Dreams are images and actions that come to us during sleep. The content of dreams are as unique and varied as every individual. Since we are in an altered state of consciousness when we dream, the content of the dream is not something we can usually determine beforehand, although recent experiences or activities may play a part in your dream.
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Although dreams generally contain the contents of our daytime activity and your dream may be associated with that days events, Some people believe they contain something more, such as events from childhood, good parts or good memories of one's life, or even the more not so perfect side of one's past experiences.
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Sleep can be divided into stages, the latter part called REM stage 'Rapid Eye Movement' stage.
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stage 1 the onset of sleep,
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stage 2 -- light sleep,
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stage 3 -- deep sleep
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stage 4 -- REM sleep.
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The final stage we enter REM sleep. This is similar to stage 1 but is accompanied by rapid eye movement which is where the eyes move rapidly beneath the eyelids. We cycle through these stages throughout a night's sleep.
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It used to be believed that we only dream when we are in REM sleep. Researchers discovered that upon waking participants during REM sleep were usually able to recall a dream they were having.
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Sleep characteristic's are very strange to comprehend. Personally, I know that the time for me to rise for work is 04.50am. I wake several times a week at 04.00, say to myself, 'ah another 50 minutes then I'll have to get up'. Yet dead on 04.50am, I awake and turn off the alarm before awakening others in the house.
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Did I dream that I awoke, and and subconsciously told myself to awake in 50 minutes time?
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Dreams can occur during the stages of deep sleep. We also sometimes dream early on in sleep, before the onset of the first REM cycle. However, it is likely that we experience the majority of our dreams during REM sleep.
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Some argue that most nightmares occur during REM sleep. It is also thought that the dreams we have during REM sleep are the most vivid and the ones we are most likely to remember.
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Despite what some people may claim, we all dream. It is just that we do not always remember dreaming. Some people are far better at recalling their dreams than others.
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On average, we have four dreams a night. Yet we generally are only able to recollect a few minutes worth of the final dream we have before awakening. Some people dream the same dream but perhaps in a different context.
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A dream about struggling through difficult times has been one of mine. The same dream over several years seems familiar. Trying to wade through deep water re-occurs to me.
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Lucid dreams are where during a dream you become aware that you are dreaming. With lucid dreams you can then go on to control the events in the dream and manipulate the situation to suit you. Perhaps you can remember movement or even speech at this time. These dreams are often more vivid.
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Even today, very little is still known about why dreams occur and their relevance to our day to day behaviour. Different views persist however about how important dreams are to us.
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Some argue that dreams are just random brain activity and as such have no benefit to us psychologically or biologically. Therefore, dreams are not important and it is of no value to reflect on them or behave differently in our normal day to day life.
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Others believe that dreams help focus individuals into their daily life. A good dream may influence people to do well or change a particular part of their lifestyle.
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On the other hand, a dream can hold a sense over you that upsets your day and may not be alleviated until a further nights sleep has successfully occurred.
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In essence, you as an individual must decide whether a dream is of benefit or otherwise to you. Try to use even bad dreams in a positive way, I think.
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