Amazing Facts about Dreams

I was walking through this beautiful meadow one lazy afternoon. I think I was alone. There were cows and sheep grazing on one side, while a field of yellow flowers swayed gently from side to side in the pleasant wind that flowed. There was music playing somewhere, like a slow soft flute. There definitely was the scent of wild flowers that lingered in the air. And while I crossed this scene, a guy came to a stop by me. He asked me for an address and I told him it immediately. And then I don't know what happened but I was at the address I'd told him about. And he pulled at my hand and told me to hurry before the drug dealer was out. Then over walls and pipes we climbed to stare into the hall, and there the drug dealer sat with his gang all dressed in black and tall. Then something slipped from my hand and a noise really loud was heard, the firing started and people ran, and tables were all but burned. Then something came and hit me hard and down the parapet I fell... falling, just falling, no screaming or calling and all was silent and cold...I woke up with a jerk, saw that I'd fallen on the floor... my bedding entangled in my feet and my slippers near my nose. It was a dream, I guessed. But god! So surreal true! The image of that guy still etched in my mind. It was as if I'd actually been through.

Dreams are like that. They make you dream about things you already know. But, I've never been on a mission to kill any don before. Yet I dreamed about it. Why? Cause I'd watched a movie right before I slept that had a scene like that. It was playing on my subconscious mind and that's why the dream. We dream about things we know. We've been dreaming all our lives and we hardly know what dreams can actually do.

10 Facts of Dreams

Dreams take place when we are asleep and occur most commonly during the REM stage (Rapid Eye Movement) when the brain activity levels are very high. Dreams are characterized by imaginary sounds, images, thoughts and sensations and give wind to all that is in our unconscious mind - fears, fantasies, and secrets. But that's not all. Here are some more dream facts:

• Most of us forget about 90% of our dreams as soon as we wake up. That is just how it is. Unless someone sits and harps on it, and keeps recalling their dream over and over again, there is just no way that we can remember the dream in full detail. All we are left with is a general feel of the dream, but the minute details are all but gone.
• All of us dream! (Unless there is a major psychological disorder) Adults dream a total of 90 minutes per night, on and off. At an average of 4 dreams per night, we almost dream about 1460 dreams in a year!
• Blind people can dream as well. If they have become blind after their birth, then they'll continue to dream about images, shapes and colors before they were blind. And if they're blind at birth, they will dream about the other senses.
• There are some common themes that all dreams have and around 12% of people do not have colored dreams! These themes will usually are - running late for something, falling, sexual experiences, writing an exam, being chased, being in a car accident, failing an exam, or flying among others. Men dream more about other men, while women have dreams about both men and women.
• Physical stimuli invade our dreams. Which means that while you're dreaming, something from the physical environment will incorporate itself into your dream and become a part of it. This happens to me quite often where the alarm is concerned. It starts to ring in my dreams, I shut it off but it continues and I'm awakened to see that it's ringing in reality.
• Dreams render us essentially paralyzed when we are going through them. It is said that this happens because the brain does not want the body to put into action any of the actions that it is dreaming about. Thus in order to prevent that, the body begins to secrete hormones which induces sleep and causes the spinal cord to relax the body and make it paralyzed.
• We dream about things and about people that we already know about! You might think that the person you saw in your dream is someone you haven't seen ever in your life before but that's not true. Our brain has so much power that it stores each and every fact in its recesses. So the person you dreamed about, could be anyone from a co-passenger on the train or a waiter.
• Dreams prevent psychosis! People who have had disturbances in their dreams and have been awakened over and over again just as they have been about to dream, have reported of experiencing hallucinations, lack of concentration, irritation and the like. But when these people were allowed their REM sleep (with dreams) they have been fresher and more alert.
• People who quit smoking have more vivid dreams and they report of extreme lucid dreaming as well. They usually have dreams about smoking and this has been seen as one of the withdrawal symptoms.
• Dreams are symbolic and do not usually call a brick a brick. They have hidden meanings and inferences to other things. That is why there are so many theories about dream interpretation, and it is often difficult to pin point to what dreams mean.

Funny Facts Aof Dreams

• Animals have dreams too. You've seen your dog or cat kicking about in their sleep or their mouths and eyes twitching? That's them dreaming.
• A large percentage of people have recurring dreams which means that they see the same dream over and over again - the same situation and the same episodes. About 70% of females and 65% of males have these. The most common emotion that a person feels during dreams is that of anxiety.
• Many people experience a heightened ESP in their dreams or a feeling of deja vu.
• There are people who have experienced creative overflows during their dreams which upon awakening have been converted into some of the best works we know of today. 'Kubla Khan', 'Frankenstein' and such others have been a result of such dreams.
• It is possible to have sex dreams and orgasms when one is dreaming. The same sensations are felt, it is said, and are more intense and strong.
• You cannot dream and store at the same time.
• Children cannot dream about themselves till the age of three.
• Children usually have nightmares when sleeping and they act as coping mechanisms for most.
• Different colors will be perceived differently by people, depending on their experience and perception of that color. That's why color meanings from dreams is a subjective feeling.

These facts about dreams will have given you an idea that our dreams aren't as innocent or mundane as we might have perceived them to be. The psychology of dreams is something that has been studied and the interest generated due to this is tremendous.