We don’t know a lot about what happens when we are asleep. There have been sleep studies that tell us that the brain goes through many changes while we rest, but that seems to just scratch the surface.
It has been thought that we sort through our ideas and information while we sleep. There are studies that support the concepts that are brains process the daily input while at rest. What remains after the brain sorts through everything is part of our being
One little known fact is that we dream throughout the night.
All night? Really?
Many people have heard that dreams only exist when they accompany REM sleep. That is not true. We dream constantly, we are just more aware of them when we have REM sleep. As our sleep progresses, the length of our REM sleep grows, thus most of our dreams happen during the last third of our rest.
Do animals dream?
The only way we can speculate on whether or not animals dream is by detecting REM in them. If a creature does not display REM, the chances are good that they do not dream.
It’s alarming.
When your morning alarm rings it is a sharp disruption, not just because you have to get out of your nice warm bed and face the cold cruel world, but because you were floating a sweet dream. If you want to remember your dreams, try waking up slowly and see if you can recapture the thread of thought.
No action fault
Those who can easily remember their dreams show different patterns of brain activity. There is just something in the way their temporo-parietal lobe processes information. These people also demonstrate this activity when they are awake. These people also react to outside stimuli as if they were awake.
A common occurrence when people dream is being angry at someone who harmed you within the dream itself. This is normal because we register the experience in our body as well as the brain. This feeling stays with us after we wake.
Time tells
While it seems as if our dreams are fleeting, the actually can go on for as long as an hour. When we fall asleep, we may only dream for a moment or two. As we continue to sleep, the dream cycle lengthens.
Not what they appear to be
While bad dreams can scare us, they are not often caused by actual fear.
There are other emotions involved. Bad dreams can come from a fear of failure and other stressors. Men tend to have bad dreams about aggressions while women’s dreams are about conflict in a relationship.
Next to death experience
Another myth about dreams is that if you die in your dream, you won’t ever wake up. Or if you fall in your dream, you will die if you ever touch ground. There is no truth to this. Our consciousness is not directly linked to our physical self. So, if you dream about death, do your best to remember it!
The article provides a fascinating overview of our current understanding of sleep and dreaming. It’s interesting to learn that we dream all night long, not just during REM sleep.
The explanation about animals and REM sleep raises intriguing questions about consciousness and the way different species experience rest. This could be an area ripe for further research.
The distinction between REM and non-REM dreams is quite compelling. I appreciate the mention of brain activity differences in individuals who remember their dreams more vividly.
It’s reassuring to debunk myths about dying in one’s dreams. The segment about the temporo-parietal lobe’s role in dream recall is particularly enlightening.
The connection between brain activity and dream recall opens up potential discussions on how we might enhance this ability voluntarily. Fascinating read indeed.
I agree. Understanding that our consciousness isn’t directly linked to our physical self offers a more nuanced view of how we process experiences in dreams.
The notion that bad dreams often stem from stress or relationship conflicts rather than pure fear offers new perspectives on interpreting nightmares. It’s helpful to understand these underlying triggers.