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Sleep and Dreams Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Sleep and Dreams Quizzes, Trivia

Sleep and Dreams Trivia

Sleep and Dreams Trivia Quizzes

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Zzzzzz. Shh, we're all asleep here or, at least, we'd like to be. Learn about what happens when you're asleep and why dreams happen by taking the quizzes here. Just do it quietly, please. Some of us are catching up on some well earned rest.
8 quizzes and 80 trivia questions.
1.
  I'd Rather Be Sleeping   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
You'll spend a third of your life doing it, but how much do you really know about sleep?
Average, 10 Qns, LilahDeDah, May 23 21
Average
LilahDeDah
May 23 21
5145 plays
2.
  The Nightmare Quiz   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
You awake with a start - palms sweating, heart bounding. You drift back to sleep only to find yourself back in "The Nightmare Quiz".
Tough, 10 Qns, uglybird, Dec 18 14
Tough
uglybird
3242 plays
3.
  Stop Dreaming Your Life Away   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Dreams have long been a mysterious subject. This quiz looks at some of the science that has helped us understand the world of dreaming a little better.
Tough, 10 Qns, agentofchaos, Jan 29 20
Tough
agentofchaos gold member
Jan 29 20
451 plays
4.
  Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
My eyes are slowly closing, muscles relaxing and breathing slows to a steady beat. It's time for sleep......sleep........deep sleep. Hey! Wake up! I didn't mean you! You're not going anywhere until you play my quiz!
Average, 10 Qns, Plodd, Sep 27 13
Average
Plodd
1458 plays
5.
  Suddenly Snoozin'   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
It was a dark and stormy night.... But I was still able to get my 40 winks. Hopefully you won't hit the hay while taking this quiz about sleep.
Average, 10 Qns, salami_swami, Aug 22 15
Average
salami_swami gold member
818 plays
6.
  Sweet Dreams!   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Sleep is a natural part of our lives. How much do you know about sleeping and dreams?
Average, 10 Qns, pia_fraus, Jan 05 14
Average
pia_fraus
4063 plays
7.
  The Arms of Morpheus    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Morpheus is the Ancient Greek god of dreams, so when you are in the arms of Morpheus, you are asleep. This quiz is all about sleeping and dreaming.
Average, 10 Qns, mazza47, Dec 18 16
Average
mazza47 gold member
515 plays
8.
  Sleep Apnea   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition. How much do you know about sleep apnea and its treatment?
Average, 10 Qns, Hawise, Jun 09 21
Average
Hawise
Jun 09 21
2625 plays
trivia question Quick Question
What is the approximate percentage of adults who are habitual snorers?

From Quiz "Sweet Dreams!"





Sleep and Dreams Trivia Questions

1. Who wrote the book entitled "The Interpretation of Dreams" in 1899?

From Quiz
The Arms of Morpheus

Answer: Sigmund Freud

Freud was an Austrian neurologist who founded the movement of psychoanalysis. He believed that the purpose of dreams was to protect sleepers by transforming into fulfilled wishes anxieties that might otherwise keep them awake. In the context of psychoanalysis, he described dreams as "the royal road to the unconscious". Mesmer was a German physician who postulated the theory of animal magnetism and developed a system of treatment based upon it. Maslow was an American 20th century psychologist best known for his hierarchy of needs. Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who created the school of analytical psychology based on the central concept of individuation and including notions such as the collective unconscious, and extraversion/introversion.

2. To begin, I have trouble falling asleep. Once I'm asleep, I have trouble staying asleep. What sleep disorder could this be?

From Quiz Suddenly Snoozin'

Answer: Insomnia

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that makes it difficult to fall asleep. In addition, it is hard for one with insomnia to stay asleep. Typically, it takes a month or more of trouble falling asleep and staying asleep before someone can be diagnosed with insomnia. Nocturia is a disorder that is characterized by a person needing to go to the bathroom a lot during the night. Parasomnia is a disorder that involved odd behaviors and movements during sleep, such as sleep walking or night terrors. Narcolepsy involves fatigue during the day, often making someone fall asleep at odd times, often unwillingly. An example is someone falling asleep while driving home from work.

3. The Greek god of sleep is Hypnos. What does "hypnic jerk" mean?

From Quiz I'd Rather Be Sleeping

Answer: Waking up with a start right after falling asleep

Yep, it's that feeling we've all experienced...you fall asleep, and moments later you're almost jumping out of your bed because of a hypnic jerk. Aren't you glad you finally know what it's called?

4. What happens during sleep apnea?

From Quiz Sleep Apnea

Answer: either of these

Sleep apnea means that a person stops breathing while they're asleep. When oxygen levels drop too low or carbon dioxide levels become too high, the person wakes up and begins to breathe. In obstructive sleep apnea, the most common type, the muscles in and around the airway relax too much while the person is asleep and the airway collapses. In central sleep apnea, the brain doesn't send the appropriate messages to start breathing. It is also possible to have combined sleep apnea, where the airway collapses after the brain fails to initiate breathing.

5. During REM sleep there is a loss of muscle tone (i.e., voluntary muscles below the neck relax and are effectively paralysed) combined with high levels of activity in many parts of the brain. For this reason, REM is also known by what name?

From Quiz Stop Dreaming Your Life Away

Answer: Paradoxical sleep

During non-REM sleep, the muscles are not paralysed and phenomena like sleepwalking and sleep talking are more likely to occur during this stage than in REM. Brain activity is much more quiescent in non-REM, whereas in REM the limbic system and various parts of the cerebral cortex become much more active. In particular, activity in the visual cortex of the occipital lobe produces the intense imagery characteristic of dreaming.

6. What is the name for the scientific study of dreams?

From Quiz The Arms of Morpheus

Answer: Oneirology

Oneirologists do not study the content of dreams but rather the physiology of dreaming, i.e. how and why we dream. Oenology is the study of wine and wine-making. Dreamology is a word I made up. Morphology is the study of the form of things, especially in biology and linguistics.

7. How often may a person with sleep apnea wake up during the night?

From Quiz Sleep Apnea

Answer: several hundred times

Since people don't usually wake fully, they often aren't aware that they woke up. Some people are aware that they're tired during the day. As strange as it may sound, others aren't. Sleep apnea often takes years to diagnose. After years without a single night of uninterrupted sleep, many people forget what 'normal' feels like and don't realize that anything's wrong.

8. There are two states of sleep - NREM sleep (non-rapid eye movement sleep) and REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep). During which state do dreams occur?

From Quiz Sweet Dreams!

Answer: rem

Scientists are not sure what the function of REM sleep (and dreaming) is, but it must do something important. Experiments have shown that rats who are deprived of REM sleep die after a couple of weeks.

9. Some people suffer from a condition called sleep bruxism. How does this manifest?

From Quiz The Arms of Morpheus

Answer: Excessive teeth grinding

Bruxism can lead to such symptoms as tooth wear, hypersensitive teeth, jaw ache and headaches. The two main types of bruxism are sleep bruxism and awake bruxism. The medical term for sleepwalking is somnambulism. Nightmares are unpleasant dreams that give rise to negative emotions like fear and terror. Dreams can occur in black and white or in colour.

10. Allan Hobson and colleagues developed what psychophysiological theory that proposes that dreaming is primarily caused by random neural impulses rather than deep psychological factors such as repressed conflicts?

From Quiz Stop Dreaming Your Life Away

Answer: Activation-synthesis model

Hobson is an American psychiatrist who researches sleep and dreaming. The activation-synthesis model proposes that, during REM sleep, the brain stem generates random impulses that stimulate the visual cortex producing vivid images. The sleeper's brain then attempts to assemble these images into some kind of story using information from memory. The random nature of the stimuli explains why dream plots tend to be confused and nonsensical. This theory is in sharp contrast to psychoanalytic accounts that propose that dreams have deep symbolic meanings that represent unconscious conflicts.

11. Dreams mainly occur in what stage of sleep?

From Quiz The Arms of Morpheus

Answer: REM sleep

It is during REM sleep that most dreams, especially vivid ones, take place. REM sleep is also associated with body movement and an alteration in brain waves as recorded by EEG. Polyphasic sleep occurs when the subject sleeps several times during a 24-hour period. Siestas are thought to be associated with a decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease.

12. There is a sleep disorder that involves a pause in breathing during sleep. Sometimes a person will stop breathing for several minutes at a time, and sometimes hundreds of times an hour! What potentially life-threatening disorder might this be?

From Quiz Suddenly Snoozin'

Answer: Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea can be very dangerous, because a patient will stop breathing for possibly several minutes at a time. The disorder also causes fatigue and other side effects because the person does not get enough rest at night. Bruxism is the grinding or gnashing of the teeth. DSPS, or Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, is a disorder where the person cannot sleep at regular times during the "night", but falls asleep on a regular basis, usually early in the morning, and gets just as much sleep as a normal person. Cataplexy, a rare disease, is when someone loses their muscle tone, and collapse to the floor.

13. Which part of your brain is responsible for your circadian rhythm, which encourages you to sleep and wake in a more or less regular cycle?

From Quiz I'd Rather Be Sleeping

Answer: Hypothalamus

Humans seem to be designed to function best when keeping to regular sleep-wake cycles. Your hypothalamus does its best to prevent you from staying up all night cramming for that exam. More interesting information from emedicine.com: "Body temperature cycles are also under hypothalamic control. An increase in body temperature is seen during the course of the day and a decrease is observed during the night. The temperature peaks and troughs are thought to mirror the sleep rhythm. People who are alert late in the evening (ie, evening types) have body temperature peaks late in the evening, while those who find themselves most alert early in the morning (ie, morning types) have body temperature peaks early in the evening." Hmmm, I wonder if people whose hypothalamuses are similar are more compatible?

14. What is the approximate percentage of adults who are habitual snorers?

From Quiz Sweet Dreams!

Answer: 25 %

About 45 percent snore at least occasionally. Snoring is more common with men, overweight people and the aged. It can be a serious problem both socially and medically, but fortunately it can often be cured!

15. The onset of REM sleep appears to be triggered by specific brain waves from the hindbrain, known by what name?

From Quiz Stop Dreaming Your Life Away

Answer: Ponto-geniculo-occipital waves

These "PGO" waves originate in the brainstem in a region called the pons, travel to the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus, and then to the primary visual cortex of the occipital lobe. The density of these waves corresponds with the amount of eye movement during REM. Based on this, Allan Hobson and colleagues proposed that PGO waves were primarily responsible for dreaming. However, the fact that dreams can also occur during non-REM sleep indicates that this is not entirely true, so there appear to be other important mechanisms involved.

16. What are drugs prescribed to induce sleep called?

From Quiz The Arms of Morpheus

Answer: Hypnotics

Hypnotics are commonly referred to as sleeping pills. They are prescribed to help people fall asleep or stay asleep, but they can lead to dependence and daytime fatigue. Narcotics are addictive drugs that are used for pain relief. I made up morphotics. Depressants are substances that have the opposite effect to stimulants.

17. Of course I don't snore in my sleep. Well, maybe just a little. Can you tell me what part of the body vibrates while a person is snoring?

From Quiz Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Answer: Uvula, soft palate and tongue

While you are sleeping, the muscles relax and the airway can sometimes become blocked. Snoring occurs when the soft tissue inside the mouth, nose and throat start to relax and vibrate. Snoring has been linked to divorce and family breakdown because of sleep deprivation.

18. What is a childhood sleep occurrence during non-REM sleep that is characterized by screaming and thrashing about, even though the child remains asleep?

From Quiz I'd Rather Be Sleeping

Answer: Night terrors

Night terrors are harmless but very frightening. Unlike nightmares, they occur during non-REM sleep, and the child does not wake up. They are most common between the ages of 3 and 5 and are usually completely gone by the time the child is 8 or so. They also tend to run in families. Somnambulism is sleepwalking, and enuresis is bedwetting.

19. What is the most successful treatment for obstructive sleep apnea?

From Quiz Sleep Apnea

Answer: CPAP or Bi-level therapy

Weight loss helps, but it doesn't usually cure the condition. Surgery can be appropriate in certain circumstances, but it has a low success rate overall. Medication can actually worsen the situation. Some OSA patients wake frequently during the night. Prior to being appropriately diagnosed, they are often prescribed some sort of sedative to help them sleep through the night. Sedatives make the muscles in the airway relax more and will increase the number of apneas. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Air Pressure. It's a machine that delivers pressurised air, usually through a mask over the nose. The air pressure prevents the airway from collapsing. A Bi-level machine is like a CPAP, but it decreases the pressure during exhalation.

20. Michael seems to be sleepy all the time. He falls asleep in the most unlikely circumstances, for example while eating or having a conversation. He doesn't snore. Which sleeping disorder does Michael most probably have?

From Quiz Sweet Dreams!

Answer: Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is usually caused by the lack of two brain chemicals - hypocretin-1 and hypocretin-2. One of the symptoms of the disorder is waking up at night with an intense craving for sweets.

21. Which hormone is associated with darkness and sleep onset?

From Quiz The Arms of Morpheus

Answer: Melatonin

Melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland in response to dim light and darkness. It induces sleep in diurnal mammals. It is available as a hypnotic medication taken to adjust the body's internal clock. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter with many functions including mood regulation. Prolactin is the hormone required for milk production. Insulin plays an important role in glucose metabolism.

22. Sometimes people cannot sleep because they have Wittmaack-Ekbom's Syndrome. What is this condition more commonly known as?

From Quiz Suddenly Snoozin'

Answer: Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless Legs Syndrome is a sleep disorder that causes the person to feel a burning or itching sensation in their limbs, usually their legs. The pain can be relieved by constantly moving the legs. It can make it very hard to sleep through the night. Periodic Limb Movement Disorder is when someone moves their limbs involuntarily while sleeping (e.g. kicking the legs). Shift Work Sleep Disorder is caused by someone who changes their work schedule, and thus their sleeping schedule, which can cause insufficient sleep, fatigue, or insomnia. Hypopnea Syndrome is shallow breathing while sleeping.

23. It is now approximately 90 minutes after I first fell asleep and my eyelids are starting to twitch. What is this stage called?

From Quiz Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Answer: rem & rapid eye movement&rem sleep &rapid eye movement sleep

During the stage of sleep when rapid eye movement occurs, the electrical activity in the brain increases and our body temperature rises though our muscles remain relaxed. This is the stage when our most vivid dreams occur.

24. Sleep is divided into stages. In which stage of sleep is a nightmare most likely to occur?

From Quiz The Nightmare Quiz

Answer: REM sleep

Dreams generally occur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Generally the sleeper does not move or speak, although the exceptions to this rule may be quite memorable. On awakening, the sleeper usually can be calmed down and convinced that a dream has been experienced. Details are best recalled immediately after awakening.

25. What is exactly is torpor?

From Quiz Suddenly Snoozin'

Answer: Temporary hibernation

Torpor is common in many animals, such as bats, hummingbirds, and mice. This is when an animal has a normal body temperature during their active hours, but it drops while sleeping, which conserves energy. Some animals that "hibernate" are in an extended state or torpor, such as groundhogs and squirrels. Lungfish switch to "torpor mode" when the pond dries out and they need to wait for water to swim in again. Bears, though they are thought to hibernate, do not enter the state of torpor, because, though their body temperature decreases, they are still able to respond to their surroundings, while animals actually in torpor cannot.

26. While I am dreaming perhaps you can answer my next question. What is the name for the scientific study of dreams?

From Quiz Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Answer: Oneirology

Oneirology comes from the Greek word 'oneiros' which means dream. A person who studies oneirology is called an oneirologist. Interest in modern dream research revived during the 1950's when studies proved that there is a link between REM sleep and dreaming.

27. Night terrors are distinct from nightmares. In what way are they different?

From Quiz The Nightmare Quiz

Answer: They differ in all these ways.

Night terrors belong to a group of sleep disorders termed "parasomnias". Parasomnias tend to afflict children and include sleep walking and bed wetting. They typically occur in what is termed "slow-wave sleep", unlike nightmares which occur in REM sleep.

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