Understanding Dreams

Table Of Content
History of Dreams.
What is a Dream?
Why we Dream.
The Sleep Cycle
Facts about Dreams.
Types of dreams.
The Importance of Dreaming.
History of Dreams
Dream interpretations date
back to 3000-4000 B.C.
People have always been
fascinated by dreams and
have always wanted to
understand them completely.

WHAT IS A DREAM
Sequence of images, ideas, emotions,
sounds and feelings that occur
unwillingly in the mind during certain
stages of sleep.
Dreaming usually occurs during the
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of
sleep, which is when brain activity is
high and signaled by quick horizontal
movements of the eye

Why we dream
Scientists generally seem to agree that dreaming
is a form of thinking during sleep because of
Random Impulses in order to solve Problems and
to organize the Brain.
Dreams are the result of our brains trying to
interpret external stimuli during sleep. For
example, the sound of the radio may be
incorporated into the content of a dream.
Dreams typically reflect our emotions. During the
day, our brains are working hard to make
connections to achieve certain functions.

THE SLEEP CYCLE
The sleep cycle comprises of four stages and lasts for about
90120 minutes. Less than 2 hours

Stage1: From 5 to 10 minutes, the body and muscles start to relax.
Stage 2: Your brain activity, heart rate and breathing start to slow down. you're
beginning to reach a state of total relaxation.
Stage 3: You get deeper into sleep.
Stage 4: Stage of sleep when you dream. It is also referred to as "active sleep" or
REM sleep.

The sleep cycle repeats itself on an average of 3 to 5 times per
night, may repeat as many as 7 times. This is how a person
dreams several times in one night.
FACTS ABOUT DREAMS
When you dream, your body faces some changes:
1. Your adrenaline rises.
2. your blood pressure increases, and your heart beats faster.
3. During a typical lifetime, people spend an average of six years dreaming.
4. 12% of people only dream in black and white.
5. Sleep might be disturbed during the night but the mind interprets the
disturbance and makes it a part of a dream.
6. Five minutes after the end of the dream, 50% of the content is forgotten, after
ten minutes 90% is forgotten.
7. Animals also Dream.
Types of Dreams
There are 5 types of dreams:
Daydreams.
Lucid dreams.
Nightmares.
Recurring dreams.
Epic dreams.

DAYDREAMS
Day dreaming occurs when you
are half awake, and it is the
imagining or remembering of
images or experiences in the past
or future.

They can help and motivate us to
make new and exciting things
happen. But this can distracting
as they take our minds off what
we are doing in serious situations
such as driving and studying
LUCID DREAMS
Lucid dreams occur when
you realize you are
dreaming. the dreamer
can reassure him/herself
that it is only a dream and
that he or she will soon
awaken.
NIGHTMARES
A nightmare is a disturbing
dream that causes you to
wake up feeling anxious
and frightened.

Nightmares may also occur
because you have ignored
or refused to accept a
particular life situation
RECURRING DREAMS
Recurring dreams repeat
themselves with little
variation in story or theme.
These dreams may be
positive, but most often
they are nightmarish in
content.
EPIC DREAMS
They are so memorable
and vivid, that we simply
cannot ignore them. Its
details remain in your
memory for years, as if
youve dreamt it last night.
THE IMPORTANCE OF
DREAMING !!

Research has shown that people who are for any reason
stopped from entering the dreaming phase (REM), go
through the symptoms of irritability and anxiety.

In an experiment, volunteers were woken up before entering
the dreaming state. They were put back to sleep and again
woken up before entering the dreaming state. They continued
to do this during the night. The volunteers slept the same
amount as they did usually, but the next day they seemed to
be depressed, disoriented, and crabby and quick tempered.
Some even ate more than usual. As this study continued for
several nights, results became more noticeable. Deprivation
of REM sleep causes lack of concentration, over-sensitivity
and memory loss. This shows the importance of dreaming
and its roll in our health. Some people believe that dreams
help us fight stress. It recharges our mind and revitalizes our
body.
Thank
you for
your
attention
.
REFERENCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream

http://io9.com/10-theories-that-explain-why-we-dream-
897195110

http://www.better-sleep-better-life.com/five-stages-of-sleep.html

http://www.easynight.org/types-of-dreams/facts-about-
dreams.html

http://psychology.about.com/od/statesofconsciousness/tp/facts-
abo ut-dreams.html

http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/types-of-dreams.html