The Specialties of Dream and the Science Behind it

Author: CodyWatson | Posted: 15.12.2011

Dreams have left people captivated for over thousands of years. Every time you wake up after seeing a dream, you are left puzzled over the mysterious contents of your dream. The beauty of dream is that, while you are dreaming, you don’t realize that it’s only a dream and that it has no impact on your real life. The happenings of a dream may seem so realistic irrespective of its nature. You may have wondered how the images of the characters in your dream are of those people who are so familiar to you. Have you ever wondered why you dream? Do the incidents of a dream have any connection with our present or past life? Is dreaming a coping mechanism of our day-to-day happenings?

Well, there is a difference in opinion among ancient people regarding this subject. Some feel that dreams doesn’t serve any real purpose while some feel that dreams are essential for mental and emotional well-being.

A dream may entail visual interpretation of images, emotions, and sensations in succession, that occur in our mind when we are asleep. And a dreamer generally doesn’t have any control over his dream, but for a distinctive type of dream called lucid dreaming. Dreams have been under extensive research by scientists over the past few years. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology. Scientific studies have proven that all mammals dream.

Here is an interesting fact about dreams. Scientists believe that dreams occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. The brain activity is said to be high this time. At the REM stage of sleep, there will be continuous movement of eyes. The duration of a dream can last from a few seconds to as long as twenty minutes. A person will remember the dream if he or she is awake during the REM phase.

Dreams have strong connection with things that are registered in our subconscious mind. At times, a dream can be creative and may develop a new idea or solution to a person’s problems or sometimes it may act as a source of inspiration to the dreamer. Since a dreamer is not aware that he is dreaming, it may seem to him as though the happenings of the dream are factual. The nature of a dream can be frightening, magical, exciting, adventurous, melancholic or sexual.

There is a typical type of dreaming called lucid dreaming. While a person is experiencing lucid dream, he is aware that he is dreaming although the degree of awareness may vary. The dreamer also has some control over his mind and may be able to manipulate the sequence of his dream as per his imagination. Lucid dreams evoke life- like imagination within the mind and may appear to be realistic.

A lucid dream can happen in two ways:

A dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD) is one which begins as a normal dream, and finally happens to be realized by the dreamer that it is a dream, while a wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) occurs when the dreamer goes from a normal waking state directly into a dream state, without any lapse in consciousness.

When the degree of lucidity is high, you realize that nothing is real and are aware that the precarious happenings of your dream are not going to harm you. When the level of lucidity is low, you are partially aware that you are only dreaming although you are bound to be affected by the happenings and impact of your dream. With low-level lucidity, your realization may fade quickly and you may start accepting the dream as real.

Nevertheless, a lucid dream gives you a natural and healthy experience. It has got nothing to do with the occult or escapism that you come across in your dream. It wouldn’t harm you any more than a normal dream.

"Dreams are the touchstones of our characters." - Henry David Thoreau

If you like to know more about the theory behind the dream, you can watch any of the TV programs like Stephen King’s TV series, ‘Nightmares and Dreams’ using any of the popular cable networks like Dish Network.

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