What are Dreams? – Frequently Asked Questions on Dreaming

Dreaming is a natural part of human experience and whether or not people remember their dreams, everyone does dream.

Dreaming is a different state of consciousness. An altered state of consciousness is a state of consciousness that differs from baseline or normal consciousness when we are ‘aware’. States of consciousness where one loses the sense of identity with their body or perceptions is an altered state of consciousness.

There is a huge amount of interest in why we dream but as yet, there are no definite answers. Nonetheless, modern methods of study have answered a great many questions about dreaming.

When we are dreaming, our conscious mind can tune into any aspect of ourselves. The impressions that result from this come to us as dreams. Many people see dreams as a jumble of thoughts and images coming from waking experiences but there are others (including dream-interpreters) who believe that each dream has a definite purpose.

Dream-Subjects

The subject of a dream can cover any issue from traumatic and difficult experiences to pleasant and fortunate incidences.

To understand more about dreams, it might be helpful to look deeper into sleep as there is a difference between sleep and dreaming. You might therefore want to take a look on my article on sleep.

What do sleep and wakefulness have in common?

The two states actually have much in common. We think when we sleep (i.e. our dreams) although the thinking in dreams is different from the way we think while awake. We form memories while sleeping: we know this from the fact that we remember our dreams.

Sleep is not entirely inactive as some people walk in their sleep. People who are asleep are not always insensitive to the environment: parents can be awakened to their baby’s cry. Sleep is not entirely plan-less: some people can decide to wake at a given time and do so.

Where does Dreaming come into the Sleep Schedule?

If someone is woken during REM sleep, they will nine times out of ten, report that they have been dreaming. NREM sleep seems to produce only a 15% dream-rate. NREM sleep is also associated with sleep-walking (somnambulism) sleep-talking and some types of nightmare. REM sleep has also been called ‘dream sleep’.

So, REM sleep seems to be a reliable indicator that someone is dreaming. To some extent, the nature of the Rapid Eye Movements will reflect the content of the dream. For instance, dreaming about a tennis match would give a back-and-forth movement of the eyes as would happen when awake.

Does everyone dream?

Although many people do not recall their dreams in the morning, REM-sleep suggests that people who can’t remember their dreams actually do as much dreaming as anyone else.

How long do dreams last?

As surprising as it might sound, research suggests that the incidents in dreams often last about as long as they would in real life.

Some dreams seem almost instantaneous. The alarm clock rings and we wake up to complex memories of sirens blasting, fire engines arriving, and playing computer games. Because the alarm is still ringing, we assume that the sound must have produced the dream. Research however suggests that a ringing alarm clock or some other sound merely reminds us of a complete scene from earlier memories or dreams. (These short dreams instigated by a sound or some other outside stimulus are not typical of most people’s dream life although they do occur frequently.)

Do people know when they are dreaming?

Yes. People can be taught to recognize that they are dreaming and their awareness does not interfere with the dream’s spontaneous flow. Some people have been trained to close and open switch when they noticed that they are dreaming.

People who have lucid dreams are aware of dreaming and typically report doing experiments within their dreams to prove that the events are not those of ordinary waking reality.

Can people control the content of their dreams?

It has been found that some control of dream content is possible by making suggestions to people in the pre-sleep period and then the content of the dreams that followed were analyzed.

Post-hypnotic pre-dream suggestion is another way of influencing dream content. In one study using this method, detailed dream ideas were suggested to people who were highly responsive to hypnotism. After the suggestion people were allowed to sleep until roused from REM sleep. Some of the dreams they reported reflected the ideas they had been given.

When do sleep talking and sleepwalking take place?

Careful studies of sleep talkers and sleepwalkers have shown that most of this behaviour takes place during NREM sleep. This finding does not mean that all sleep talking is independent of dreams as dreaming is not limited to REM sleep (as was thought when REM was first discovered) although dreams during REM sleep are more likely to be recalled than those that take place during NREM sleep.

Sleepwalking can occur at any stage of sleep. People usually forget what they did while sleepwalking and the dreams they report often bear no resemblance to what they did while walking about.

What are the origins of Dream analysis?

Dream analysis has its origins so far back in history that they are untraceable. We will probably never know who first thought of analysing dreams but from ancient writings, we do know that dreams had an important place in the lives of ancient civilisations.

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