Dreams are all about different events, images, and stories, certain emotions or sensations that we experience involuntarily in our sleep during certain stages. Dreams are usually seen in a specific stage of sleep i.e. rapid eye movement where the brain is highly active. The REM stage of sleep is the one where you experience the continuous movement of eyes. At times, you might see dreams during different stages of sleep but those dreams might be less memorable than the ones seen in the REM stage.
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The length of the dreams varies from certain seconds to 30 minutes. Individuals who see dreams in the REM stage and are waken up during the same stage then they are most likely going to remember the dreams. An average individual dreams 3-5 times during the night time while others might see 7-8 dreams each night but such dreams are usually less memorable and you tend to forget them immediately. If you sleep early at night and have 8-9 hours of good sleep then you’ll most likely remember the dreams and you’ll typically see the dreams during the REM stage of sleep.
There are various types of dreams which are identified based on sleep stages i.e. REM and non-REM. REM sleep stage results in vivid dreams which are remembered easily when you wake up. Deep/ slow-wave sleep or Non-REM sleep is usually associated with thoughtful or static dreams. The dreams are driven through the specific part of the brain i.e. hippocampus which is involved in the process of storing long-term memories. You usually wake up during the REM sleep where you experience the vivid bizarre dreams which are most remembered. During the entire lifespan of an average individual, the person dreams for around 6-7 years i.e. 2-3 years of dreaming each night. Most of these dreams tend to last for 5-20 minutes. It is still unknown where specifically the dreams originate in the brain. Some assume that a single part of the brain is involved in the formation of dreams while others assume that multiple parts are involved. When the person undergoes the REM sleep stage, certain neurotransmitters are suppressed i.e. serotonin, norepinephrine, and histamine.
In most dreams, the person is unknown to the fact that they are dreaming whether it is an absurd or an amazing dream for an individual. It is because the person’s prefrontal cortex which is involved in planning and logic exhibits reduced activity during the dreams. This then allows the dreamer to actively engage in the dream without giving thoughts to what is happening, what might occur in the upcoming future as the natural things blend with the dreams.
Dreams can either be exciting, fantastic or terrifying but 95% of these dreams are shortly forgotten by us as soon as we wake up. Dreams are difficult to store in our brain as there are certain brain changes during sleep which does not support the storage and information processing which is required for the formation of memories to take place. According to the brain scans, it is seen that the frontal lobe of the brain is inactive which is meant for the formation of memories when in the REM phase during which the dream occurs. According to a dream expert Lauri Quinn Loewenberg the dreams can last for around 90 minutes each night. The initial dream can last for as long as 5-10 minutes while the last one lasting for around 45-50 minutes. Keep on dreaming good things in life and stop scaring about the terrified ones.
Until Next Time,
Team Doctor ASKY!