“Lucid dreaming” is the act of dreaming while maintaining consciousness during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. This type of dreaming allows you to tell yourself that “you are dreaming” without waking up. Awake consciousness, if used correctly, gives one the opportunity to keep on participating in the dream while defining it to be something else.

Dreaming on Demand: Becoming A Lucid Dreamer

Many studies show that the phenomenon of lucid dreaming not only exists, it’s more common than we think.Although lucid dreaming sounds like a savior and vessel for sleep-time entertainment, it definitely requires some practice.Many “lucid dream specialists” suggest that maintaining a dream journal makes you more aware of your sleeping experience, and thus helps you become a lucid dreamer. Even though we tend to forget our dreams later on in the day, these specialists propose that if written right after waking up, dreams can promote lucid dreaming in the long term.

How To Become A Lucid Dreamer

If you set up a light that goes off around the same time as your REM stage of sleep begins, then you are more likely to know that you are dreaming.

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Mindfulness

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Health

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Habits

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Meditation

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Science & Nature

Researchers now believe that if you dream about what you’ve learned during your waking hours, you’re far more likely to retain that information.I t’s been widely accepted that dreaming plays an important role in helping us understand our world, but it’s becoming increasingly evident that it actually helps shape and retain what we’re learning as well. .

Are Your Dreams Making You Smarter?

Older research shows that the brain wants to make sense of what it has seen and experienced throughout the day, and so, when you’re sleeping, it digs into that vat of information and starts processing it.&nbsp;There’s a growing body of research that specifically sets out to prove that your brain actually actively works through problems, pulling out new insights and solutions from the far reaches of your mind. It explains why many people who hear tapes while they drift off to sleep, even though they’re not actively listening, still find that the information gets into their minds.

What Are Dreams, Anyway?

Lucid dreaming is defined as being in a dream state but remaining conscious of it at the same time; you know it’s a dream, you know you’re in it, and you can control what you do.&nbsp;Lucid dreaming happens during REM sleep, and studies have shown that the activation patterns in the brain during REM are similar to those of wake consciousness and self-awareness. Research shows that when lucid dreamers have been asked to perform certain movements, such as clenching their fists, they’ve found electromyographic activity in the corresponding body parts.

Lucid Dreaming

Does dreaming about something you’ve learned mean you've gained that knowledge? Those who dreamed about a maze they learned were able to navigate it faster.

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Problem Solving

creativity

Creativity

In art, literature, or science, it’s an elusive question: how do you create something new? How do you get past a block or solve a seemingly impossible problem? Well, putting it aside and sleeping on it just might help.Numerous studies show that having a snooze can promote creative problem-solving. But now scientists are starting to uncover why sleep may make you more creative. It is the combination of non-REM (NREM) and REM sleep that allows the brain to detect commonalities between what may appear to be dissimilar concepts and present us with the keys to solving the problems on our minds.

Can Sleep Boost Your Creativity?

As you begin to nod off, your brain enters into four stages of sleep: the first three are NREM, and the final one is REM sleep. During NREM, or slow wave sleep, your brain replays memories. New information is initially channeled to the hippocampus, a small region located deep within the brain that is shaped like a seahorse. Importantly, the hippocampus organizes and prioritizes the incoming information.

The Stages Of Sleep

In adults, REM sleep is a short phase that makes up only about 20 percent of the total amount of time spent in slumber.&nbsp;During REM sleep, the brain is not only in a state of heightened activity, it is also no longer governed by the regions that control logic and inhibit impulses. Unconstrained by reality, fragments are loosened from their original context and recombined in strange, exhilarating, and sometimes frightening ways. It is all very vivid and emotionally intense, as the unbelievable becomes believable.

REM Sleep

In spite of their potent emotional force, dreams are merely the result of the random firing of neurons. It is only after we wake that the brain, seeking order, weaves the pieces together in search of some significance.Dreaming of recent experience reflects the reactivation and consolidation of memory in the sleeping brain.The purpose of dreaming is to determine what new information is useful and to help the brain make predictions about the future.

Do Dreams Serve A Purpose?

Try "sleeping on it." "You can detect similarities between different concepts which you might not have put together at all before,” says Dr. Penelope Lewis.

The research shows that sleep may have other, more sophisticated purposes rather than simply recharging the body after a day of hard work or strenuous decision making. Recent studies suggest that sleep is paramount to our ability to forget things — that toxins in the brain help us filter what sensory details we need to remember and what we can let go of.

How Deep Sleep Helps Your Brain “Clean” Itself

Dr. Laura Lewis and <a href="https://www.lewisneurolab.org/">her team of researchers at Boston University</a> found out that during deep sleep, toxic compounds in the brain like beta amyloid, found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, were wiped out.Lewis wondered why this process only took place during sleep and more importantly, what mechanics were involved. She suspected the source to be cerebrospinal fluid, a clear, watery substance that flows around the brain using valves.

What Happens While We Sleep

In deep sleep, the cerebrospinal fluid acted like waves on a lake splashing over the brain. During this period, the neurons would gradually stop firing, requiring less oxygen which in turn meant less blood flow to the brain. As the blood flow decreased, the rest of the space would fill with cerebrospinal fluid.When awake, brain blood levels don’t drop enough to allow waves of cerebrospinal fluid to circulate around the brain and clear out all the metabolic byproducts that accumulate as we function, like beta amyloid, a protein that disrupts neural connectivity in patients with Alzheimer’s.

The Unknown Benefits Of Deep Sleep

"We’ve discovered there are really large waves of CSF that appear in the brain only during sleep. This effect is really striking," says Dr. Laura Lewis.

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Music

How Deep Sleep Helps Your Brain "Clean" Itself

Claude Steele paints a compelling picture, through personal stories and research results, of how simply being aware of negative stereotypes toward our social group diminishes our ability to perform.&nbsp;The threat of stigma is sufficient to have a significant deleterious effect on performance. According to Steele, this phenomenon, which he and his colleagues call stereotype threat, permeates American culture, particularly in schools and colleges.&nbsp;

How Stereotypes Affect Us (And What We Can Do)


Recent theory and research on the concept of stereotype threat suggests that reminders of a negative stereotype about racial identity can impede performance in a relevant domain. According to Steele and his colleagues , when a negative stereotype about a group becomes salient as a criterion for test evaluation, individual group members can become concerned about confirming the negative stereotype. The concern raised by the salience of the stereotype can subsequently cause individual group members to perform more poorly than they would in a neutral context.

The Stereotype Threat

Steele shows how educators might overcome stereotype threat with practically implementable research findings, including:<ul><li>&nbsp;self-affirmation within grade school,&nbsp;</li><li>multiracial group talks on college campuses,&nbsp;</li><li>reinforcing that challenges are learnable and ability is not “fixed,”&nbsp;</li><li>&nbsp;altering methods by which critical feedback is provided.</li></ul>

Overcoming The Stereotype Threat

"Stereotype threat involves judgment or treatment in an environment that goes beyond any personal limitations," says Dr. Claude Steele.

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Psychology

Discover the world of business and economics.

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Economics

How Stereotypes Affect Us (And What We Can Do)

Certain patterns of thinking make you more likely to experience anxiety, depression, anger, and other problems. These patterns are called cognitive distortions, and you can learn to counter them.Cognitive distortions are a type of thinking we are all vulnerable to. The term refers to thinking that is negatively biased in some way. The thoughts can be about ourselves, others, or the world around us. They often happen automatically — like a reflex.Everyone experiences cognitive distortions to some degree, but when they happen a lot they can cause anxiety, low mood, and distress.

Cognitive Distortions and What to Do About Them

Here are the most common types of cognitive distortions (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-Handbook-David-Burns/dp/0452281326/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=david+burns&qid=1605579713&sr=8-4">Burns, 1999</a>):<ol><li>All-or-Nothing Thinking - The tendency to evaluate oneself, others, or situations in extreme, black-and-white ways.</li><li>Overgeneralization</li><li>Hyper-focusing on negative aspects of oneself or a situation.</li><li>Disqualifying the positive</li><li>Jumping to conclusions</li><li>Assuming that because you feel a certain way, your thoughts must be true</li><li>Applying critical words like “should” or “must” to ourselves or others.</li><li>Assigning negative labels to ourselves or others.</li><li>Assuming responsibility for something that you do not have complete control over.</li></ol>

Types Of Cognitive Distortions

<ul><li>Keep in mind that the way that you think about situations depends largely on your mood. </li><li>Remember that your feelings are not facts! Your feelings mirror the way you think, and if your thinking isn’t accurate, your feelings will not entirely reflect the truth. </li><li>Identify thoughts that may be contributing to your feeling anxious, depressed, or angry. </li><li>Evaluate your negative thoughts by reviewing the evidence for and against them. </li><li>Practice, and be patient with yourself. Identifying and talking back to distorted thoughts is a skill that takes time to develop.</li></ul>

What To Do Once You Notice Cognitive Distortions


Sometimes our thinking can lead us straight into anxiety, depression, guilt, or anger. Cognitive distortions can make this happen.

mentalhealth

Mental Health

Disappointment is a part of life that comes up when hopes or expectations aren’t met. All of us feel disappointment at times in our relationships, in other people, and in ourselves. It’s not an easy feeling to sit with, but there are healthy (and unhealthy) ways to cope with this unavoidable emotion.
It might be tempting to handle disappointment by avoiding it altogether. One way to do this is to not have expectations in the first place. But this isn’t realistically possible. Also, expectations are helpful for us in many ways.

Disappointment As Part of Life

Here are some healthy ways to deal with disappointment:<ul><li>Acknowledge that you’re experiencing disappointment. It’s tempting to ignore, minimize, or distract yourself from unpleasant feelings. But this can actually make these feelings more of a problem over time.</li><li>Remind yourself that disappointment is like a wave – ride it until it passes.</li><li>Adjusting expectations is the best way to cope with disappointment. If an expectation is rigid or inflexible, or doesn’t line up with reality, it’s easier to feel disappointed.</li></ul>

Ways To Deal With Disappointment

Disappointment happens for all of us sometimes. You can't completely avoid it, so learn how to deal with disappointment.

A Psychologist's Advice on How to Deal with Disappointment

Executive function is a set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. We use these skills every day to learn, work, and manage daily life. Trouble with executive function can make it hard to focus, follow directions, and handle emotions, among other things.Some people describe executive function as “the management system of the brain.” That’s because the skills involved let us set goals, plan, and get things done. When people struggle with executive function, it impacts them at home, in school, and in life.

What Is Executive Function?

There are three main areas of executive function. They are:<ol><li><a href="https://www.understood.org/articles/en/working-memory-what-it-is-and-how-it-works" target="_self">Working memory</a></li><li><a href="https://www.understood.org/articles/en/flexible-thinking-what-you-need-to-know" target="_self">Cognitive flexibility </a>(also called flexible thinking)</li><li>Inhibitory control (which includes self-control)</li></ol>Executive function is responsible for many skills, including:<ul><li>Paying attention</li><li>Organizing, planning, and prioritizing</li><li>Starting tasks and staying focused on them to completion</li><li>Understanding different points of view</li><li>Regulating emotions</li><li>Self-monitoring (keeping track of what you’re doing)</li></ul>Executive functioning skills usually develop quickly in early childhood and into the teen years. But they keep developing into the mid-20s.&nbsp;

What Is Executive Function Responsible For?

Trouble with executive function can affect people in different ways. The difficulties often look like the signs of ADHD. That’s because <a href="https://www.understood.org/articles/en/the-new-thinking-about-adhd-and-executive-functioning" target="_self">ADHD is a problem with executive function </a>.People struggling with executive skills may:<ul><li>Have trouble starting and/or completing tasks</li><li>Have difficulty prioritizing tasks</li><li>Forget what they just heard or read</li><li>Have trouble following directions or a <a href="https://www.understood.org/articles/en/trouble-with-sequencing-what-you-need-to-know" target="_self">sequence of steps</a></li><li>Panic when rules or routines change</li><li>Have trouble switching focus from one task to another</li><li>Get overly emotional and <a href="https://www.understood.org/articles/en/perseveration-adhd-and-learning-differences" target="_self">fixate on things</a></li><li>Have trouble organizing their thoughts.</li></ul>

Signs Of Executive Functioning Issues

There’s been a lot of research into what causes trouble with executive function and ADHD. Here are two main factors.1. Differences in brain development. Researchers have looked at executive function in the brain. They’ve found that certain areas of the brain develop more slowly in people who struggle with executive skills. These areas are responsible for working memory and emotional control.2. Genes and heredity. People who have trouble with executive function often have family members who do, too.&nbsp;

Possible Causes Of Executive Functioning Issues

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Parenting

education

Learning & Education

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Human Resources

What is executive function?

Assertiveness training is a form of therapy that has been used since the 1970s to help people learn how to better communicate their needs and wants so that they don’t feel taken advantage of or used. Assertiveness training can be very helpful to people who learned to be passive or passive aggressive due to the circumstances that they grew up in.&nbsp;

What is Assertiveness Training

Assertiveness training was originally developed as an offshoot of the women’s movement of the 1970s and it was designed to help women learn to stand up for themselves in situations where typically they hadn’t in the past like in the workplace or in higher education settings.Today both women and men who are shy, or never learned how to appropriately and respectfully set boundaries and prioritize their own needs go through assertiveness training to learn better ways to communicate in all facets of their lives including personal relationships, work relationships, and educational relationships.&nbsp;

Who Came Up with Assertiveness Training?

There is a big difference between assertive behavior and an assertive personality. Assertive behavior that is also respectful while still allowing a person to make their own needs and wants known is healthy.An assertive personality means that someone is prone to a communication style that can be overbearing or sometimes even bullying. Assertive behavior can be respectful of the needs and wants of others.Assertive communication is a healthy way for a person that has trouble standing up for themselves to communicate with others without allowing others to control or manipulate them.&nbsp;

Assertive Behavior Vs Assertive Personality

Assertiveness training teaches more than just how to be assertive. Assertiveness training teaches people how to handle tense situations without being confrontational but also without giving up their personal autonomy.&nbsp;When people know that their needs matter and that they have the right to prioritize their own needs they can listen to others and communicate clearly and openly without being combative but also without letting themselves be manipulated.&nbsp;Assertiveness training encourages people to speak up for themselves and make their feelings known.&nbsp;

What Does Assertiveness Training Encourage?

<h3>Assertiveness training will teach you the following assertive behaviours:</h3><ul><li>Saying no to demands and requests</li><li>Setting boundaries and sticking with them/being firm</li><li>Talking about things that bother you or addressing problems</li><li>Asking others for help, favours, requests</li><li>Beginning, changing and ending conversations</li><li>Expressing feelings, thoughts, opinions, experiences</li><li>Sharing positive and/or negative emotions</li><li>Challenging rules/traditions that are unfair, don’t work, don’t make any sense.&nbsp;</li></ul>

What Will The Assertive Communication Training Teach You?

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Corporate Culture

communication

Communication

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Love & Relationships

teamwork

Teamwork

What is Assertiveness Training?

In life, there are often times when you need to have uncomfortable conversations. Assertively communicating in a way that is clear and direct is one of the most effective ways of minimizing conflict, preventing misunderstandings, and creating a positive environment. When you practice assertive communication, you are giving equal respect to the rights and needs of yourself and others.&nbsp;

How to Practice Assertive Communication

People often confuse aggression with assertiveness, but they are very different. In aggressive communication, you are placing your own rights and needs above the rights and needs of others. Aggressive communication does the following:<ul><li>Forces your opinions on others</li><li>Does not allow compromises</li><li>Damages relationships</li></ul>Passive communication is when you place the rights and needs of others above your own. Passive communication does the following:<ul><li>Allows for someone to be bullied or ignored</li><li>Leads to low self-esteem&nbsp;</li></ul>

Non-Assertive Communication

<ul><li>State your point of view in a clear and direct manner</li><li>Avoid exaggerating. For example, instead of saying, “You’re always late!” Try saying, “You are 20 minutes late for the third time this week.”</li><li>Discuss facts rather than making judgments. For example, instead of saying, “You’re trying to get out of doing the group assignment!” Try saying, “Your portion of the assignment needs to be one page longer.”</li><li>Use “I statements” that communicate your feelings without being accusatory. instead of saying, “You’re such a slob!” Try saying “I feel frustrated when you leave your clothes on the floor.”&nbsp;</li></ul>

Dreaming on Demand: Becoming A Lucid Dreamer

Are Your Dreams Making You Smarter?

Can Sleep Boost Your Creativity?

How Deep Sleep Helps Your Brain "Clean" Itself

How Stereotypes Affect Us (And What We Can Do)

Claudia Florescu