Movies (sometimes) help you fall asleep. But what happens when sleep is the main character in the movie?
We can think of many Hollywood productions whose main inspiration and focus is sleep – some tell the story of what happens when we close our eyes, others - what happens when we can't close them. But how much of what we see on the cinema screen is true and how much is just fiction?
Here's what sleep expert Terry Krall has to say about some of the most popular sleep-related films.
1. Sleeping Beauty (1959), Walt Disney
Story:
Disney's animated version is perhaps the best-known (and best) version of this children's tale. Princess Aurora is bewitched by the Villain. On her sixteenth birthday, the spell puts her to sleep. Only the kiss of her true love (Prince Philip) can wake her up. As you know, the Prince finds her in the highest tower of the castle, where the fairy godmothers have laid her down on a comfortable bed (presumably with a nice mattress), kisses her, and they live happily ever after.
Reality:
According to Terry King, the film is based on a real, albeit rare, neurological disorder called Kleine-Levin syndrome, also known as “sleeping beauty syndrome.” The difference comes from the fact that in real life, the syndrome usually strikes adolescent males. This syndrome is characterized (obviously) by prolonged sleeping – sometimes 20 hours a day. The syndrome develops in episodes of activity and inactivity. Activity can last for days, weeks, even months. During this time, the sufferer is confused, irritable, lethargic, and sensitive to light and noise.
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Wes Craven
Story:
The classic slasher film stars Robert England as the iconic Freddy Krueger, a child killer killed by angry parents after a judge releases him from prison for a minor legal blunder. Krueger returns from the afterlife to torment the parents’ children in their sleep. He preys on his victims in a variety of terrifying ways. The film’s writer and director, Wes Craven, based the story on a series of Los Angeles Times articles about war refugees who died in their sleep after a prolonged period of nightmares.
Reality:
Yes, dreaming that you’re being chased (and killed) by Torbalan or some other evil character is nothing new, but it’s still a fantasy, an unreality. We’ve all had those dreams—they’re intense, vivid, and true.
According to Terry Krall, “after a nightmare, the sleeper remembers what happened in extraordinary detail.” Fear is the most commonly cited emotion associated with nightmares. And they are caused by a number of factors – lack of sleep, anxiety, stress, depression, as well as some sleep disorders such as sleep apnea.
The fact that Krueger haunts children in their dreams makes perfect sense – nightmares are most common in children. The director’s inspiration also rests on truth – “nightmares are the most common component of post-traumatic stress disorder, which is observed in people who have experienced war,” Krall says. 90% of PTSD sufferers report terrifying dreams, with elements of the traumatic situation.
3. Fight Club (1999), David Fincher
Story:
The classic “Fight Club” follows the narrator (Edward Norton) and the extreme measures he takes to fill his sleepless nights. He eventually manages to fall asleep after a series of strange activities, such as an illegal fight club with the mysterious stranger Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). The film’s twist reveals that there’s a lot more going on in the narrator’s life while he’s asleep than he realizes.
Reality:
Not sleeping for 6 months, as the narrator claims in the film, is impossible – the longest recorded period without sleep is 11 days. The severity of insomnia is heightened, but insomnia itself is very common – out of 70 types of sleep disorders, it’s the most common.
Insomnia can be temporary – lasting a few days, acute – lasting a few weeks, or chronic – lasting months or even years. Studies suggest that chronic insomnia occurs in 9% to 17% of the population and is usually a side effect of other health problems.
4. Insomnia (2002), Christopher Nolan
Story:
In this remake of a 1997 Norwegian thriller, Will Dormer, a Los Angeles detective, is sent to Alaska with a colleague to investigate a murder. After accidentally shooting his colleague and covering up the crime, Dormer stops sleeping (the full daylight in Alaska certainly doesn't help). The insomnia and the circumstances surrounding the unintentional murder make it difficult to investigate the case.
Reality:
In addition to physical causes, insomnia is also associated with personal, financial, and all sorts of other life stresses. Sleep and stress form a vicious cycle from which there is no escape - stress leads to sleep disturbances, and lack of sleep exacerbates stress.
In both the film and in reality, insomnia hinders the normal functioning of the body and brain. Insomnia leads to daytime sleepiness, mood swings, memory problems, limited cognitive capacity, slowed reactions, fatigue, low energy levels, a tendency to make mistakes, reduced motivation, and an overall lower quality of life.
5. Genesis (2010), Christopher Nolan
Story:
Our favorite (and we’re sure yours too) Leonardo DiCaprio plays a thief, Dom Cobb, who specializes in stealing information from people’s subconscious while they’re dreaming. He meets them in a shared dream and makes his moves. Cobb is hired by a businessman to plant an idea in the subconscious of his competitor, which forces Cobb and his team to delve into some truly dangerous depths of the subconscious.
Reality:
The concept of shared dreams isn’t a fantasy, but the ability to control them is, since shared dreams are usually spontaneous. According to Kral, “dreams often repeat events from waking life, help us find solutions, provide a different perspective, and even help us process our emotions.” If you had a strange dream last night, it could be that your brain is trying to solve a problem (or you ate a strange food).
So, you can see for yourself how important and interesting a topic dreams are. These are just a few of the films in which dreams are the main characters. We also recommend watching (and sorting out fiction and reality) “The Mechanic”, “The Shining of a Pure Mind” and “Stepbrothers”.
