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Why Do We Dream? The Role of Dreams and Nightmares
How to remember your dreams
The dreams you remember are the ones that are ongoing when you awaken. To help recall your dreams, tell yourself as you’re falling asleep that you want to remember your dream. If that’s your last thought, you may be more likely to wake up with a dream still somewhat fresh in your memory.
Try to remember as much of your dream as soon as you wake up. Try to grasp whatever images or memories you have of your dream and write them down.
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Talking about dreams
People are compelled to talk about dreams. It is a natural impulse because dreams are emotional, affect moods, feel profound.
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How to remember your dreams
Keep a dream journal. Get into a habit, set things up the night before to reinforce your goal.
Lucid dreaming
In lucid dreams, you become aware you’re dreaming. You can take control of the plot. They can be anything from a brief moment where you’re in a nightmare and tell yourself: “this is a dream” and wake up.
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Nightmares
Nightmares are broadly defined as frightening dreams that result in some degree of awakening from sleep.
Nightmares themselves contribute to disrupted sleep not only by waking th...
Night terrors
Night terrors are very intense episodes of fright during dreams. These frightening episodes are often accompanied by screaming or yelling, as well as by physical movement such as leaping out of bed or flailing in panic.
Research suggests that sleep terrors occur during non-REM sleep dreaming, while nightmares tend to happen during REM sleep.
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Slow-wave sleep (deep sleep) – SWS
About 80% of our sleeping is of the SWS variety, identified by slow brain waves, relaxed muscles and deep breathing.
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Rapid eye movement (dreaming) - REM
Dreaming accounts for 20% of our sleeping time.
The length of dreams can vary from a few seconds to almost an hour. During REM sleep, the brain is highly active. The muscles are paralyzed, and the heart rate increases. Breathing can become erratic.
Sleep quantity
Although eight hours is the common mention, optimum sleep can vary from person to person and from age to age.
One review that worked through 320 research articles concluded 7 - 9 hours of sleep are enough for adults. According to experts, too little or too much sleep can both have a negative impact on your health.