Sally felt herself being driven along a rough,
undulating path to be confronted by the head of an enormous mouse.....
After someone pushed Alan off the edge of a cliff,
he found himself falling into a dark, fathomless abyss....
Jennifer desperately tried to escape as a gang of sinister
men approached with pickaxes in their hands, but her legs refused to move....
Flapping his arms vigorously, David began to gain
height until at last he could soar above the treetops, taking care to avoid the
telephone cables overhead....
No, not horror
films or scenes from science fiction, but experiences many people have while
safely tucked up in their beds.
Dreaming is not
only normal but absolutely vital for our mental health. Without it, we become
tetchy and anxious, undergoing personality changes and finding it difficult,
even impossible, to concentrate.
According to
researchers, infants dream for up to 70 percent of their sleep time, while
adults get by with just 24 percent REM activity (Rapid Eye Movement) when the
brain is at its most active. Even cats, dogs and other mammals are thought to
dream, a fact borne out by their yelping, twitching, growling, grunting and
other animal expressions during sleep.
But whoever we
are, wherever we live and whatever our circumstances, we all have dreams,
although not everyone remembers them; the dreams we DO recall are the ones we
have immediately before waking, before they slip like threads of gossamer from
our minds.
What happens when we dream
When we nod off,
our sleep becomes progressively deeper, reaching a state of total
unconsciousness until starting to get lighter. It’s during this lighter phase of
sleep when dreaming, or REM activity, occurs - a cycle that is repeated 5-6
times. On average, we can expect to dream for a total of 90-120 minutes throughout
the night – roughly the same length as a feature film, though maybe not as
thrilling. This is because the most common form of mental activity isn’t
dreaming about incredible situations, but ‘sleep thinking’ – a process
involving real-life events which tend to be rather mundane. Sleep thinking may
however help us resolve any problems or worries we may have.
In fact, with
the exception of neurons related to concentration and memory, our brains are actually
busier when we dream than when we’re awake. But that’s only to be expected from
such a complex organ; the brain has up to 50 billion elements generating
between 100-300 signals every second! No wonder it never stops working.
Nightmares
Some dreams can
be decidedly unpleasant. Past events and impressions obviously play a part –
army veterans may be haunted by horrific wartime experiences, while victims of
crime may re-live the fear and panic of their original ordeal.
Nor do they have
to be particularly dramatic. Some of the most terrifying dreams can centre on
normally innocuous objects, like dustpans or cupboards or mirrors which may
suddenly seem sinister and threatening.
Children are
particularly prone to frightening dreams. According to a study by mental health
experts in Mannheim, Germany, 9 out of 10 youngsters are awoken by nightmares
such as being chased, falling, natural disasters and war. Interestingly, gender
has a bearing on how dreams are dealt with; boys tending to forget them
altogether, while girls talk or even write about them, something which experts
encourage. Drawing pictures of the dream or acting it out can also help
children to overcome their fears so, as a result, the nightmare eventually occurs
less often.
Interpreting dreams
Humans have been
fascinated by dreams since the world began, with many pagan nations including the
Greeks, Romans and Egyptians using them as a guide to various aspects of life. The Babylonians were particularly in thrall to
the subconscious, having “such trust in dreams that on the eve of important
decisions they slept in temples, hoping for counsel”.
More recently,
Sigmund Freud viewed dreams as “the royal road to the unconscious” and tried to
interpret them in the light of patients’ repressed desires. Such case studies
have since been dismissed by many scientists as over-simplified.
Then there are
the ‘dream books’ in which various pundits attach meanings and psychological
insights to certain features of a dream – in some cultures, snakes, for
example, are thought to represent disease. However, in her book The Dream Game, Ann Faraday believes
such books are “equally useless, whether they be traditional or based on some
modern psychological theory.”
Another
specialist, Dr Rosalind Cartwright, is impressed by the differences between
dream interpreters, with many psychotherapists insisting their interpretations
are correct, “... apparently quite oblivious to the fact that their colleagues,
on the basis of the same dream, may see quite different things for you.”
Can dreams foretell the future?
Many people
believe so. For instance, a 1999 survey by sociologists found that over half of
Russians believe in prophetic dreams and omens. And they’re by no means alone.
The Bible has
several instances of divinely inspired dreams, including Joseph’s warning to
flee to Egypt with Mary before Herod could harm their child Jesus. Jacob, his
son Joseph, Daniel, Ezekiel, even pagan rulers Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and
the Pharaoh of Egypt had visions. Yet these were related specifically to God’s
purpose and, once the Bible was completed, dreams were no longer used as
channels for divine communication.
On the contrary,
dreams are just a normal if essential part of life, helping us make sense of
our experiences and enhancing our memory. So enjoy them for what they are and, if
you’re disturbed by nightmares, instead of looking for any ‘meaning’ in them,
look for causes nearer to home.
And cut out the
cheese!
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