What Are Dreams? When Do Dreams Occur?

It is not fully understood why we dream, but a dream can be defined as a succession

of images and physical sensations that occur under an involuntarily state of the mind while sleeping. Dreams only occur during certain stages of sleep and the individual content, symbolism and purpose of these dreams can differ dramatically.

The study of dreams

There is a scientific branch of study called oneirology that delves into why we dream and what the meaning of dreams infers. It is believed that in addition to humans, most other mammals also dream as well as certain species of birds.

When do dreams occur?

Dreams occur most often during the rapid-eye movement or REM stage of sleep. It is during this stage of sleep that brain activity is at its highest and closely resembles the same brain activity of being awake. Rapid-eye movement sleep can be identified by the continuous movements of the eyes underneath the eyelids during sleep.

Did you know? Dreams can occur during almost all other stages of sleep, but these dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable to the dreamer. Dreams can last anything from 2 seconds to 20 minutes, but it is dreams that are had during REM that are the most memorable and between 3 to five dreams are had per night. This means up to 2 hours of a good eight hours of sleep can be taken up by the dream process.

Dream interpretation

It is only fairly recently that the connection between dreams and the human sub-conscious have been made, but in ancient times it was believed that dreams were direct messages from the gods, or from the dead. They were even seen in some cultures such the Greek and Roman as predictions of the future.

Some cultures even went as far as practicing dream incubation, which is the supposed cultivation of dreams for the express purpose of prophesy. It is believed that the temple of Delphi in ancient Greece was one such dream incubator.

Although there are many interpretations of what dreams mean, there is still not actual metaphysical or scientific proof available to support these interpretations or theories. All that is known is that in most cases dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer. However it has been found that some dreams, referred to as lucid dreams, can be controlled to a certain degree as the dreamer remains self-aware while still asleep.

Did you know? The acclaimed neurologist and psychologist Sigmund Freud developed a discipline of psychoanalysis that dealt exclusively with dream theories and interpretations. He created a series of guidelines that are said to help understand the symbolism in dreams.

by: Justin Swanich

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