Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: annie123 on 15/10/2012 20:40:27

Title: do dreams produce same body responses as when awake?
Post by: annie123 on 15/10/2012 20:40:27

If one has a bad experience while awake - fright, stress etc. one produces adrenalin/ cortisol  and other chemicals. Does the body produce these in dream situations of the same type? Can/has this been measured?

Title: Re: do dreams produce same body responses as when awake?
Post by: evan_au on 27/10/2012 06:08:40

I recall waking from nightmares with a racing heart, but I can't tell if this occurred during the dream, or was a reaction to the fright upon waking.

The following article suggests that several hormonal systems associated with physical movement are disabled during REM sleep, but implies that other hormonally-sensitive responses like heart rate and sexual function can change due to events perceived while dreaming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_eye_movement_sleep#Physiology