,And then I flew over the baggage carousels to stop him. And very strange, but then Superman came along and I started fighting with him. Very strange., And there are thousands of examples of dreams that people remember. Or one does not remember a dream at all. Maybe that’s because sleep isn’t deep enough. But why do we actually dream? What is the function of a dream? And what meaning do dreams have?
A good question for which there is no explanation yet. Everyone dreams, that’s for sure. But scientists can’t figure out what causes us to dream. There are suspicions. It would be a processing of events in the distant past (childhood) or the recent past (yesterday). A dream is a collection of images, sounds, thoughts and feelings that a person experiences while he or she sleeps.
Contents
- REM sleep
- What are dreams about?
- Can’t remember dreams?
- Consequences of dreams and nightmares
- Attributes for dreams
REM sleep
During sleep you enter four different phases. This sleep is known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. One can only have a dream in the fourth phase. It often happens that a person cannot enter the fourth phase for weeks. This means that someone cannot fall asleep deeply enough due to an unpleasant environment, stress or other factors. Failure to enter this phase results in people eventually becoming irritable and having difficulty absorbing new information.
- Phase 1 . In phase one, one moves from an awake state to a light sleep. There are still observable stimuli from outside. As a result, a slamming door or strong wind can still wake the temples.
- Phase 2. In phase two the ‘real’ sleep begins. External stimuli are no longer noticed and the body relaxes. There is almost no movement of the body.
- Phase 3 . Sleep becomes deeper and deeper. Someone who would jump next to the person who is sleeping will not be noticed by the sleeper.
- Phase 4 . Here one reaches the deepest level of sleep. Breathing is regular and deep. Heart rate and blood pressure drop and electrical activities in the brain begin to kick in. This is also where dreaming begins.
When phase four is completed, you return to phase three. The return to phase one is accompanied by physiological changes: the pulse becomes faster, the metabolism returns, electrical activities decrease, blood pressure increases again and in some cases a penile or clitoral erection occurs.
What are dreams about?
Dreams are about everything. It is a fantasy world where anything is possible. Everyone has his or her own stories and imagination. There are differences between old and young and man and woman. Yet most dreams (about 60%) are about everyday life. Think of hobbies, work, family or sports. But the dreams can also be about the past. Think of dreams about school or youth.
Children’s dreams
Children dream more and longer than adults. Their dreams mainly feature cartoon characters and fantasy lands. By the age of twelve, scenarios of their heroes occur, such as Superman, Batman or cartoons and the like.
Dreaming of the elderly
The dreams of the elderly are more about the past. Childhood memories, parents and childhood friends increasingly come to the fore when they dream. Major events, such as war or the loss of friends and family, are also often processed in a dream.
Difference between man and woman
There is a lot of difference between the dreams of a man and a woman:
- A woman dreams about small animals such as dogs and cats, men about tigers and elephants;
- A woman dreams about house and husband, a man prefers to dream about travel and cars.
Women generally have more realistic, calmer dreams and dream about cute, fun and sweet things, while men pretend to be an action hero.
Love
Love is a common theme during dreams. This may involve dreams about love between a married couple or a couple in love, but sometimes also about love with a strange person. Or love with a person who would rather not be dreamed about. For the latter, think of dreams about love with a best friend’s girlfriend. It may be that this dream was very intimate. A romantic evening walk, a visit to the cinema or maybe even sex. It can all happen in a dream about love.
Now the question is usually: am I in love now? No, having love dreams about certain people does not necessarily mean that there are actual feelings for the person in question. Rather, it indicates that the person is looking for new love or has just come out of a relationship. Maybe there have been a number of dates that all went wrong. This disappointment and need for new love is reflected in a dream. And it is not at all strange that this person is a good friend.
Of course, it is logical that a dream like this is a shock. It’s new, weird, yet satisfying. On average, a man or woman has a similar dream twelve times in his or her life.
Wet dream
A boy or man can ejaculate spontaneously in his sleep, without any physical simulation involved. Initially, a wet dream is the sign that the man is sexually mature. Normally a man has a wet dream between the ages of fourteen and twenty. This may wake him up, but it is usually only noticed in the morning that he has had a wet dream. Although the term wet dream suggests that spontaneous ejaculation is only related to dreams, this is not true. A wet dream can also be a spontaneous release of tension, conflicts and emotions, outside of the dream.
A wet dream can also occur later in life and even repeatedly. Women also sometimes experience a wet dream. If someone dreams about a person he or she finds attractive and this dream involves sexual intercourse, it is possible that the person is ejaculating.
Nightmare
A nightmare is a horror-like, unpleasant and traumatizing form of a dream. The nightmares can range from chases, falling, drowning, burning, etc. Nightmares are caused by:
- An unpleasant event in the distant past or recent past (childhood – today);
- The use of medicines or other substances.
The most common cause is the first. A traumatic event in the past can cause lifelong damage. Assault, rape or robbery can be examples of this. Because these types of traumas have not been processed properly, they resurface in a dream. A nightmare is a natural processing process that is initiated by the brain.
Everyone suffers from nightmares sometimes and this is completely normal. However, if it always concerns the same subject (for example abuse), it is advisable to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist. He can further help to process the trauma.
Can’t remember dreams?
Sometimes people don’t remember dreams. That’s not bad at all. It varies per person and per situation whether a dream is remembered or not. People with spatial awareness are good at visualizing and remember dreams more often. It also differs in dealing with emotions: if you can do this well, dreams are remembered better. It could also be due to the dream itself. A dream about superman is of course nice, but not special. A current topic that people deal with every day is of course remembered more quickly. Remembering dreams can also be learned by writing them down immediately after getting up. This trains the brain to remember dreams.
Consequences of dreams and nightmares
Dreams can have some positive and negative consequences:
- Bad sleeping. A nightmare can cause a person to unconsciously create fear of sleep itself. This makes it difficult to sleep well and results in a bad mood and sensitivity.
- No satisfaction with own life. Dreaming is fun, because everything is possible and allowed. Some people dream the craziest, nicest and scariest things. This can make one’s own ‘little house life’ life boring.
- Poor concentration. As mentioned earlier, poor sleep can lead to a lack of concentration. But processing the dream during the next day also leads to a lack of concentration. Dreaming while awake is called daydreaming.
- New feelings. Earlier in this article we talked about dreams that are about love. It is possible that these dreams return and that one eventually falls in love with the person in question. These dreams have aroused new feelings that may already have been there, but were suppressed.
Attributes for dreams
There are a number of attributes to induce ‘good’ dreams, to preserve them or to stop bad ones.
Dreamcatcher
The most famous is a dream catcher. Dream catchers have been used for centuries and originate from an Indian people from North America. A dream catcher resembles a round spider web, often with a wooden ring with feathers underneath. According to the Ojibweg (the Indian tribe), a dream catcher would stop bad dreams such as nightmares. The bigger the dream catcher, the more bad dreams it stops. A dream catcher was cleaned several times a week by the Indian tribe to maintain its effectiveness.
Dream diary
A dream diary is very useful if you want to remember dreams. As soon as one gets up, the dreams are written down in the diary. This makes it easy to read later when which subject was central to the dream. In addition, the brain is trained to remember dreams better. Also very nice to read again later in life.
Dream holder
A dream holder or dream holder is a glass bottle in which good and bad dreams are stored. This only happens in movies, it is not possible in real life. Yet they do exist, purely for commercial sales.
read more
- All about daydreaming
- Astral travel and dreaming: a world in the 5th dimension
- Lucid dream: control your dream
- Help: aggression during dreams and nightmares
- The same dream or nightmare: what now?