Nobody knows for certain why we dream. Some psychologists have theories propose that dreams are the body’s way of ‘rebooting’ the brain (sounds and works like a computer.) Dreams dispose of memories that would otherwise clutter the mind with unnecessary remembered experiences. In particular, they enable the emotions to become balance. Dreams get rid of ‘garbage’ in our brain, and allow the brain’s complex chemistry to stabilize. According to this viewpoint, without dreams we would simply overheat.
Doesn’t matter how different we are, what genders, religions or races, what we all have in common are dreams. We all dreams approximately 4 to 5 times a night, each time is a bit longer. Most of us dream every 90 minutes, and the longest dream lasting 30 to 45 minutes, many occur in the morning. If we were awakening during our REM (Rapid eye movements) sleep, we would recall our dreams. If we are awaken during our non-REM sleep, we would less likely to recall our dreams, this may account for why many people believe that they never dream. The truth is, we all dream every night but most of us forget we were dreaming.
There are many theories as to what the role of our many dreams, but most agree that they are the link between our conscious mind and our unconscious. In other words, they are messages from you to yourself. Dreams are an important key to self-knowledge. Dreams can help you develop a more positive attitude and bring about greater self-awareness and self-healing. Dreams can be used to help you solve your most difficult problems and may even tell you about your future.
There is a news in Thailand awhile back that there was a young man who dreamed that he died, the next morning he told his friends and family, they told him that ‘it’s only a dream, it won’t come true because he’s still young.’ He was in a car accident and died a few days after that. Most believed that it was just a coincident, but some believed that it was foretelling his future.
I personally find dreams to be very fascinating. I have dreams that sometime foretell of what are to come. My interpretation of mine dreams might be the opposite of other people, but the 2 dreams that I have always 100% accurate, and always come true for me are dreaming of ‘fishes and feces’. If I dream of ‘fishes’, I’ll end up spending money. Sometimes it’s on stuff that it should not have happened, such as one time I had a flat tire on my way to work, of course, I spent over $75 that day. If I dream of ‘feces’, I’ll receive money, someone might pay me back for money that I lend them or even get a raise the next day. I seem to be dreaming more of fishes lately.
Many people questions if we dream in colors or black and white. For those that love to sleep can’t even answer this question. According to research, our dreams are both in colors and black and white. For those that are blind, their dreams would consist of sounds and touches most of the time.
Not only human dreams, animals also dream, such as dogs and cats. They have dreams just like human. Some dogs might dream that they are barking. Their dreaming patterns are no different from the human that they also rest to recharge themselves.
Some might say that dreams help to define our sleep and give it a meaning. However, for those that have nightmares would say that to sleep without a dream is probably the best thing that can happen because they think that they get too excited in their dream, therefore get no rest at all. One thing for sure, we can’t control of what happen at night when we are sleeping. Tonight we might be dreaming about one thing and tomorrow night we might be dreaming about something else, or not dreaming at all, because we can’t remember our dreams.
For those that want to remember their dreams, a simple technique is to set the alarm clock a little earlier than usually. This may interrupt a period of REM sleep and you are more likely to recall a dream. Another technique is to drink a large glass of water before going to bed. You are likely to wake up during the night, which may interrupt a REM period and you may thereby recall a dream. I’ve actually tried this method, and it does work, but it’s uncomfortable and awaken to find that I’ve been dreaming of trying to find a toilet, which I’m glad that I didn’t dream that I’ve used the toilet.
According to research, our dreams from birth to death combining all of our dreams would be a total of 6 years. We usually dream more as children, but as we get older, our dreams decreased. Many believe that 6 years of combining our dreams is too long, but some people think that 6 years combining our dreams is too short, for dreams that last a lifetime.
Sources: Kwanruen Magazine by Chalun, and The Hidden Meaning of Dreams by Craig Hamilton-Parker.
Nye Noona 