How Dreams Work

Dream facts

• Most dreams last anywhere from five to 20 minutes.
• People don't only dream in black and white, as was once believed.
• Even though they may not remember them, everyone dreams several times a night. In fact, during a typical lifetime, we spend about six years dreaming.
• People who have been blind from birth have dreams that are formed from their other senses (e.g., touch, smell, sound).
• When people are snoring, they're not dreaming.
• Elephants (and some other animals)      sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.

When we sleep, we go through five sleep stages

These stages are split up into to general categories: 

REM or Rapid Eye Movement, and NREM, or Non Rapid Eye Movement.

One sleep cycle including all stages is about 90 minutes. It usually happens in the order of NREM1, NREM2, NREM3, NREM2, and REM.

NREM Sleep

N1 is the first stage of sleep, normally lasting only a few minutes.During this stage, you may experience strange noises, lights, or sensations, you may also experience random twitches in your skeletal muscles. N2 is the second stage of sleep, and is characterized by a total loss of consciousness. You cease to be aware of any of your surroundings as you fall into a deep, restorative sleep.
N3, also known as slow-wave sleep. It is the deepest sleep out of all of the stages, so it is very difficult to wake someone in the N3 stage. Parasomnias like sleepwalking and night terrors typically occur in this stage.

Typically you will experience another period of N2 before moving on to the REM sleep.

REM Sleep

REM is probably the most important sleep stage for those who are interested in dreams, because this is when we experience dreams.

During REM sleep, your body causes the atonia, or paralysis, of the skeletal muscles. Sometimes, you may become conscious while your muscles are still paralyzed. This is known as an episode of sleep paralysis.

What happens if you don't get any REM sleep

Theory is that dreams were a sort of safety valve that helped your brain let off steam that you couldn't let off during the day.

Findings included mild psychological disturbances such as anxiety, irritability and difficulty concentrating ,also noted an increase in appetite.

Dream Recall

It is said that five minutes after the end of a dream, we have forgotten 50 percent of the dream's content. Ten minutes later, we've forgotten 90 percent of its content.

Controlling Dreams

Lucid dreaming is a learned skill and occurs when you are dreaming, you realize you are dreaming and you are able to then control what happens in your dream -- all while you're still asleep.

It is estimated that fewer than 100,000 people in the United States have the ability to have lucid dreams.

The MILD technique involves similar reminders to the reality testing method but focuses those reminders at night rather than throughout the day and night. MILD begins with telling yourself when you go to bed that you'll remember your dreams. You then focus your attention on recognizing when you are dreaming and remembering that it is a dream. Then, you focus on reentering a recent dream and looking for clues that it is indeed a dream. You imagine what you would like to do within that dream. For example, you may want to fly, so you imagine yourself flying within that dream. You repeat these last two steps (recognizing when you're dreaming and reentering a dream) until you go to sleep. Because this type of technique takes such mental training, however, there is a theory with external stimuli to induce lucid dreams.


Finally, lucid dreaming can function as a "world simulator." Just as a flight simulator allows people to learn to fly in a safe environment, lucid dreaming could allow people to learn to live in any imaginable world; to experience and better choose among various possible futures.

++Common Dream Themes and Their Interpretations++

Being naked in public
Most of us have had the dream at some point that we're at school, work or some social event, and we suddenly realize we forgot to put on clothes! Experts say this means:
We're trying to hide something (and without clothes we have a hard time doing that).
We're not prepared for something, like a presentation or test (and now everyone is going to know -- we're exposed!).

If we're naked but no one notices, then the interpretation is that whatever we're afraid of is unfounded. If we don't care that we're naked, the interpretation is that we're comfortable with who we are.

Falling
You're falling, falling, falling... and then you wake up. This is a very common dream and is said to symbolize insecurities and anxiety. Something in your life is essentially out of control and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Another interpretation is that you have a sense of failure about something. Maybe you're not doing well in school or at work and are afraid you're going to be fired or expelled. Again, you feel that you can't control the situation. 

Being chased
The ever-popular chase dream can be extremely frightening. What it usually symbolizes is that you're running away from your problems. What that problem is depends on who is chasing you. It may be a problem at work, or it may be something about yourself that you know is destructive. For example, you may be drinking too much, and your dream may be telling you that your drinking is becoming a real problem. 

Taking an exam (or forgetting that you have one)
This is another very common dream. You suddenly realize you are supposed to be taking an exam at that very moment. You might be running through the hallways and can't find the classroom. This type of dream can have several variations that have similar meanings. (Maybe your pen won't write, so you can't finish writing your answers.) What experts say this may mean is that you're being scrutinized about something or feel you're being tested -- maybe you're facing a challenge you don't think you're up to. You don't feel prepared or able to hold up to the scrutiny. It may also mean there is something you've neglected that you know needs your attention.

Flying
Many flying dreams are the result of lucid dreaming. Not all flying dreams are, however. Typically, dreaming that you are flying means you are on top of things. You are in control of the things that matter to you. Or, maybe you've just gained a new perspective on things. It may also mean you are strong willed and feel like no one and nothing can defeat you. If you are having problems maintaining your flight, someone or something may be standing in the way of you having control. If you are afraid while flying, you may have challenges that you don't feel up to. 

Running, but going nowhere
This theme can also be part of the chasing dream. You're trying to run, but either your legs won't move or you simply aren't going anywhere -- as if you were on a treadmill. According to some, this dream means you have too much on your plate. You're trying to do too many things at once and can't catch up or ever get ahead. 

Your teeth falling out
Many people have dreams that they lose all of their teeth. In this dream, they may feel something strange in their mouth and then spit teeth into their hand, eventually losing all of their teeth. According to some, our teeth are related to our sense of power and our ability to communicate. Losing our teeth not only makes us embarrassed by our appearance, which hinders our communications, but it also lessens our power because we may not speak our minds. It's also associated with feelings about our appearance.