DREAMS

by

Sharon Steer

GO TO GOOGLE SEARCH SHARON STEER AND CLICK ONTO THE LINK FOR BBC RADIO AND LISTEN TO A FEW OF THE FULL INTERVIEWS ON DREAMS. 

There is no proven facts on why we dream, which is why there are so many theories on the topic.  I doubt that anyone can answer the question of why we dream in a purely scientific, definitive way.  I think that many believe today that the purpose of dreams is to process all of the unneeded emotional issues and by that method somehow "vent" some of the energy connected with negative emotions by giving "expression" to them in a socially acceptable way.  This is a kind of letting the pressure off of a steam cooker before it gets out of control.  

But although I do think this is sometimes one of the effects of dreams, I do not believe that it is the only reason for their existence.  I believe that they provide us much more detailed information.

I believe dreams, are like windows into our deepest desires and biggest fears, and interpreting our dream can help us figure out what's really going on in our brains and our lives.  In this theory, a dream is a direct message from your mind, telling you about problems that need to be solved, fears that need to be put to rest, or goals that need to be followed.  

Some other theories on the topic 

1.  Dreams can be our hidden desire.

2.  Dreams carry meaning, although not always of desire.

3.  Dreaming is our bodies way of storing information gathered during the day.

4.  Some say it is our bodies way of dumping information.

5.  Building up our spiritual, physical and mental well being.

6.  A way of releasing tension build up in the day.

7.  Some say dreams don't really have a purpose; they're just one of those things that seem to happen for no reason.

8.  Some say dreams are our brains "twitching". Because our brains are basically huge collections of information, pictures, and feelings, when they "twitch" in the night all kinds of strange things come out and geT thrown into dreams.

9.  Dreams are a way to process all the events and emotions of the day, and are important to our mental and physical health.  It's sort of like when you leave a computer on, it sometimes runs programs to clean up its hard drive.

DOES EVERYONE DREAM?

Yes studies have shown that we experience our most vivid dreams during a type of sleep called rapid eye movement (rem) sleep .

During this time the brain is most active, the eyes move back and forth rapidly under the lids, and the large muscles of the body are relaxed.

R.E.M. sleep occurs every 90 - 100 mins or 3 to 4 times a night.

less vivid dreams occur out of this area.

RECURRENT DREAMS

Recurring dreams are warning or an alarm system alerting us that something is wrong in our lives.

LUCID DREAMING

The ability to control a dream is called lucid dreaming (lucid means aware).  People who experience lucid dreaming might wake up right after realizing that they're in a dream.  In many cases , suddenly knowing that you're dreaming seems to be what wakes them up... especially during nightmares.

e.g. feeling stuck, You're in danger, but you can't move your legs to run or you can't find the voice to yell.

Some doctors think that is would be a bad idea to always take control of your dreams, even if you could.  If our dreams really are a way to let our minds think differently and deal with information about life, then trying to control them would stop our brains from doing important work.

Nightmares can represent general fears and anxieties, or specific things that are troubling you. They are most common in childhood, and most people eventually grow out of them.

Nightmares do two thing to us; first, the bad dreams themselves can make us scared or nervous. Secondly, they point to problems in our real lift, and can be a sign that we should work on these problems.

nightmares are caused by

1.  Stress

2.  Traumatic experiences

3.  Emotional difficulties

4.  Drugs or medication

5.  Illness.