Sigmund Freud’s Contribution to the Studies of the Subconscious

In the article Dangerous Dreamers, Randall provides statistics, examples, and facts on the dangers of people with Parasomnia. Parasomnia is a sleeping disorder in which the transition between REM and non-REM sleep aren’t smooth. The dangers consist of: sleepwalking, losing conscious and judgment while sleepwalking, and damages the midtemporal cortex. With Parasomnia the brain's ability to make proper judgments and the right decision become challenging. A person with Parasomnia can sleepwalk with their eyes wide open and be aware of their surroundings, but they have no conscious and they can’t make logical decisions.

Dangerous Dreamers an article speaking about the dangers of Parasomnia and the toll it takes on the human brain and nervous system. While speaking on the dangers of this disease he also explains how non-REM and REM is incorporated in Parasomnia. REM sleep and non-REM sleep are the different phases the body transitions to during sleep. This transition happens on average about 6 times during an 8 hour sleeping period. REM sleep is when the brain is the most active, this results in dreams or nightmares. During REM sleep this is when your blood pressure is the highest, and your breathing is increased and sometimes irregular. Non-REM sleep is the complete opposite, but varies. Sometimes a person might be asleep but the sleep is so light that the person won’t even realize he is sleeping. On the other hand, the sleep can be so overwhelming that a person might be easily irritated and annoyed. In Randall’s article he believes that non-REM and REM sleep are the leading problem with Parasomniac people, which is why it connects to the violent acts that these people perform. In my opinion, I believe that these reasons make perfect sense. Having Parasomniac sleeping disorders can alter the judgment and decision making in your head. In the article there is more than enough evidence proving so. One example would be Kenneth Parks. After recently being fired from his job for embezzling money, one night he got off the couch drove to his mother-in-laws house and murdered her. After, he went to the police station and confessed killing her. This is strange because he was far closer with his in laws than he was with his own parents. While on trial his lawyer argued saying he can’t be acquitted with these charges because he didn’t make that choice, he was unconscious. Studies have shown that the major cause of these tragic events is because they are being provoked, Park’s wouldn’t harm somebody who doesn’t mean any harm to him without reason.

Unconscious Processing effect behavior and the brain in many ways. Sigmund Freud had a major contribution to this topic. His experiments are what made parasomniac popular. A person’s behavior is affected dramatically, according to Freud unconscious processing was our bodies defense mechanism for things such as nightmares and disturbing ideas. He believed that the unconscious part of the brain contained thoughts and feelings that we aren’t aware of. The unconscious part of the brain was really a storage room for your ideas until they became a reality or reach the conscious mind. Freud believed that our conscious while also defending us from these things would also tend to find it’s way out (dreams).

The part of the brain responsible for a patients sleeping disorders is the Thalamus. The brain can disrupt a person’s sleep in many ways. It affects their cognitive skills, their emotions, and their judgment. All which are needed in our everyday lives. Violent behaviors can easily be explained by your sleeping behaviors and patterns. Just think of the last time you went to bed really late. When you wake up you are most likely very irritable, annoyed, and anxious. Now picture having a sleeping disorder and not having the right amount of sleep. Things would get out of hand fairly quickly. In the cases of Kenneth Parks and Brian Thomas, people ended up losing their lives. What makes Parasomnia and sleeping disorders even more concerning is that you don’t know what is happening until it happens. Unfortunately Brian lost his wife, and he didn’t even realize until the deed was done. In my opinion people aquitted for crimes because of sleeping disorders shouldn’t be charged. They don’t make these choices, they are sleeping. Instead, we need to do further research and provide help and medication for those who suffer from these horrible disorders.

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