Does everyone dream?
Why don't some people remember their dreams?
Could a shocking dream be fatal?
Can people improve their recall of dreams?
Yes. Some people just don't remember their dreams. However, when these people are brought into a sleep lab and awakened from REM sleep, they report having been dreaming - much to their surprise.
Why don't some people remember their dreams?
The evaporation of dreams appears to be quite normal. Given the lowered level of awareness during sleep, it's understandable that memory of dreams is mediocre. Dream recall is best when people are awakened during or very soon after a dream. Most of the time, people who do recall dreams upon waking are remembering either their last dream from their final REM period or a dream that awakened them earlier in the night. Hobson's educated guess is that people probably forget 95%-99% of their dreams. This forgetting is natural and is not due to repression,. People who never remember their dreams probably have a sleep pattern that puts too much time between their last REM/ dream period and awakening, so even their last dream is forgotten.
Could a shocking dream be fatal?
According to folklore, if you fall from a height in a dream, you'd better wake up on the plunge downward. Supposedly, if you hit the bottom and die in your dream, the shock to your system will be so great that you will actually die in your sleep. Think about this one for a moment. If it were a genuine problem, who would have reported it? You can be sure that no one has ever testified to experiencing a fatal dream. This myth presumably exists because many people do awaken during the downward plunge, thinking that they've averted a close call. A study by Barrett suggests that dreams of one's own death are relatively infrequent. However, people do have such dreams - and live to tell about them.
Can people improve their recall of dreams?
Yes. Most people don't have any significant reason to work at recalling their dreams, so they just let them float away. However, many people have found that they can remember more dreams if they merely place that goal uppermost in their minds as they go to sleep. Dream recall is also aided by making a point of trying to remember dreams upon first awakening, before opening your eyes or getting out of bed.
| "Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives." |
|
William Dement
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Dream
