"Overnight Success". Why We Dream The Science Of Dreams Everyone has three dreams to five dreams a night. These dreams occur during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of the sleep cycle, which normally occurs after 90 minutes of deep sleep and every 90 minutes thereafter. You probably won't remember a dream unless you wake up right after it has occured-which is why the last dream of the night is the one that is the most recalled. People who say they dream alot usually light sleepers who awaken easily. Or they simply are more motivated to remember their dreams. We've learned that during dreams the visual cortex of the brain-the part that creates pictures in the mind-is wide awake. So is the limbic system, which generates emotions. but the prefontal cortex-the "Thinking Brain" that plans, makes rational connections and draws conclusions-lies dormant. So, it is not surprising that dreams are almost always composed of images that are charged with emotion but lacking in logic. The Dream Cycle Studies of people who recalled several dreams occuring in one night have found that dreams operate in time sequences. The first dream usually involves recent images-perhaps someone seen the day before. The second one involves events that are back in time-either weeks or months earlier. The third dream may involve thoughts or experiences from years ago. the last dreams of the night often come from childhood or infancy. These dreams usually share an emotional theme. They are variations on the feeling-happiness, insecurity, fear, etc.- that dominated your thoughts when you went to sleep. Throughout the night, your dreams repeat the same emotional experience, as that experience occured earlier and earlier in your life. Because all people throughout the world share the same emotions, certain dreams are found in virtually all cultures. EXAMPLES: Everyone has dreams of falling. A reason for this universal dream is thatr we all started out crawling on all fours and fell a great deal until we mastered walking on two feet. When we dream, feelings of uncertainty and instability in adult life may reactivate that very early memory of falling. People also dream that they're back in school, unprepared for an important exam or challenge, for the same reason. It's nearly universal early experience that returns when we feel inadequate and fear failure... The Purpose of Dream Scientist have long debated the "function" of dream. Some say that dreams help to fix memories in the brain or povide a "test program" to determine when the brain has been refreshed by sufficient sleep. Dreams probably serve a number of purposes. EXAMPLE: One of the most important purposes of dreams is to regulate mood. As you dream through the night, the distressing emotions you accumulated during the day-such as anger, anxiety, etc.-are neutralize by your old memories. the process defuses them, and you awaken released from their burden. When this purging process is interrupted-when we are deprived of last three hours of sleep, the period during which most dreams occur, or when we are awaken abruptly-we are most likely to awaken irritably, grumpy and generally miserable. In depression, the mood-regulating function is disrupted nd dreams get more and more negative toward morning. depressed people typically wake up in the worst mood of the day. We have to learn how to read, as long as we live. Wishes can come true, But I don't know about dreams if they do.... ©Feb. 1998 Jettstream; All rights reserved.

Last modified: February 6, 1998

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