5 facts about dreams

1. Everybody Dreams

Everyone dreams, even people who believe that they never dream. When people say, “I don’t dream,” they’re really telling you that they don’t remember their dreams. Remembering is easier if you wake up in the middle of a dream or almost immediately afterwards. In fact, researchers have found that people usually have several dreams each night, each one typically lasting for between 5 to 20 minutes.

2. Gender Differences

Researchers have found some differences between men and women when it comes to content the content of their dreams. In several studies, men reported dreaming about weapons significantly more often than women did, while women dreamed about references to clothing more often than men. Men tend to dream about other men 70% of the time, whereas women dream about men and women equally.

3. Paralysed During Your Dreams

During the REM stage of your sleep, the body is paralysed through a mechanism that keeps your body from moving physically because of the dream. It is also possible for this mechanism to occur during, before and after your sleep when your brain is fully awakened. This happens basically because motor neurons are not stimulated, your body does not move. In some cases, this paralysis can even carry over into the waking state for as long as ten minutes, a condition known as sleep paralysis.

4. Colour no bar

While most people report dreaming in colour, there is a small percentage of people who claim to only dream in black and white. Since the arrival of colour television, the average person dreaming in colour has greatly increased, whereas earlier it was black and white for 12% of dreamers.

5. Cause for psychosis

A lack of REM sleep and dreaming during that stage can lead to the disruption of healthy functioning. It is very important for you to keep sleeping and dreaming when you are at the REM stage of your sleep. If you woke up for some reason or the other right at the start of your REM stage, you may fall prey to psychotic disorders such as hallucination, irritation etc.