What are dreams made of? Why do we have them and what do they mean? The topic of dreaming contains many mysteries, but scientists have continued to make strides to discover some new facts, as well as develop plenty of theories. Here’s what we learned about recalling dreams from Bustle this week:
1. Scientists aren’t why dreams are hard to remember: We haven’t discovered why dreams occur. However, three popular theorizes include: dreams exist to help us solve and express problems, they help our brain process new information and create new memories, and they are just a random part of brain health maintenance.
2. Some people can recall their dreams better than others: A published 2013 study revealed that people who are able to remember their dreams on a regular basis have more activity in a specific area of the brain that reacts to external stimuli.
Interestingly, the same study also found that people in this category are typically light sleepers who regularly wake up for a short period each night due to outside noises and during the day they tend to react more strongly to their name being called, compared to sleeper who can’t recall their dreams.
3. We don’t remember all of our dreams: In fact, scientists believe we can only recall about 5% of our dreams, with the most memorable, bizarre and interesting ones being the easiest to remember, compared to dreams where we are cleaning, pay bills or carrying out fairly simple, plain tasks.
4. We can’t stop visiting dreamland: While we may feel like we aren’t dreaming, the truth is you probably are. Even after experiencing brain trauma or a head injury, we may not be able to remember your dreams, but they are still taking place.
5. The way we sleep may change, but not the way we dream: Deeper sleep and less time spent in REM sleep can shorten the time we spend in a deep dreaming state, leading to the impression we are dreaming less.
6. There is nothing wrong if you can’t remember your dreams: Many people enjoy recalling their dreams and writing them down, but the truth is that you aren’t missing out on life changing epiphanies. For every one dream that involves a serious real life issue, there are dozen more they are quite basic, such as grocery shopping or sorting mail.
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