominem (attacking the person, not the claim), mindless antagonism or dishonest argument toward the subject, the sub, or its community.


'Ridicule is not a part of the scientific method and the public should not be taught that it is.'

-J. Allen Hynek

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/AutoModerator 📅︎︎ Apr 14 2022 🗫︎ replies

To defrag our wet drive.

👍︎︎ 8 👤︎︎ u/Skipperdogs 📅︎︎ Apr 14 2022 🗫︎ replies

So we don't die.

👍︎︎ 5 👤︎︎ u/makingfiat 📅︎︎ Apr 14 2022 🗫︎ replies

[removed]

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/[deleted] 📅︎︎ Apr 14 2022 🗫︎ replies

To prep us for death

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/BananaShortcomings 📅︎︎ Apr 14 2022 🗫︎ replies
Captions
SOMETIMES, SLEEP SCARES ME. TO GO UNCONSCIOUS - TO PASS FROM BEING TO NON-BEING - SEEMS ASTONISHING. IT'S NOT THAT I FRET AWAKING UP. IT'S THAT I'M AWE-STRUCK BY BLANKNESS. SHEER NOTHINGNESS. THAT'S WHY I'M OBSESSED BY CONSCIOUSNESS. THE MYSTERY OF CONSCIOUSNESS. HOW DOES THIS SUBJECTIVE INNER AWARENESS COME ABOUT? ONE WAY TO EXPLORE CONSCIOUSNESS IS TO INVESTIGATE ITS ABSENCE. IT'S CALLED SLEEP. WHY DO WE SPEND 1/4 TO 1/3 OF OUR LIVES ASLEEP - UNCONSCIOUS? ANOTHER WAY IS TO EXAMINE ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS - DREAMS. WHAT MIGHT SLEEPING AND DREAMING REVEAL ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS? WHY DO WE SLEEP? I'M ROBERT LAWRENCE KUHN AND CLOSER TO TRUTH IS MY JOURNEY TO FIND OUT. SLEEP IS SO COMMON, YET SO ENIGMATIC. CAN SLEEP HELP ELUCIDATE CONSCIOUSNESS? I SHOULD START WITH THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP. THEN SEEK INSIGHTS INTO CONSCIOUSNESS. WHY STUDY SLEEP? WHAT'S THE BODILY REASON - THE PHYSIOLOGY OF SLEEP? WHAT'S THE MENTAL REASON - THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SLEEP? I BEGIN IN BOSTON, AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL WITH A LEADING SLEEP RESEARCHER - ROBERT STICKGOLD. BOB, SLEEP SEEMS SO MYSTERIOUS. WHY AM I WASTING MY TIME SIX, EIGHT HOURS A NIGHT? SLEEP GETS NO RESPECT IN OUR CULTURE. SLEEP IS A TIME WHEN WE ARE DOING AS MUCH WORK AS WHEN WE ARE AWAKE. IT MIGHT TURN OUT THAT, FOR EVERY TWO HOURS WE SPEND AWAKE, TAKING IN NEW INFORMATION, IT TAKES OUR BRAIN AN HOUR OFFLINE TO JUST FIGURE OUT WHAT IT MEANS. IT'S EASY TO RECORD SOMETHING, IT'S EASY TO LEARN A FACT, BUT TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THAT FACT OR HOW IT FITS TOGETHER WITH OTHER THINGS, TO DECIDE WHICH NEW INFORMATION TO KEEP AND WHICH TO DUMP, THAT IS A HARD QUESTION. AND THE BRAIN, IT APPEARS, AND THE PERSON AS A RESULT, NEEDS TO GO OFFLINE. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT SOMETHING YOU SORT OF TUNE OUT WHAT I'M SAYING BECAUSE WE CAN'T THINK INTERNALLY AND TAKE IN INFORMATION AT THE SAME TIME. AND SO, EVOLUTION HAS FIGURED OUT THAT THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM IS TAKE US OFFLINE. SO, THE BRAIN JUST SHUTS OUT EXTERNAL INPUTS, CUTS US OFF FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD, SO IT CAN DO WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO. NOW, THE BRAIN IS DEALING WITH NEW INFORMATION, BUT THE BODY IS DEALING WITH NEW INFORMATION, TOO. IF YOU HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO SOME INFECTIOUS AGENT OR IF YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A VACCINATION, WE KNOW THAT YOU THAT YOU NEED TO SLEEP THE NIGHT AFTERWARDS IF YOU WANT TO PRODUCE A GOOD ANTIBODY RESPONSE TO IT. IF YOU TAKE COLLEGE STUDENTS AND GIVE THEM A HEPATITIS VACCINE AND THEN SLEEP DEPRIVE THEM THE NIGHT AFTERWARDS, WHEN YOU CHECK TWO WEEKS LATER, THEY HAVE ONLY MADE HALF AS MUCH ANTIBODY. THAT'S REMARKABLE. SO, IF YOU ARE NOT GETTING SLEEP, YOUR BODY DOESN'T HAVE THE TIME AND THE CONDITION TO OPTIMALLY PREPARE A RESPONSE TO THAT INFECTION. SO, WE KNOW THAT IT HAS TO DO WITH MEMORY PROCESSING, YOU KNOW IT HAS TO DO WITH IMMUNE FUNCTION, IT ALSO HAS TO DO WITH ENDOCRINE FUNCTION. IT'S NOW LOOKING LIKE A LOT OF THIS EPIDEMIC OF OBESITY WE ARE DEALING WITH MIGHT IN FACT BE AN EPIDEMIC OF RESTRICTED SLEEP AND THAT ALTERS OUR INSULIN PRODUCTION AND OUR INSULIN REGULATION AND MIGHT BE PART OF THE REASON THAT PEOPLE NOW ARE PUTTING ON MORE WEIGHT THAN THEY USED TO. SLEEP SEEMS TO HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN EMOTIONAL REGULATION, TOO. THERE IS NOTHING MORE SCARY THAN GOING TO BED AT NIGHT ANGRY AT SOMEONE AND WAKING UP IN THE MORNING, DISCOVERING THAT YOU ARE STILL ANGRY. USUALLY OVER A NIGHT OF SLEEP, THOSE EMOTIONS WILL SORT OF MODULATE AND SORT OF SETTLE OUT SO THAT YOU ARE MORE EVENLY BALANCED IN YOUR EMOTIONS. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP AND MEMORY THAT HAS CAPTURED SO MUCH OF SCIENTIFIC ATTENTION IN THE LAST FEW YEARS? WE'VE GOT QUOTATIONS FROM THE FOURTH CENTURY BC ABOUT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU LEARN WHILE YOU'RE SLEEPING SO THAT YOU KNOW THINGS BETTER IN THE MORNING. AND YET, UNTIL ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO, WE HAD VERY LITTLE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOR THAT. IT'S ONLY STARTING AROUND THE YEAR 2000 THAT SCIENTIFIC PAPERS STARTED COMING OUT SAYING, LOOK, THERE REALLY IS A CONNECTION. AND SINCE THEN, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL HUNDRED PAPERS THAT HAVE COME OUT THAT LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS TO MEMORIES ACROSS THE NIGHT OF SLEEP. THE WAY WE KNOW THAT THE MEMORIES ARE BEING MANIPULATED WHILE WE SLEEP IS WE CAN TRAIN PEOPLE TO LEARN TO DO THINGS BEFORE THEY GO TO BED AND THEY WILL BE BETTER AT THEM THE NEXT MORNING. AND I CAN LOOK AT THE KIND OF SLEEP THEY HAVE DURING THAT NIGHT AND PREDICT PRETTY ACCURATELY HOW MUCH BETTER THEY ARE GOING TO BE THE NEXT MORNING. AND SO, THAT IS HOW WE KNOW THAT THE BRAIN, IN ITS DIFFERENT SLEEP STAGES, IN REM SLEEP AND NON-REM SLEEP - REM SLEEP IS RAPID EYE MOVEMENT SLEEP, WHERE WE DO OUR MOST INTENSE DREAMING - THAT, DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH TIME THEY ARE SPENDING IN THOSE DIFFERENT STAGES AND DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE NIGHT, THAT IS WHAT PREDICTS HOW MUCH THEY ARE GOING TO BE IMPROVED THE NEXT MORNING. I TALK TO PIANISTS, WHO SAY, BOB, I WAS WORKING ON THE CHOPIN ETUDE AND THERE WAS THIS THREE MEASURE PIECE OF IT THAT I JUST COULDN'T GET. I SPENT TWO HOURS ON IT AND I JUST COULDN'T GET IT TO RUN SMOOTHLY. I WENT TO BED, I GOT UP THE NEXT MORNING, I SAT DOWN AT THE PIANO AND FIRST TIME THROUGH, I HAD IT PERFECTLY. BUT IT MAKES NO SENSE TO THEM, GIVEN THEIR - AND MOST OF OUR UNDERSTANDINGS OF WHAT SLEEP IS ABOUT. SLEEP IS JUST DEAD TIME, WE THINK. AND IT'S REALLY NOT. AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM, THAT PEOPLE THINK THAT SLEEP IS A WASTE OF TIME. I MEAN, AT BEST, A WASTE OF TIME. AT WORST, A SIGN OF LAZINESS, AND LACK OF ENERGY AND COMMITMENT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. AND IN FACT, IT'S PROBABLY THE MOST PRODUCTIVE EIGHT HOURS WE HAVE IN 24. IT'S JUST THAT WE CAN'T WATCH IT HAPPEN, AND SO WE DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S HAPPENING. SLEEP IS NO WASTE OF TIME. SLEEP ENABLES MEMORY CONSOLIDATION AND THUS LEARNING; STIMULATES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND THUS FIGHTS DISEASE; REGULATES EMOTION AND PERHAPS CONTROLS OBESITY. ARE THERE DEEPER VEINS TO MINE? WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS DURING SLEEP? WHAT ARE THE KINDS OR STAGES OF SLEEP? I HEAD ACROSS TOWN TO BOSTON UNIVERSITY, TO MEET AN EXPERT ON THE EVOLUTION OF SLEEP - PATRICK MCNAMARA. THE FIRST FACT I THINK ANYONE HAS TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF IS THAT THERE ARE TWO MAJOR FORMS OF SLEEP, REM AND NON-REM - SO, RAPID EYE MOVEMENT SLEEP AND NON-RAPID EYE MOVEMENT SLEEP. NOW, NON-RAPID EYE MOVEMENT SLEEP IS WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK OF WHEN THEY THINK OF SLEEP; YOU'RE RECUMBENT, YOU'RE - MOST ANIMALS LIE DOWN, THERE'S VERY LITTLE BRAIN ACTIVITY, BRAIN ACTIVITY IS SYNCHRONIZED SO THERE'S PROBABLY NOT A LOT OF COGNITIVE PROCESSING GOING ON, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CENTERS. I THINK THE BEST THEORIES OF NON-REM SLEEP, UM, SUGGEST THAT A LOT OF IMMUNE REPAIR FUNCTIONS ARE HAPPENING, AND ENERGETIC FUNCTIONS. SO, IT SEEMS ON THE SURFACE THAT, WHAT DOES SLEEP HAVE TO DO WITH GETTING A COLD, BUT IT DOES, BECAUSE SLEEP HELPS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, UH, UH REVITALIZE ITSELF. RIGHT, AND , THE BRAIN SYSTEM TO REVITALIZE ITSELF AS WELL, GLUCOSE, ENERGY STORES ARE BEING REPLENISHED, ALL KINDS OF HOUSEKEEPING FUNCTIONS ARE TAKEN CARE OF DURING A SLOW WAVE SLEEP, ESPECIALLY. REM SLEEP IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT, UH, BALL OF WAX. REM SLEEP SEEMS TO DISSIPATE ENERGY. IT'S - THERE'S NO ENERGY BEING REPLENISHED, THERE IS A LOT OF BRAIN ACTIVITY, THE BRAIN IS DESYNCHRONIZED RATHER THAN SYNCHRONIZED - THAT'S WHEN WE HAVE THE MOST VIVID DREAMS. SO, THERE'S A LOT OF COGNITIVE PROCESSING GOING ON IN REM SLEEP. SO, IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT SLEEP AND LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS, YOU LOOK AT REM SLEEP FIRST. WHAT ABOUT SOME OF THE, UH, THE THEORIES THAT SLEEP HAS TO DO WITH MEMORY CONSOLIDATION, CREATIVITY, PROBLEM SOLVING, HOW DO WE DEAL WITH ALL THESE ELEMENTS? THERE'S PRETTY GOOD EVIDENCE NOW THAT, UM, BOTH FORMS OF SLEEP IMPACT MEMORY, BUT IN VERY COMPLEX WAYS. AND YOU CAN'T SAY THAT THE FUNCTION OF EITHER REM OR NON-REM SLEEP IS MEMORY PROCESSING, BECAUSE A HELL OF A LOT OF MEMORY PROCESSING GOES ON DURING THE DAY WHEN YOU'RE AWAKE, SO YOU DON'T NEED SLEEP FOR - FOR MEMORY CONSOLIDATION, WE DON'T THINK. BUT IT IS IMPLICATED. YOU GET BETTER MEMORY CONSOLIDATION, MORE SOPHISTICATED MEMORY CONSOLIDATION, DURING BOTH FORMS OF SLEEP. BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ON DRUGS THAT SUPPRESS ONE OR OTHER FORMS OF SLEEP, LIKE PARTICULARLY REM SLEEP; LIKE, ANY OF THE ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS SUPPRESS VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF REM SLEEP. AND - AND THOSE COMPONENTS HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED IN THESE PEOPLE FOR YEARS, AND THEY, THEY HAVE PERFECTLY NORMAL MEMORIES. OKAY. HOW ABOUT, UH, CLAIMS OF, UM, ENHANCED CREATIVITY OR PROBLEM SOLVING? IS THAT ANECDOTAL OLD WIVES TALES AS THEY SAY? NO, I DON'T THINK SO. I THINK THERE'S EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FOR IT, PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE SUGGESTS, YEAH, MORE DISPARATE CONNECTIONS ARE MADE, PARTICULARLY DURING REM SLEEP, THAN DURING WAKING CONSCIOUSNESS, SO - BUT THAT MAY BE FOR ONLY CERTAIN TYPES OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW? WE JUST DON'T KNOW ENOUGH YET, BUT IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT REM SLEEP IN PARTICULAR PROBABLY IS CRUCIAL FOR CREATIVITY, THOUGH WE DON'T KNOW WHY, WE DON'T KNOW HOW - WELL, CERTAINLY WE HAVE BIZARRE DREAMS. I MEAN, THAT'S THE MAJOR - DREAMS ARE CREATIVE. DREAMS THEMSELVES ARE CREATIVE. RIGHT, RIGHT. THEY TAKE SOME BASIC ELEMENTS, THEY RECOMBINE THEM IN VERY UNUSUAL WAYS, AND YOU GET A WHOLE DIFFERENT COUNTERFACTUAL PICTURE OF THE WORLD FROM YOUR DREAM. MOST OF THE TIME, IT SEEMS ABSURD AND BIZARRE AND, UM - I WOULDN'T SAY SO. I THINK THE - THE ONES THAT WE REMEMBER TEND TO BE BIZARRE BECAUSE THEY'RE MEMORABLE. BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF REM DREAMS, WHEN YOU JUST WAKE PEOPLE UP AND ASK THEM, WHAT, WHAT WERE YOU DREAMING, THEY'RE VERY CREATIVE, AND NOT AS BIZARRE. OKAY, WELL, THAT'S INTERESTING, BECAUSE I'M SPEAKING BECAUSE OF THE DREAMS THAT I REMEMBER, WHICH ARE THE BIZARRE ONES. BIZARRE, YEAH. OKAY, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT, IF YOU PUT ME IN YOUR LAB AND YOU WOKE ME UP AT, AT - WHEN I HAD REM SLEEP, AND YOU ASKED ME IN A, IN A, IN A STATISTICALLY VALID BASIS EVERY TIME, YOU'D GET A DIFFERENT SET OF, UH - VERY DIFFERENT. - OF DREAMS. SO, IT'S A - TELL ME ABOUT THAT. VERY DIFFERENT. THE BIZARRE ELEMENTS ARE MUCH LOWER IN - IN THOSE KINDS OF DREAMS, WE CAN ANALYZE THOUSANDS OF DREAM REPORTS. AND WE CAN VERY PRECISELY CHARACTERIZE BIZARRE ELEMENTS; WHEN THEY OCCUR, WHERE THEY OCCUR, WHAT KINDS OF PEOPLE, AND IT'S NOT - I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S A REAL CONSISTENT, CHARACTERISTIC OF DREAMS. AND SO - WE MUST THROW THAT OUT. BIZARRE - BIZARRENESS DOES NOT REALLY CHARACTERIZE DREAMS. SO, THEREFORE, WHAT DO WE CONCLUDE? THAT IF MOST DREAMS ARE MORE NORMAL, SHALL WE SAY, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY NOT REMEMBER THEM, WHAT'S THE POINT? WELL, IF WE KNEW THE FUNCTION OF DREAMS, I'D BE ABLE TO TELL YOU. BUT, UH, CERTAINLY IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH CREATIVITY, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY REALLY DO PRESENT THESE COUNTERFACTUAL SCENARIOS TO YOUR DAYTIME EXISTENCE. YOU KNOW, THEY PRESENT A DIFFERENT PICTURE OF WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU'RE DOING, WHERE YOU'RE GOING. AND TO THAT EXTENT, THEY HAVE TO IMPACT CONSCIOUSNESS. YOUR AWARENESS OF YOURSELF WILL BE IMPACTED BY THOSE COUNTERFACTUAL SCENARIOS THAT GET, UH, PRESENTED EVERY, EVERY NINETY MINUTES DURING THE NIGHT. TO DEFINE SLEEP IN THE NEGATIVE AS NOT BEING AWAKE IS LIKE DESCRIBING SYMPHONIC MUSIC AS NOT BEING SILENT. YES, IT'S TRUE - BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE. IN NON-REM SLEEP, DREAMS ARE RARE AND WE ARE GENERALLY NOT CONSCIOUS. IT'S TIME FOR BODILY HOUSEKEEPING - RESTORING ENERGY, STRENGTHENING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, AND THE LIKE. IN REM-SLEEP, DREAMING IS AN ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS, MAKING STRANGE CONNECTIONS, CONJURING UP BIZARRE IDEAS, EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES THAT DID NOT, OR COULD NOT, HAPPEN. CAN DREAMS ENGENDER CREATIVITY? I GO BACK TO HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL TO MEET A LEADING DREAM RESEARCHER - PSYCHOLOGIST DIERDRE BARRETT. DEIRDRE, YOU'VE DONE PIONEERING WORK IN SHOWING HOW DREAMING RELATES TO CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING. IT SEEMS FOR ONE WHO DOESN'T REMEMBER MANY OF MY DREAMS, THAT SEEMS REALLY QUITE INCREDIBLE. IS THERE REAL SCIENCE TO BACK THAT UP? YES, WE'RE CONSCIOUS IN SOME SENSE IN OUR DREAMS, EVEN IF WE DON'T REMEMBER THEM. PEOPLE ARE DREAMING ABOUT FIVE TIMES A NIGHT ON AVERAGE WE GO INTO RAPID EYE MOVEMENT OR REM SLEEP, AND THERE'S USUALLY DREAM CONTENT ACCOMPANYING THAT BUT, THE PROCESS WHERE WE TRANSFER SHORT TERM INTO LONG TERM MEMORY IS NOT HAPPENING IN OUR BRAINS UNLESS YOU WAKE UP FROM A DREAM, BUT, EVERYONE'S DREAMING A LOT AND WE MAY NOT NEED TO REMEMBER THEM FOR THEM TO ACCOMPLISH VARIOUS PURPOSES. SO HOW DOES THAT WORK? DREAMS ARE PROBABLY PARTIALLY DETERMINED BY WHY WE NEED REM SLEEP AND THAT LOOKS LIKE IT MAY WELL BE FOR SOME PHYSIOLOGIC REASONS. REM SLEEP CAME ON DEVELOPMENTALLY ABOUT AT THE START OF MAMMALS, THERE, THERE, THERE ARE SOME PRECURSORS IN SOME OTHER SPECIES BUT BASICALLY MOST MAMMALS DREAM, MOST NON-MAMMALS DON'T. THAT'S ALSO WHEN ELABORATE THERMAL REGULATION CAME ALONG AND REM SLEEP SEEMS TO ABOUT FINE TUNING BACK THE SYSTEM SHUT OFF DURING REM SLEEP. WE'RE REPLENISHING CERTAIN BIO-CHEMICALS, SO I THINK THAT WHY WE ARE IN THIS STATE OF VERY DRAMATIC VISUAL IMAGERY, LESS VERBAL THINKING MAY BE DETERMINED BY SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT NEUROTRANSMITTERS NEED TO BE DOING, AND THEN JUST THE FACT THAT WE ARE PARALYZED AND KEEP OUR EYES SHUT IS PROBABLY JUST DETERMINED BY DON'T DIE DURING THIS, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHAT OUT OF TOUCH WITH SENSATION SLEEP STAGE. BEYOND THAT I THINK DREAMS HAVE OTHER MEANINGS, LAYERED, LAYERED ON TOP OF WHAT MAY BE THE NEEDS FOR REM SLEEP. AND THEN HOW DO WE GET TO THE CREATIVITY AND THE PROBLEM SOLVING PART? WELL, DREAMS INVOLVE A STAGE WHERE OUR, OUR PREFRONTAL AREAS ARE MUCH LESS ACTIVE, SOME OF THE VISUAL IMAGINATION AREAS ARE MUCH MORE ACTIVE, AND I THINK THAT BASICALLY DREAMS ARE JUST THINKING IN A DIFFERENT BIOCHEMICAL STATE, THAT CERTAIN PARTS OF OUR BRAIN ARE MORE OR LESS ACTIVE, BUT WE'RE STILL INTERESTED IN ALL THE SAME THINGS, OUR PERSONAL EMOTIONAL ISSUES, BUT ALSO OUR PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVE ONES, WORRIES, HOPES, AND YOU SEE ALL OF THE SAME KINDS OF CONCERNS KICKING AROUND IN DREAMS THAT WE THINK ABOUT AWAKE. BUT THERE ARE WELL DOCUMENTED INSTANCES OF DREAMS REALLY SOLVING SOME PROBLEM THAT SOMEONE WAS STUCK ON AWAKE. THOSE, THOSE HAPPEN MORE OFTEN WHEN IT'S EITHER A VISUAL SPATIAL ISSUE, WHERE SEEING SOMETHING VERY VIVIDLY MAY LEND ITSELF TO SOLVING THE PROBLEM, THOSE CONSTITUTE A LOT OF THE DREAM BREAKTHROUGHS, AND THE OTHER BIG CLUSTER ARE WHERE THE REASON THAT YOU'RE STUCK IS BECAUSE THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IS WRONG ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE, AND THAT YOU NEED TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX AND AGAIN, DREAMS AREN'T USING OUR PRE FRONTAL LOGICAL AREAS QUITE AS MUCH AND THEY, THEY THINK MORE, MORE WIDELY AND LESS CONVENTIONALLY. SO YOU'RE MORE EASILY ABLE TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING CONTROLLING THE, THE RIGIDITY OF THE BOX. THE FRONTAL LOBES WHICH GIVES US THIS EXECUTIVE FUNCTION IS, IS NOT FUNCTIONAL. YES. AND THEN YOU'RE MORE ABLE TO VISUALIZE THINGS VERY VIVIDLY BECAUSE THE SENSORY INPUT FROM THE REAL WORLD IS SHUT DOWN AND YET THE PART OF THE BRAIN THAT PROCESSES THAT INTO IMAGES IS, IS SLIGHTLY MORE ACTIVE AWAKE. NOW, IF I WANT TO BE A SKEPTIC, I WOULD SAY SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT THAT YOU COULD BRING UP A LOT OF ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE, THIS SCIENTIST OR THAT MATHEMATICIAN OR THAT ARTIST HAD THIS FEELING, BUT THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD THAT ANYWAY, AND, AND WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE BILLIONS OF THINGS THAT DIDN'T OCCUR, HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT TYPE OF ARGUMENT? IF SOMEONE WORKING ON A PARTICULAR SCIENTIFIC PROBLEM DREAMS THE ANSWER IN THE DREAM, SAYING, OH THAT'S COINCIDENCE, DOESN'T REALLY MAKE SENSE. NOW IF YOU'RE SAYING THAT THEY MIGHT EVENTUALLY HAVE REACHED THE SOLUTION AWAKE, YES, BUT, BUT EVEN ONE ANECDOTE, UNLESS YOU THINK THE PERSON IS LYING, DOES SHOW THAT SOMETIMES THE- WELL, WHAT YOU- THE BREAKTHROUGH MAY HAPPEN IN THE DREAM STATE. DREAMS HAVE DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTED TO TWO NOBEL PRIZES, I MEAN FOR, FOR WHAT THE SMALL PROPORTION OF DREAM CONTENT IS REMEMBERED, I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY A, A FAIRLY GOOD BATTING AVERAGE. HERE'S THE BIG QUESTION ABOUT DREAMS. ARE DREAMS MEANINGFUL IN THEMSELVES? THE WAY MYSTICS AND PSYCHOTHERAPISTS HAVE IMAGINED? OR ARE DREAMS THE INCIDENTAL BY-PRODUCT OF PURELY PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF SLEEP? EITHER WAY, COULD DREAMS ENABLE CREATIVITY? BY MAKING THOSE STRANGE CONNECTIONS, CONJURING UP THOSE BIZARRE IDEAS. THAT'D BE A NICE COINCIDENCE, WOULDN'T IT? SO, HERE'S ORDINARY SLEEP, COMPOSED OF TWO RADICAL ELEMENTS. THE UTTER BLANKNESS OF NON-CONSCIOUSNESS AND REALITY-BENDING, FANTASTICAL DREAMS. PERHAPS AN EVOLUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE CAN PROBE THE ESSENCE OF SLEEP. I GO FROM CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, TO CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND TO MEET A PSYCHOLOGIST WHO USES EVOLUTION TO EXPLAIN CONSCIOUSNESS - NICHOLAS HUMPHREY. SLEEP CERTAINLY CHANGES OUR VIEW OF THE KIND OF CREATURES WE ARE, BECAUSE IT IS A SORT OF LITTLE DEATH, AND WHAT THE DEATH TELLS US, IS THAT WE SURVIVE IT, WE GO TO SLEEP, WE, OUR CONSCIOUSNESS IS OBLITERATED, AND SURE THING, NEXT DAY, WE RECREATE OURSELVES, AND THIS IS SUCH A REGULAR OCCURRENCE THAT OF COURSE, WE JUST TAKE IT FOR GRANTED, BUT IT IS A KIND OF MIRACLE. HOW COME, THAT WE LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS AND THEN OUT OF NOTHING BRING IT ALL BACK AGAIN. IT'S LIKE A KIND OF BIG BANG, IN A WAY. THE UNIVERSE WAS CREATED OUT OF NOTHING, WE REPEAT THAT EVERY DAY WHEN WE WAKE UP. NOW, I THINK IT'S BEEN VERY IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE RIGHT THROUGH HISTORY, IN UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS, IN PARTICULAR, IT'S GIVEN THEM GREAT CONFIDENCE THAT THEY WILL SURVIVE, BUT NOT ONLY THESE MINI DEATHS, BUT PERHAPS THE FINAL DEATH OF ALL, THAT THEY WILL WAKE UP, AFTER THE DEATH OF THE PHYSICAL BODIES IN AN AFTERLIFE. HOW HAS THE, UM, THE REALITY OF SLEEP AFFECTED OUR PERCEPTION OVER TIME, AS A SPECIES, UM, HAS IT, HAS IT GIVEN US A DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS OF REALITY? I THINK DREAMS ARE A WONDERFUL PLAYGROUND, UM, AND YES, WE LEARN A LOT FROM THEM. IT'S BEEN QUITE COMMON IN RECENT TIMES TO TRY TO PRODUCE VERY LOW LEVEL REDUCTIONIST THEORIES OF DREAMS, THAT IS, THE COMPUTER PROGRAM'S RUNNING BACKWARDS OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE. I THINK THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO MAKE THAT KIND OF CLAIM ARE PEOPLE WHO DON'T REALLY HAVE DREAMS, OR REMEMBER THEM. TO MOST OF US, I'M SURE, TO YOU ROBERT, DREAMS ARE QUITE CLEARLY EXTRAORDINARY ORIGINAL CREATIONS. THEY HAVE A NARRATIVE. THEY TELL STORIES, UH, THEY, WE LEARN FROM THEM. WE ENTER WORLDS WHICH WE DIDN'T KNOW BEFORE IN THEM. NOW WHAT COULD BE THE PURPOSE OF THAT? WELL, MY IDEA HAS BEEN THAT ACTUALLY, DREAMS ARE, REALLY ARE, IT'S NOT JUST A PLAYGROUND, BUT DREAMS ARE A FORM OF PLAY, AND THEY'VE FORM, THEY SERVE THE SAME FUNCTIONS AS PLAY. WHAT PLAY DOES, ORDINARY PLAY OUT, OUT IN WAKING LIFE, IT ALLOWS US TO EXPERIMENT WITH ALTERNATIVE REALITIES, IN A KIND OF SAFE ENVIRONMENT. WE CAN PLAY IN DOCTORS AND NURSES, OR COWBOYS AND INDIANS, ALL SORTS OF OTHER GAMES, ADULT GAMES AS WELL, IN WHICH WE TAKE ON ROLES WHICH ACTUALLY WE'VE NEVER YET EXPERIENCED BEFORE. WELL, WE DO THAT EVEN MORE SO, PERHAPS, AT NIGHT, IN THE THEATER OF OUR DREAMS, UM, COMPLETELY SAFE, NATURE SEES TO IT THAT WE PARALYZE OUR BODIES FROM THE NECK DOWN SO WE DON'T ACT OUT OUR DREAMS, AND THEN WE CAN FLY, WE CAN FIGHT, WE CAN MAKE LOVE OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE, IN COMPLETELY NEW KINDS OF SITUATIONS, WITH NEW PEOPLE, WITH OLD PEOPLE SOMETIMES, OTHER FRIENDS WHO, UH, PERHAPS, ABSOLUTELY HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW WE'RE EXPLOITING THEM IN OUR DREAMS. BUT WE'RE LEARNING ALL THE TIME. WE'RE GETTING INTRODUCED TO WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO BE IN THAT SITUATION. AND, AS PSYCHOLOGISTS, I MEAN, OUR NATURAL PSYCHOLOGIST, HUMAN BEINGS WHO NEED TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE POSSIBILITIES OF BEING HUMAN, WHAT DREAMS DO, IS INTRODUCE US TO SOME OF THOSE OTHER POSSIBILITIES, WHICH WE CAN THEN USE OUR KNOWLEDGE TO APPLY IN WAKING LIFE. I'LL GIVE YOU ONE REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF THAT. MIDWIVES, WHEN THEY FIRST START WORKING ON THE LABOR WARDS, ALMOST ALL, I'VE TALKED TO A LOT OF THEM, I DID SOME RESEARCH IN THIS, THEY START DREAMING OF GIVING BIRTH. NOW, MOST OF THESE WOMEN, YOUNG WOMEN, HAVE NOT ACTUALLY HAD BABIES THEMSELVES, AND YET THEY'RE IN A POSITION, IT'S THEIR JOB TO CARE FOR AND TO MINISTER TO, AND TO INTERPRET THE ANXIETIES OF MOTHERS IN THAT REAL SITUATION OF REAL CHILDBIRTH. WHAT THE NURSES, MIDWIVES TELL ME AGAIN AND AGAIN, WAS THAT THEY LEARNED THROUGH THEIR DREAMS MUCH MORE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PATIENTS THEY WERE DEALING WITH, THE MOTHERS THEY WERE DEALING WITH, AND THROUGH THAT, THEY COULD EMPATHIZE, THEY COULD SYMPATHIZE, THEY COULD INTERPRET THE MOTHER'S FEELINGS IN WAYS THEY'D NEVER BEEN ABLE TO OTHERWISE. WELL, LOOK AT THAT FOR A WONDERFUL FUNCTION FOR DREAMS, BY PLAYING AT GIVING BIRTH, A MIDWIFE IS ACTUALLY GETTING REALLY USEFUL SOCIAL KNOWLEDGE. YOU SAY THE PURPOSE, THE FUNCTION OF DREAMS. DO YOU SEE AN EVOLUTIONARY BENEFIT TO IT? YES, ABSOLUTELY, IN THAT PARTICULAR RESPECT, IT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WHICH OUR MINDS UNDERTAKE IS TO UNDERSTAND OTHER HUMAN BEINGS. WE'VE BEEN KIND OF EVOLVED TO BE WHAT I CALL NATURAL PSYCHOLOGISTS, WHO ARE BRILLIANT AT MIND READING. BUT, WE READ OTHER PEOPLE'S MINDS BY PROJECTING OURSELVES INTO THEM, AND SO WE CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND OTHER PEOPLE INSOFAR AS IN SOME, SOME WAY OR ANOTHER, WE'VE BEEN THERE OURSELVES. BUT THERE ARE MANY SITUATIONS WE HAVEN'T AND COULDN'T HAVE BEEN IN OURSELVES, IN REAL LIFE. WELL, PERHAPS WE'VE BEEN THERE IN OUR DREAMS, AND PERHAPS OUR DREAM EXPERIENCES GENUINELY GIVE US INSIGHT INTO WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO BE SOMEBODY IN THIS REAL SITUATION, WHICH WE NOW, UH, FIND THEM IN. WHY SLEEP? GOOD HEALTH AND GOOD THINKING. WHY DREAM? CREATIVITY AND ADAPTABILITY - TO SWIM WITH THE STRANGE, TO PLAY WITHOUT HARM, TO ENTER THE MIND OF OTHERS. ARE DREAMS A MERE BY-PRODUCT OF BRAIN BIOLOGY? WAS SLEEP NECESSARY IN EVOLUTION? TO LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS WITH PREDATORS ON THE PROWL, WOULD SEEM A WEAK ADAPTATION - NOT GIVEN TO PROLIFIC PROCREATION. SOME CALL SLEEP THE "LITTLE DEATH". AND BECAUSE WE ALWAYS "WAKE UP" AFTER SLEEP, SOME BELIEVE THAT WE WILL LIKEWISE "WAKE UP" AFTER DEATH. AS AN ARGUMENT FOR LIFE AFTER DEATH, I'M AFRAID, THE ANALOGY BETWEEN SLEEP AND DEATH IS NOT VERY GOOD. AS A DESCRIPTION OF SLEEP AS A WINDOW ON THE WONDERS OF CONSCIOUSNESS - THAT I LIKE. BY EXPERIENCING BLANKNESS, WE APPRECIATE AWARENESS. DRAWING, CLOSER TO TRUTH.
Info
Channel: Closer To Truth
Views: 128,090
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: closer to truth, robert lawrence kuhn, Robert Stickgold, Patrick McNamara, Deirdre Barrett, Nicholas Humphrey, Why Do We Sleep, Do dreams mean anything, sleeping and dreaming, consciousness and dreaming, dreams and consciousness psychology, consciousness, what do dreams mean, closer to truth full episodes, closer to truth season 12, sleep and consciousness, psychology, sleep, dreams, sleep deprivation, sleep deprivation effects, rem sleep, sleep disorders, why we need sleep, CTT
Id: EpgqnxIn6Sc
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 26min 46sec (1606 seconds)
Published: Sat Jun 13 2020
Related Videos
Note
Please note that this website is currently a work in progress! Lots of interesting data and statistics to come.