Dreams have been a fascinating subject for thousands of years. Everyone experiences dreams, as well as the unpleasant counterpart of the occasional nightmare. People have been studying dreams for years; the scientific study of dreams is called Oneirology, while dream interpretation or dream analysis is the study of the meaning of dreams. There is quite a bit of interest in dreams from both parties, and here are eight interesting facts about dreams from both studies.
1. You Are Paralyzed
Sleep paralysis, the inability to talk or move, or even react at all, comes in two forms. Many people experience it at some point in time when they are waking or falling asleep; this can be an isolated incident for some people, but it can also be a chronic, stressful problem for many individuals. Many people who suffer this form of sleep paralysis report that they experience terrifying hallucinations while they are unable to react. The other type of sleep paralysis is not a true paralysis, but simply that while you are asleep, your body is unable to react fully, or at all, to external stimuli. This is almost like being paralyzed, as it is a vulnerable state that you cannot voluntarily move or speak in.
dreaming-external
dreaming-external
2. External Stimuli Invade Your Dreams
Even though you cannot voluntarily react to external stimuli while fully asleep, it is possible for these things to influence your dreams. Things such as sounds, smells, changes in light or temperature, and physical movement or touch can alter your dreams. These may change the course of your
dreams, or they may shift the way you feel or think during their
dream. Pleasant smells, such as the sweet scents of baking, can induce happier dreams, while listening to heavy metal music while sleeping may cause your dreams to be more adrenaline-filled.
dream. Pleasant smells, such as the sweet scents of baking, can induce happier dreams, while listening to heavy metal music while sleeping may cause your dreams to be more adrenaline-filled.
dream-vivid
dream-vivid
3. You Dream Vividly After You Quit
One side effect of nicotine and chronic cigarette use is dulled mental function, including while you are sleeping. People who quit smoking frequently find that their dreams become more animated soon after they quit and they are more likely to remember their dreams.
dream-emotions
dream-emotions
4. Dreams Are Manifestations of Emotions
The experiences you are going through in your life will definitely influence your dreams. If you are going through difficult times, your dreams will often be emotional or possibly frightening. Jovial times in your life will cause happy, exciting, or heartwarming dreams. When you are facing a big change, you will often find this reflected in your dreams. The dreams, however, will often feature a different situation than the one you are actually experiencing. The way that personal experiences will manifest will vary greatly.
dream-color
dream-color
5. Some People Don’t Dream in Color
It is a small portion of the population, but there are some people who do not dream in color. The cause for this is still unknown, but many people suspect that it is due to exposure to black and white television at a young age. This is because the majority of people who dream only in black and white are over the age of 40, when television was very rarely in color. There may be other explanations for this, however, such as color blindness and even brain tumors.
6. You Can Only Dream Of What You Know
It is a common belief that dreams are the time your brain processes information and organizes it, opposing the other commonly believed reasons for why people dream. Dreams are caused by neurons firing in the brain, and these are in response to external stimuli. This stimuli must be something you’ve experienced, whether personally or through anecdotal evidence. This means you can only dream about things that you know, but that you can dream about things and people that you have read about.
dream-stress
dream-stress
7. Dreams Relieve Stress
It has been proven through countless studies that getting a good night’s rest will lower your stress levels. Part of achieving a night of well-rested sleep is having pleasant dreams. Even if they are dreams that you do not remember, these pleasant dreams require no effort from you and will relieve your stress, as well as the physical and mental side effects caused by stress, such as muscle tension, anxiety, or migraines.
dream-everybody
dream-everybody
8. Everybody Dreams
Scientists have found that the dreams that people remember typically are the dreams that they have right before waking up. Because dreams only happen during REM sleep, where a person is in their sleep cycle when they awaken will affect how much or their dreams they remember. There are many other things that can cause a person to not remember their dreams. Some of these include head trauma, alcohol or drugs, some diseases, a
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