By The Magpie Whisperer
Everybody dreams. And if you think you’re not dreaming, then you simply forget your dreams.
Five minutes after you wake up half your dream is forgotten, and 10 minutes later almost all of your dream is gone. On average, you can dream anywhere from one to two hours every night, and have from four to seven dreams in that time. Over ninety percent of people dream in colour, while the rest dream exclusively in black and white. Men tend to dream more about other men, and 70 percent of the characters in men’s dreams are other men. On the other hand, women tend to have an equal number of men and women in their dreams. For most people negative emotions are more common than positive ones in dreams, and the most common emotion experienced is anxiety. People who lost their sight after birth see images in their dreams, while those who are born blind don’t see images, but do have vivid dreams experiencing the other senses; sound, smell, touch and emotion. Sometimes in our sleep we hear a sound from reality and incorporate it in our dream in some way. Our mind interpretes the external stimuli when we’re asleep and makes them part of our dreams.
Dreams are often so compelling, and sometimes so weird and strange, that we think they must have a purpose. The popular theorists who talk about dreams claim that dreams do have one purpose or another, but the best current evidence suggests otherwise, and it’s more likely dreams have no purpose. The fact that we remember so few of our dreams also argues against any function for dreams. If they are so important, why don’t we remember more of them? And why aren’t those who clearly recall their dreams better off in some way? The plain fact is, the reasons why we dream are still a mystery. There’s no doubt dreams play a major role in our thought processes. But the question remains; is this altered state of consciousness an evolutionary adaptation, or just an uncanny accident? Whatever the answer, if you enjoy your dreams and they don’t bother you, dream away!
