What Do We Hear When We Sleep? My Collage for LMAC #175
The idea for this blog came to me the other day when I woke from a vivid dream. I had dozed off listening to the audio version of Anthony Trollope's autobiography. The dream stayed with me. It involved two friends from a writing group that has been disbanded for years.
The three of us walked together (in my dream) on a dark street and one of my friends was describing her success in publishing short stories. As the list of her successes lengthened, my sense of failure grew. I was happy for her, but realized that my success could not compare with hers. As we walked, the environment grew more ominous. There were no lights. Eventually there were no people. I felt alone and threatened.
With that I shook myself awake. The audio tape was still going and Trollope was cataloguing the books he had written and published. The relationship between my dream and what I had heard on the recording was inescapable. So I began to read (don't I always?) about dreaming and hearing. Today I share a little bit of what I learned.
The template picture for the (75th round of the LMAC Collage contest) that served as a basis for my collage today is quite beautiful. I modified the picture, but hope I did not destroy its magic.
Template Photo by @shaka
I'll start off this discussion with a quote from the journal, Sleep:
...it has been shown that the sleeping brain is still able to process external information and even detect the pertinence of its content
The data that forms the basis of this article was obtained from PET and fMRI brain scans performed on subjects who were sleeping. The subjects' responses to the external stimuli varied according to the different stages of sleep. Activity was greatest, (predictably) during REM sleep.
Sleep During REM Stage REM
Credit: Nascared. Image obtained with screenshot of PSG [polysomnography) scan of someone's brain during sleep. Used under 3.0 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
The Sleep article explains that more imaging studies are necessary in order to better understand how the brain processes external stimuli during sleep and how the brain consolidates that information with already present information (memory).
A 2019 article in the Journal Nature (Sleepers Track Informative Speech in a Multitalker Environment) describes a sleeping brain that is very much tuned into external stimuli. A quote:
the sleeping brain continues generating neural responses to external events5,6, revealing the preservation of cognitive processes ranging from the recognition of familiar stimuli to the formation of new memory representations
Patient Wired up for a Sleep Study Performed by the U. S. Military
Credit: U. S. Army. (From the caption under the picture)Sleep technician checks sensor connections during a sleep study at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Nov. 22, 2013. Image used under Public Domain license.
One bit of information I found intriguing in this study was that the sleeping brain actually prioritizes information. The restorative function of sleep is essential, so that continues in the background while there is maintained an awareness of "meaningful speech compared to irrelevant signals." In other words, we tune out what we don't want to know and 'hear' what is essential.
This finding corresponds to the findings of a 1998 study I came across.
Sleeping Mother With Her Baby
Credit:Christian Krohg (1883). Kode Art Museum and composer homes--current location. Public domain.
In the 1998 study, published in Science Daily, an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University implanted electrodes directly onto the brain (!!!!) of the sleeping subject. From her readings, the student believed she could detect exactly where the active part of the brain (discerning significant sounds during sleep) was located.
The student hypothesized that the prefrontal lobe served the function of being 'vigilant' during sleep, while also allowing the sleeper to rest. The system, "rouses a mother when her baby cries but lets the woman sleep when a truck rumbles by."
So, what happened during my dream? Apparently the information provided by Anthony Trollop in his autobiography was significant to my life. In my dream state, I created a 'reality' that doesn't exist. My dear friend has never, to my knowledge, had a story published commercially. She has self-published a book, but she did that with my help.
In the future, perhaps I should listen to music when going to sleep, instead of a book. I wonder how my brain will process that?
This one was fun. I took my time and added elements intuitively. I couldn't find a suitable sleeping woman on a public domain site, so I took someone who was sitting and manipulated her body to make it look as though she was lying down.
I took the distant mountain from the template and made that into the two islands. Also, I added it to the whales' backs, so they would be more dramatic in appearance.
Here are a few pictures of my progress:
At this point I had added all the elements I wanted. I just needed a little 'dream' filter from Lunapic to give the picture the final 'dreamy' look I wanted.
I owe a debt to my LMAC colleagues who contributed pictures to the LMAC Gallery of Images, LIL.
@muelli
Ox
A Few I contributed to LIL:
@agmoore
Fish under water
@agmoore
Seahorse
@agmoore
Sparkly fish
I also would like to thank the following photographers from public domain sources for their photos:
Paola Ocaranza, Unsplash
Whales
susannp4, Pixabay
Bed
mohamed-hasan
Music notes
https://pixabay.com/es/vectors/silueta-musical-clave-bajo-3309171/
mysticsartdesign
Unicorn
https://pixabay.com/es/illustrations/unicornio-paisaje-la-atm%C3%B3sfera-1737897/
ckl-free-vector-images
Pillow
https://pixabay.com/es/vectors/habitaci%C3%B3n-dormido-cama-muebles-294591/
Tim Stagge
Woman
https://unsplash.com/photos/M_INGBXweog
Every week I learn something when I write a blog for this community. This week I learned a lot about brain activity during sleep. I hope my readers find that information as interesting as I did. And every week I have a wonderful time tapping my creative resources as I design a collage.
Please check out the LMAC curation feed to learn how creative insight offered unique perspectives on this week's template.
Selecting finalists for the ultimate part of the contest is never easy. Everyone who competes is a winner (I don't compete), but the Hive community selects the official winners. This week's roster of winners may be viewed here. Would the winner have been your choice? All of Hive can vote in the contest.
Tomorrow a new template will be published. Make a collage and join in the fun.
You can see that LIL, the LMAC Image Library, was an essential part of my collage creating process this week. Everyone on Hive can contribute to the library and everyone can borrow from the library. Learn about the procedure here.
I wish all my readers peace and health.
Not destroyed but multiplied.
I wonder about those sleep tests. Surely being hooked up to a machine in a strange environment would have some effect on the outcome. I have never fallen asleep anywhere other than in bed in a dark, quiet room.
😇 Thank you!
Me too. Unless you're hooked up 24 hours a day at home (and even then, being aware that you're hooked up would alter results), I can't see that this applies accurately to the way we all sleep.
This is a very interesting subject, brain activity during sleep, some people say that the brain is active when we sleep, and true, the relationship of your collage with brain activity is good, I hope it is good friend.
Thank you, my friend. @cetb2008. It is an interesting subject. I certainly am going to be more careful about what I listen to when I sleep. Who knows what comes through? Makes me wonder what we hear when we are under anesthesia (in a surgical procedure).
Hope your lovely family is enjoying the spring/summer weather.
Yes my friend we are all fine, best regards and have a great week.
They all are wonderful pictures that are so beautiful to the sight
I'm so much in love with those pictures
They are so lovely
Thank you, @rafzat. Thank you for the comment and for stopping by.
you have done a great job, explaining this topic and how it impact your life, I am not a dream rememberer, i don't remember my dreams. It quite rare that i have something from dream in my mind when i wake up.
Hello @itwithsm,
I too rarely remember my dreams, especially dreams as vivid as this one. However, if I dream is distressing and wakes me, then I remember.
Thank you for the kind words about my collage, and thank your for visiting my blog.
Such a dream like collage😂😂
Been long I dreamt...
Maybe I should listen to a book or two..
Hello @seki1 Most nights I wouldn't sleep unless I listen to something interesting. Last night I listened to a book about Nietzshe. What a mistake. I dreamed about war!!!
Thanks for stopping by. Take care
Dreaming about war sounds both horrific and cool at the same time 🥺😂(forgive my masculine and childlike mind😂😂😂)
So where you a soldier or commander in this said dream?🌝
Neither. There was chaos, death and destruction. Of course, because Nietzsche inspired it. 😇
I would also like to say here that when we are sleeping, our day is working because of that we have dreams and remember them till morning. I don't sleep anywhere except my room. Dreaming is a good thing when a person dreams and then works hard day and night to fulfill it.
I don't often remember my dreams... it seems I'm remembering more lately. But I agree. Sleep is restorative and essential. I also only like to sleep in my room.
Thanks for stopping by, @djbravo
Most welcome.
The world of dreams, very creative collage.
As always in each delivery you bring very interesting topics that invite us to learn something new or to deepen on these topics that we already knew.
This is a very interesting and disturbing topic because many times I wonder what causes our brain to produce or represent situations as random and surreal as some of our dreams can be.
In dealing with the subject under study I think that the restorative function of sleep in my brain is out of service 😟 since I have always suffered from insomnia and with the slightest noise I wake up and once awake I find it difficult to fall asleep.
I always enjoy reading your contest posts.
Greetings I hope you are feeling well 👍
Hello @anibal-aa,
So nice to see you here. Thanks for the kind words about my collage. You are such a good artist.
I have had trouble sleeping for years, but find if I listen to something interesting it distracts me from my thoughts and I fall off without realizing it. If I wake in the middle of the night, I just start the recording again. This usually works.
Thanks for your kind words about my blogs, also. I love to write and love to do research. It's great that these mean something to some people.
I am well. I hope the same is true for you and your family. Tomorrow we see a new template, another collage adventure. Looking forward to it.
Take care.
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Something similar has happened to me several times, my brain relates external noises and "Creates" a dream with what it is hearing, it is quite rare hahaha but they have never been as vivid and as well related as your dream was
It's startling when that happens, isn't it? The brain is an amazing thing.
Thanks for stopping by, @malos10
Every time I see these, your creativity impresses!
That's quite a talent. My dreams only end when the conclusion is reached, it seems. Perhaps if I have a dream loop I might sleep forever XD (Is that how coma dreams work?)
If I have a dream that ends in a way I don't like, I try to go back into a twilight state and edit. I will not be stuck with an unpleasant ending 😄
I hope not...
Thank you!
Intresting idea and implementation; good job with the sleeping woman ;=)
Have this Hive !PIZZA as an extra ☘️
Thank you! Getting the woman right was hard. Glad you like it.
Thanks for the pizza, and thanks for stopping by.
The pleasure is mine 🙏
My wife's farts!
😅😯😅
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@qwerrie(1/5) tipped @agmoore
Interesting subject again my friend. My cat, Red, keeps getting me up early by licking my face or arms. After I get up and feed him then he has a nap. 😂
Thanks for including my lil image.
Hope you are enjoying nice weather and no smoke, raining here this morning. No sun in sight.
That's great. Clear here also.
My daughter's cat does the same thing. I really believe they know what they are up to 😄 Mischievous cats.
Thanks for reading my friend. I love your pictures in LIL
Have a great week!