Page 57 - Advanced Biblical Counseling Student Textbook

Physiological function: Dreams help develop the brain. They may help develop and preserve neural
pathways in the brain.

Activation-synthesis: Visual memories that are “seen” in dreams change into stories. Dreams help us
process our day.

Cognitive development: Dreams reflect our knowledge and understanding of the world. They help us
sort events and store memories.

Have you ever faced a problem in life, go to sleep, and wake up after dreaming about a solution to the
problem? Perhaps God uses dreams to enlighten us to walk the paths of His will.

Counseling those with sleep deprivation.

Sleep Deprivation Impairs Thought Processes
The deepest stage of the sleep cycle, REM sleep (rapid eye movement), stimulates the brain regions we
use in learning. Several studies have shown that people taught a skill and then deprived of REM sleep
cannot recall the skill they were taught. Those with full REM sleep easily recalled the skill. When deep
sleep is interrupted it impacts our memory and ability to think clearly. Our ability to perform tasks
requiring logical reasoning or complex thoughts are hindered. Decision making is more difficult, because
you cannot assess the situation clearly. Inability to concentrate caused by sleepiness weakens the
memory which impedes learned skills from making it into short and long-term memory. In adults and
teens, this inability to focus and weakened memory can affect their performance at work or school. In
children, it can cause hyperactivity as well as impede their learning.

Symptoms of Sleep Deprivation

• Consistent drowsiness during the day
• Constant tiredness
• Habitually using caffeine to stay awake

• Not waking up refreshed
• Drowsiness while driving

• Drowsiness doing mundane activities like watching TV
• Memory problems
• Waking up too early

• Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep

Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Mental Health
Lack of sleep can make people moody, irritable, angry, and stressed. According to the National Science
Foundation, sleep deprived people are more likely to seethe in traffic jams and quarrel with other
people, and are less likely to exercise, eat healthy, have sex, and engage in leisure activities.
According to Harvard Health, chronic sleep problems affect about 50 to 80 percent of those with
psychiatric conditions and 10 to 18 percent of adults in the general U.S. population. Experts used to
think that sleep problems were just one of the many symptoms of mental health conditions. Research

56