“Dreaming is the communication between our conscious mind and our unconscious mind, helping people create wholeness” (Tartakovsky). Our dreams are unconscious thoughts that contain much more than just abstract, meaningless images. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, or stage two in the sleep cycle, is when most dreaming occurs (Lewis xvii). REM sleep can occur up to five times per night, though this sleep is affected by drugs, alcohol, and caffeine. This sleep is necessary to the sleep cycle and important for memory. Dreaming can also occur during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, but these dreams are more thought-like (Beattie 19).
“For many years, researchers… have been using quantitative methods of analysis to study the content of dreams. …show more content…
Knowing the several different types of dreams and what influences them can help show us where this path leads. Certain types of people have certain types of dreams. “... [It is now known] that artists are more likely than non-artists to have nightmares, that children have more animals in their dreams than do adults, and that younger people are more likely than older people to have “lucid” dreams- those in which self-awareness is experienced within the dream state” (Bulkeley). The most common types of dreams include cleaning-the-mind dreams, challenge-conquering and problem-solving dreams, teaching dreams, premonition or intuition dreams, visionary and prophetic dreams, and environmental dreams (Beattie 20-21). Nightmares are another common category of dreams. Many people believe that nightmares can be signs that something terrible will happen in your waking life, but this is rarely true. Nightmares often symbolize that there is something you are afraid of that you need to face. Native American tribes used dream-catchers, circular “hoops” that have webs woven inside of them, to protect against nightmares (Beattie 9). Our dreams can be influenced by sounds, smells, sleeping position, your state of mind, quitting something, drugs, and a number of other things (Gross). Our dreams are also somewhat influenced by what we do during our waking lives. For example, if you are fishing during the day, it would not be uncommon to dream that your family has turned into a school of fish that night. Dreams are influenced by age and gender, too. Eight to ten year olds dream more often than other age groups, and women have been found to have more colorful, familiar dreams than men
“For many years, researchers… have been using quantitative methods of analysis to study the content of dreams. …show more content…
Knowing the several different types of dreams and what influences them can help show us where this path leads. Certain types of people have certain types of dreams. “... [It is now known] that artists are more likely than non-artists to have nightmares, that children have more animals in their dreams than do adults, and that younger people are more likely than older people to have “lucid” dreams- those in which self-awareness is experienced within the dream state” (Bulkeley). The most common types of dreams include cleaning-the-mind dreams, challenge-conquering and problem-solving dreams, teaching dreams, premonition or intuition dreams, visionary and prophetic dreams, and environmental dreams (Beattie 20-21). Nightmares are another common category of dreams. Many people believe that nightmares can be signs that something terrible will happen in your waking life, but this is rarely true. Nightmares often symbolize that there is something you are afraid of that you need to face. Native American tribes used dream-catchers, circular “hoops” that have webs woven inside of them, to protect against nightmares (Beattie 9). Our dreams can be influenced by sounds, smells, sleeping position, your state of mind, quitting something, drugs, and a number of other things (Gross). Our dreams are also somewhat influenced by what we do during our waking lives. For example, if you are fishing during the day, it would not be uncommon to dream that your family has turned into a school of fish that night. Dreams are influenced by age and gender, too. Eight to ten year olds dream more often than other age groups, and women have been found to have more colorful, familiar dreams than men