HW1:Background of the Survey EDITED

            The aspect of dreaming has been a very interesting topic for most of us, and with the use of research, I can say that I am one of those who have learned some useful things about this mysterious topic. Through researching, I have discovered a lot of things about dreaming. One of my biggest questions about dreaming is somewhat answered: how are dreams formed? As a matter of fact, I have researched two theories on how dreams are formed. But I believe that knowledge arouses curiosity. After reading about dreaming, I become curious of what are the factors that really affect dreams. There are common factors that are usually associated with dreams, but there are also factors that are not that well-researched. And that is what I am trying to find out. That factor is food. There are some researches that are already made overseas that concern the effect of food on dreams. And I already made researches on what might be the Filipino counterpart of the factors in the foreign studies. I have researched on the dominant flavors in the Philippine cuisine and through the research paper I am working on, I am trying to find out its effect on Filipino dreams.

            And to answer these questions, I want to ask people, or to be more specific, students, certain questions that will help me. The first question that I intend to answer is about the number of times the respondent remembers his/her dream. I already know that everybody dreams, but since it is already known that people tend to forget their dreams, this question will help the researcher know how much the subject can recall his/her dreams. Another question that I intend to know is about the usual dreams that participant have, this question will somehow give a background to the researcher on what are the usual dreams of the subject and can give useful data if the aspect of food is already concern. It will also help the researcher know if the subject can vividly recall his/her dreams. And lastly, I can say that I can have answers for my thesis by asking the question: What do you usually eat before you sleep? I also want to know when they usually eat to know if there is a relationship in the time they eat and their dreams.

            After all these questions, I expect to have answers that can clearly give the relationship of dreams on food. I expect people to have nightmares when they don’t eat before they sleep or they eat too much before sleeping. I expect to learn if there are types/flavors of food that have an effect on people’s dreams. To be more specific, I am hoping to learn if there are specific Filipino delicacies that have an effect on dreams.

HW3: Chapter 2 (Edited Draft)

Chapter 2

DISCUSSIONS

What are the effects of food on dreams?

How Food Affects Dreams

A.      Foods Effect on Mood

     It is known that mood has an effect on dreams, and since food can affect mood, it can also be considered as a factor for dream formation. There are certain types of food that have a specific effect on people’s mood. An example is carbohydrates. Food rich in carbohydrates like pasta and cereal produces serotonin, a brain chemical that has a calming or anxiety-reducing effect that may lead to drowsiness. Consuming protein-rich food increases the dopamine and norepinephrine level in the brain that results to a more alert and concentrated individual. An intake of chocolates causes the release of serotonin and endorphin, chemicals that when combines can stimulate a euphoric feeling. (http://www.diet.com/g/moodfood-relationships)

B.      Foods Effect on Body

      The effect of food is not restricted on mood; it can also have an effect on a person’s physical condition and mechanism. Low dopamine levels in the brain can cause bad dreams. Studies also showed that individuals that exercise Atkins diet, includes protein-rich, high fat and low carbohydrate foods have a greater chance of experiencing nightmares. It is because they increase the metabolism of the body that causes the brain to work more. (Oak, 2012).Spicy food tends to elevate internal body temperature that disrupts sleeps that can have an effect on dreams. Low blood sugar caused by hunger can cause some disruptions in the brain waves that can cause nightmares. (Sterling, 2011)

Filipino Flavor

A.      Salty

     Salty flavor is evident in Filipino condiments such as soy sauce and fish sauce. One of the reasons why salty flavor is evident in Filipino Cuisine is because the ingredients that are needed to create the salty condiments are easily located in the archipelago. Since we are near seas, a good source of salt, Filipinos developed this distinction of having salty dishes for delicacies. Researched showed that Filipinos tend to eat more sodium than what is recommended. It is because the Filipino diet is composed of animal and vegetable food that contains sodium, adding to the usual additives like soy sauce, patis or mono sodium glutamate (MSG). (Glorioso, 2005)

B.      Sweet

     Filipinos love sweet food. All those dishes that we adapted from foreign countries are modified into a more distinct Filipino flavor. An example to this is with the use of banana ketchup instead of tomato ketchup. This condiment gives this sweet taste to dishes like pizza and spaghetti that usually have a spicy taste. Most of our famous delicacies are sweet and salty dishes like champorado and tuyo; dinuguan and puto; and cheese in sweetcakes. (Fernandez, 2009) 

C.      Sour

     Sour foods that are common in Filipino dishes are fruits like kamias and unripe mangoes. The use of vinegar in most dishes is also evidence that Filipinos are fond of our food. With all the native dishes that use fruits that are sour in nature, Filipinos developed the sour taste.

How Filipino Flavors Affect Dreams

     After the survey conducted by the researcher, it showed that salty food causes nightmares. Survey shows that 33% of the respondents who claim to have frequent nightmares usually eat salty food. And almost all the salty food cited by the respondents includes fried meals. With regards to how salty food affects dreams, researches showed that salt has an immediate effect on the blood vessels. Endothelial dysfunction or an impaired blood vessel that can be caused by salt in the body can result to induce metabolic factors that can affect dreams (Gray, 2011). Respondents who often had happy dreams usually eat something sweet. Are reason behind this can be because sugar releases dopamine that is responsible for opiate-like feeling (Dailey, 2009), that can be translated into our dreams.  Vivid dreams are also incorporated with salty food while Re-occurring dreams mostly happen to those who eat light meals. (EXPAND)

HW2: The Sleepy Kind

 Have you ever experienced being teased by your first period professor because you are late? Or have you ever spent your first hour in school in the grounds or outside the school gate? Well, I guess a lot of you can relate to this because when I was in high school, I was one of those late comers. And why is it that I am always late?                                                                                                                  I lack sleep.

            I bet a lot of you guys already know the reasons why most teenagers nowadays lack sleep. According to an article in PubMed.com entitled “Patterns of sleep and sleepiness in adolescents.” there are certain factors that affect teenagers sleeping patterns. These are puberty, parental involvement curfews, and school schedules. Puberty in a way, affects the sleep of teenagers causes them to have increase in daytime sleepiness, parents tend to set bedtime wanes, and curfews, together with school schedules, have a big impact on their sleep patterns because we all know that teens need to wake early because of school purposes and sleep a little later because of again, school stuff.

 

            If you ask me, the factors mentioned above can apply to any teenager, anywhere in the world. We tend to stay up late because of some reasons like homework, favorite TV shows or Facebook. And since we already have this sort of pattern, we tend to sleep late even though we can sleep earlier.even though we had finished everything and then try to sleep, we just end up staring at the ceiling, or rolling around your bed. You'll try every possible way, but in the end, nothing will happen. I bet you'll just end up sleeping the same time that you are used to.

            According to an article in National Sleep Foundation entitled “Teens and Sleep”, teenagers spend insufficient numbers of hours for sleeping that can have relative effects on certain aspects such as weight, behavior, mental and psychological matters.

            The article stated that lack of sleep can cause teens to eat too much sweet food that can cause an increase in weight. Or in some ways,since teenagers who lack sleep tend to be sleepy during daytime, they usually turn to sweets to stay awake. But since being sleepy during daytime becomes a pattern for these teens, they tend to keep on eating sweets just to boost their energy at the same time gain weight. It also stated that lack of sleep can actually have an effect on a person’s mood, and again our mood has a specific effect on our dreams. When a person lack sleep, he/she tends to be in a bad mood the whole day. Some reasons maybe because they feel heavy and grumpy because their body was not able to rest well and gather up energy for the following day.

            Looking at it, I can say that there are also differences in dreams when adolescents and adults are to be compared, aside from intellectual and mental difference, these types of things have something to do with dreams. 

           

               And that is what I intended to know.

Survey Questions

I. OVERVIEW

            The aspect of dreaming has been a very interesting topic for most of us, and with the use of research, I can say that I am one of those who have learned some useful things about this mysterious topic. Through researching, I have discovered a lot of things about dreaming. One of my biggest questions about dreaming is somewhat answered: how are dreams formed? As a matter of fact, I have researched two theories on how dreams are formed. But I believe that knowledge arouses curiosity. After reading about dreaming, I become curious of what are the factors that really affect dreams. There are common factors that are usually associated with dreams, but there are also factors that are not that well-researched. And that is what I am trying to find out. That factor is food. There are some researches that are already made overseas that concern the effect of food on dreams. And I already made researches on what might be the Filipino counterpart of the factors in the foreign studies. I have researched on the dominant flavors in the Philippine cuisine and through the research paper I am working on, I am trying to find out its effect on Filipino dreams.

II. QUESTIONS:

1. How many times do you dream in a week?

            A. Every night

            B. Twice a week

            C. More than twice

            D. I don’t dream

                        -  This question will help the researcher know if the subject can recall the dreams they are having and how often can they remember them.

1. What do you usually dream about? 

            - This question will somehow give a background to the researcher on what are the usual dreams of the subject and can give useful data if the aspect of food is already concern. It will also help the researcher know if the subject can vividly recall his/her dreams.

2. Do you usually eat at night/ before sleeping? 

            A. If not, why?

                        - This question can help in answering if the time of eating and dreams has any relation.

            B. If yes, what do you usually eat before sleeping?

                        a. rice + spicy side dish -  name the usual dish:______

                        b. rice + sour side dish -  name the usual dish:______

                        c. rice + sweet side dish - name the usual dish:______

                        d. chips

                        e. sandwich

                        - This question can help the researcher answer if there are specific types of food that have a specific effect on certain dreams.

III. EXPECTATIONS:

            With the questions mentioned above, I expect to learn if there are types/flavors of food that have an effect on people’s dreams. To be more specific, I am hoping to learn if there are specific Filipino delicacies that have an effect on dreams.