Understanding Dreams!

Do you remember what you dreamt last night? Even if you can’t and are under the impression that your sleep was dreamless, you would have actually dreamt more than 2 hours or 25% of the time that you slept.

Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Good or bad, dreams always take us to some interesting places.  They can range from normal and ordinary to the surreal and bizarre. Dreams can at times spring a creative thought or give a sense of inspiration. Dream imagery is usually absurd and unrealistic and they are generally outside the control of the dreamer. They can vary from frightening, exciting, magical, and melancholic to adventurous.

Dreaming is as old as human history; it finds mention in ancient Mesopotamian, Chinese, Assyrian, Greek and Indian texts. Credit for the first serious attempt to study and understand dreams, called Oneirology, go to the European scientist-philosopher Sigmund Freud, who described it as “the royal road to the unconscious” mind when we lose our consciousness during sleep.

Men and women probably dream just as much but women tend to remember dreams better, especially during pregnancy. Several factors influence dreams of which smell is particularly important. People exposed to smell of rotten eggs while sleeping, report bad dreams when woken up. On the other hand, smell of roses during sleep produce pleasant dreams.

Sound also affect the quality of dreams. The sound of falling water often results in dreams of swimming or seas, and can often trigger bed wetting, as often happens when it rains at night. A child sleeps well when soothing “lories”are sung to him.

Bad dreams are not uncommon, and often take the form of falling or being chased. They generate a lot of anxiety and may wake you up with panic and sweating. They are common when the body or the mind is in pain, when the external stimuli such as smell and sound are unpleasant, during indigestion and when the blood sugar drops during sleep as in some diabetics on insulin. It is also associated with use of certain medications like propranolol or barbiturates. Dreams of choking and strangulation are common when suffering from blocked nose, chest infection, or during passive smoking.

Good sleep, of which dream is an essential part, helps our brain to regulate mood, solve problems, reduce stress and feel refreshed. Dreamless sleep, as happens with certain sleeping drugs or under the effect of alcohol, lacks these benefits.

Your dreams could tell you much about the state of your health. If you are getting pleasant dreams, you are probably physically well, getting adeqaute sleep and are in a stable state of mind. If you are getting recurrent bad dreams, there is something that is desperately trying to draw your attention. Listen to it!

As published in HT City( Hindustan Times) dated 11 September, 2011.