Rhythmic Sleeping
Biological functions that occur within a 24-hour cycle, including sleep schedules and time perception
Circadian Rhythm
A sudden muscle twitch in the limbs during NREM 1 that serves as a biological "reality check".
Slow-moving brainwaves associated with semi-consciousness during NREM 1, daydreaming, or hypnosis
Theta Waves
The deepest stage of sleep characterized by slow Delta waves and physical repair
NREM 3 (Delta Sleep)
The part of the brain stem that fires random electrical bursts to activate the brain during REM sleep
Reticular Formation
What is Wish Fulfillment?
Freud's theory that every dream is a manifestation of an unconscious desire.
Jung’s primary motivation for behavior and dreams, focusing on wholeness.
Self-Discovery
A state where the dreamer is aware they are dreaming and can control the dream reality.
Lucid Dreaming
A hormone secreted by the pineal gland that induces sleep when light is absent
Melatonin
The compound vital for cellular energy and muscular contraction
ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)
A machine that records electrical activity across the brain’s surface during sleep.
EEG (Electroencephalograph):
A stage where the brain is highly active (alpha waves) but the body is paralyzed.
REM (Paradoxical Sleep)
Information, thoughts, or experiences from the waking day that appear in dreams
Day Residue
All the observable actions and objects within the world of the dream. (The movie of the dream)
Manifest Content
Breaking manifest content down to its basic function without sexual connotations.
Explication
An increase in brainwave activity that occurs when you realize you are dreaming, often causing you to wake up
Alpha/Beta Spike
Biological activities that are completed in less than 24 hours, such as appetite or sleep stages.
Ultradian Rhythm
An inhibitory bi-product of energy (ATP) usage that creates "sleep pressure".
Adenosine
A "cleaning system" that flushes the brain with cerebrospinal fluid to remove adenosine during sleep
Glymphatic System
A requirement for teenagers to get 7–10 hours of sleep to remain healthy due to metabolic and hormonal changes.
Adolescent Sleep Needs
The process where the PFC stitches random day residue into a semi-coherent story.
Synthesis (Prefrontal Cortex)
The hidden meaning or unconscious wish behind the manifest content.
Latent Content
Comparing dream symbols to historical or cultural archetypes found in the collective unconscious.
Amplification
A technique using self-induced suggestions repeated while falling asleep to trigger lucidity.
MILD Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dreaming
Biological functions that last more than 24 hours, such as menstruation or hibernation.
Infradian Rhythm
A chemical released by the hypothalamus to induce hunger and boost calorie needs
Neuropeptide Y (NPY)
The region responsible for decision-making (PFC) and language planning (Broca’s Area) that is inhibited first by sleep debt
Frontal Lobe
A condition where mood and neurotransmitters are chronically altered by the absence or presence of sunlight.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
An inconsequential bi-product of memory encoding that has little insightful value.
Epiphenomenal Dream
A dreamwork where feelings are redirected away from their source toward something else
Displacement
The passive/accepting and aggressive/assertive archetypal forces within the psyche.
Anima/Animus
Realizing you are dreaming by identifying a dream sign, such as being unable to read due to an inactive Wernicke's Area.
Dream Induced Lucid Dreaming (DILD)
A cluster of 20,000 neurons near the hypothalamus that serves as the body's internal clock.
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
Bursts of energy in NREM 2 that check the connectivity between various brain lobes
Sleep Spindles
The lobe responsible for reaction time and awareness of limbs that is inhibited after 24–48 hours of sleep debt.
Parietal Lobe
A sudden burst of energy after 24 hours of sleep debt caused by hyper-stimulation of the mesolimbic pathway
Second Wind
The evolutionary idea that nightmares allow the brain to "practice" surviving dangerous situations.
Threat Simulation Theory
A dreamwork where a subject places their own suppressed thoughts onto someone else in the dream.
Projection
Interacting with dream characters as projections of the true self to solve problems.
Active Imagination
A technique to transition from wakefulness directly to REM sleep, which can lead to sleep paralysis from low hypocretin levels.
Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming (WILD)