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Every year scientific groups and national organizations conduct studies and experimentsexamining human dreams. The study of dreams is known as oneirology.Progress is being made in this area of work, but as a population weknow very little about the content and purpose of our dreams. One thingis for sure, the images, thoughts, and emotions that pass through ourbodies during sleep can greatly influence our outlook on life. Keep inmind that the word dream stems from the Middle English word dreme, meaning joy and music. Following our first list about dreams, here are ten more amazing facts about dreams.


Studies have provided evidence suggesting tremendous variation in brain activityduring sleep. This has been demonstrated using EEG technology.Scientists have identified five distinct stages of sleep, characterizedby differences in brain activity. Stages 1-4 and a final stage labeled rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. When awakened during REM sleep, subjects report dreaming. With the development of new brain imaging technology in the early 1990’s we learned even more about brain activity during REM sleep. Researchers found that certain areas of the brain are extremely active during the REM sleepstate, even more active than being awake. Studies have shown thatcertain visual areas of the human cortex, which decode complex visualscenes, are significantly more active during REM sleep. Intense activity is also observed in the limbic system, which is a set of structures heavily involved in human emotion.


We can’t be 100% sure that animals dream in a similar way as humans, but they do enter into a state of REM sleep. REM sleep occurs in all mammals, although it excludes the egg-laying monotremes of Australia. The sentinel hypothesis of REM sleep, which was put forward by Frederic Snyder in 1966, proposes that many mammals wake-up immediately after entering into REM sleep, leading him to infer that the process was being used as a defense mechanism. Many birds also show signs of REM sleep, but reptiles and other cold-blooded animals do not. The echidna does enter into REM sleep, but only if its environment is around 25°C. Dogs and cats also experience this stage of sleep.


Manypeople who smoke marijuana report having no dreams, yet after theyquit, the same people report extremely vivid and intense dreams. Mostvivid dreams take place during REM sleep, so the logical scientific question is “Does marijuana (THC) affect REM sleep?”A study conducted in 1975 compared the sleep patterns of experiencedmarijuana users with non-smokers. The results showed reduced eyemovement activity and less REM sleep inthe THC condition. They also reported a REM rebound effect, which ismore REM activity upon withdrawal from THC. Scientific evidence existsthat correlates marijuana use with a loss of REM sleep and dreams, so the next time you smoke marijuana and don’t remember your dreams you will know why.


Epicdreams are extremely vivid and can be life changing. These dreams areso compelling that they will often generate a greater awareness of yournatural surroundings. Epic dreams will give you a fresh and newperspective on an aspect of life. When you wake up from an epic dreamyou will feel as if you have discovered something profound or amazing.The epic dream will remain with you for years. People who experiencethese types of dreams often report a continuous storyline thatconstitutes an entirely different and ongoing life. Many people sleepduring their epic dreams, having a dream within itself.


Manystudies have been conducted to examine differences in the dreams of menand women. It has been shown that women dream of both genders equally,yet 67% of the time the characters in men’s dreams are predominantlymale. Women’s dreams tend to last longer and include more emotionalcontent whereas men’s dreams are reported to include more violence,cars, and roads. On average, 8% of people’s dreams include sexualactivity. The primary gender difference in sexual dreams is that mentend to dream about unknown or public places and their dreams oftenfeature strangers, while the opposite is true for the majority ofwomen. Women more often dream of enclosed bodies of water, such aspools, lakes, ponds. Of course this data is based on generalpercentages and is not true for everyone.







Sleep Paralysis is a condition that affects many people in the world. It is directly related to the REM sleep stage and dreaming. Sleep paralysis corresponds with REM atonia, which is the state of paralysis that occurs during REM sleep. A person experiences sleep paralysis when the brain awakes from the REM sleepcycle, but the paralysis state remains. The person is conscious, butunable to move. They continue to dream and in many cases can visuallyexperience their dreams in their room. A person experiencing sleep paralysisis not fully conscious, but well aware of what is happening. Theexperience has been described as distorted tunnel vision. The paralysisstate may be accompanied by extreme hallucinations and a sense ofdanger. Many historical claims of alien abduction have been explainedby extreme cases of sleep paralysis.


ErnestHartmann has published many books and papers on the topic ofnightmares. His work has indicated that the most common theme of anightmare is being chased. Adults are commonly chased by a male figure,while children face animals or fantasy creatures. Nightmares are lesscommon in adults and children experience them most often between theages of three or four and seven or eight. About 5-lO% of people havenightmares once a month or more frequently. Hartmann’s work suggeststhat nightmares directly correlate with daily activities and are anindicator of fear or anxiety that needs to be confronted. Some commontriggers can be drug abuse, traumatic events, or the loss of a lovedone. Night terrors are quite different from nightmares. They occurduring the first hour or two of sleep and during the non-rapid eyecycle. Loud screaming and thrashing is common. The sleeper is hard toawake and usually remembers no more than an overwhelming feeling or asingle scene. Night terrors are much less common than nightmares.Children from the ages of two to six are most prone to night terrors,and they affect about 15% of all children.


Dreamshave often been credited with influencing world changing events. MaryShelley wrote Frankenstein after having a dream about the monster. “Isaw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on theworking of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with anuneasy, half-vital motion.” Elias Howe was a sewing machine pioneer whogreatly influenced the product in the middleof the 19th century. He is recorded as saying that he had a vivid dreamabout a group of cannibals that were preparing to cook him. They weredancing around a fire waving their spears up and down. Howe noticedthat in the head of each spear there was a small hole, which ultimatelygave him the idea of passing the thread through the needle close to thepoint, not at the other end. It was a major innovation in makingmechanical sewing possible. The scientist Friedrich August Kekulédiscovered the seemingly impossible chemical structure of benzene(C6H6) after having a dream about a group of snakes swallowing theirtails. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA. Watson later reported that the idea came to him after dreaming of a series of spiral staircases.A few days prior to his death Abraham Lincoln discussed a dream withhis wife in which he previewed a dead body wrapped in funeral vestmentssurrounded by hundreds of mourners. He claims to have been told by asoldier that the president had been assassinated.


Snoringis a major problem for millions of people. Many individuals whoexperience chronic snoring are suffering from a REM sleep disorder.During REM sleep individuals will experience irregular breathing, arise in blood pressure, vivid dreams, and paralysis. People who snoreregularly do dream, but will not remember them as often as normalsleeping individuals. They often will develop a REM sleep disorder.This disorder is a condition in which the individual does notexperience any kind of paralysis when they sleep. The absence of thisparalysis causes many people to physically act out their dreams. Suchphysical behaviors often include talking, yelling, punching, kicking,jumping out of bed, arm flailing, and even grabbing. The person willremain sleeping while acting out their dreams and will not remember theactivity or dream the following day.


REMsleep begins when signals are broadcasted from the base of the brain,an area called the pons. The pons distributes signals to the thalamus,which directs them towards the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex isthe area of the brain responsible for learning, thinking, andorganizing information. The pons also sends signals that shut off theneurons in the spinal cord, causing temporary paralysis during REMsleep. REM sleep activates the area of the brain that we use forlearning. This may be an extremely important factor in normal braindevelopment during infancy. It may explain why small children spendmuch more time in REM sleep then adults. In addition, REM sleep isassociated with increased protein in the brain. Studies have beenconducted that correlate REM sleep and learning mental skills. Separategroups of people were taught the same skill and a larger percentage ofindividuals who fell into REM sleep during the night were able torecall the skill the next day. This theory is called the OntogeneticHypothesis of REM sleep.