Dreaming takes up a surprisingly large part of our night. A University of Wisconsin-Madison study that measured people’s brainwaves while they were asleep concluded that we spend up to 70 percent of our nights dreaming.
Yet we never remember most of our dreams. Why do we have them?
Now scientists are beginning to understand why we have certain dreams – and what they mean.
Dreams have long fascinated us. The ancient Greeks decided there were two types: most were unimportant and were prompted by everyday hopes and fears. However, some were prophetic, a form of divine intervention that enabled the gods to communicate with “chosen” individuals and help them see the future.
As far as I know, I’ve never had a prophetic dream — and the dreams I remember are pretty simple ones, like trying to pack my bags in time to get to the airport, but having trouble making the to find the last pair of socks or panties I need.
Dreaming about being naked in public could indicate that you harbor feelings of guilt or inferiority. Finding out what is causing the stress can be helpful
This type of dream is very common and is one of several classic “anxiety dreams.”
But while most of us have nightmares, much of what we dream about is actually, as the ancient Greeks claimed, simply a reflection of the day’s events as your brain is processing.
This was impressively demonstrated in a recent study from the University of Freiburg in Germany, in which 20 people were asked to listen to four audio books before bed. These included “The Mystery Of The Blue Train” by Agatha Christie and “Inkheart” by Cornelia Funke.
The volunteers were asked to wear an EEG cap to record their brainwaves, and were then left alone in the sleep lab to dive into the land of nods.
Ninety minutes after falling asleep, the volunteers were awakened and asked if they had dreamed and if so, of what. The researchers did this to the unfortunate volunteers several more times during the night.
The next morning, independent researchers (who knew nothing about the experiment) read the accounts of what each volunteer had dreamed about and were asked to guess which audio book they had been listening to. You got it right with impressive accuracy. They could also use their brainwaves to identify which of the volunteers had been listening to the same audiobooks.
In other words, their dreams reflected things that had happened to them earlier in the day.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison study that measured the brainwaves of people asleep concluded that we spend up to 70 percent of our nights dreaming (file image)
Most dreams occur during a phase of sleep called rapid eye movement (REM), especially our anxiety dreams, which paradoxically serve an important purpose: they help us feel less stressed when we are awake.
In REM sleep, most of our muscles are paralyzed. We’re still breathing, but other than that, our eyes are the only part of us that’s obviously moving. (If you look at someone in REM sleep, their eyes will flicker wildly under their eyelids.) This “sleep paralysis” is believed to ensure that we don’t act on our dreams.
REM sleep is also the only time, day or night, when the connections to stress-causing chemicals in the brain are turned off. This means that while the dreams we have may be scary, they are nowhere near as bad as if we had them while awake.
Having a stress dream in REM sleep is a form of psychotherapy — you review unpleasant memories and events, but remain calm. This allows you to process and defuse your emotions.
So the more REM sleep you can get, the better your emotional well-being. We have REM sleep throughout the night, but more of it towards the morning, so try not to cut back on your sleep.
There are many different ways people express fear in their dreams, but here are six of the most common:
1. Being late
For me, that means trying to pack to catch a plane but failing. Or sometimes I’m late for a meeting and can’t find my way there.
These types of dreams assume that your subconscious is telling you that you are cramming too much into your life.
It’s time for me to master myself!
Now that I’m 66, I get tired faster than I used to – and yet I’m too committed to doing a lot of things I really don’t want to do.
This phenomenon is so common it has a name: “the yes-damn effect.” You say ‘yes’ to something because it’s still a long way off, and when the time comes to do it you realize you don’t have the time or inclination – hence the damn it.
This happens because we believe that our future selves will be less busy than our present selves and able to handle additional commitments.
In fact, the best guide to how busy you will be in the future is how busy you are now.
To avoid a “yes-damn” situation, try the “no-hooray” technique: you say “no” to something but still put it on your calendar.
As the date approaches you will be so thankful that your former self hasn’t made too much of a commitment and you will be able to celebrate.
That’s the theory – now I have to put it to the test.
2. Follow someone
I often dream of chasing someone, but I never quite manage to catch up.
The most plausible explanation is that this is an unconscious fear that no matter how hard I try, I will never achieve my goals.
3. Fall off a cliff
Dreams of falling – perhaps off a cliff or a building – are interpreted as a fear of losing control; that you feel like you are not in as much control of your life as you would like.
4. Unprepared for a test
Like falling off a cliff, you feel like you’re losing control and unprepared for the challenges ahead.
5. Teeth fall out
This seems to happen more often after the loss of a loved one and can reflect fears of aging and dying.
6. Being naked in public
This isn’t an experience I’m having (and so you don’t have to force it on your imagination), but if you experience it, it may indicate that you harbor feelings of guilt or inferiority.
If you have nightmares, it can be comforting to know that they are common and are really just a sign that you are stressed.
Finding out what’s causing the stress and writing the dream down during the day can help – and then changing the ending.
I know someone who has had spider dreams, but has found that writing about them and then imagining them fleeing in fear makes a world of difference. The spider dreams gradually faded.