Why do dreams happen?
Dreams are one of the most mysterious and at the same time one of the most common experiences in life. In fact, there might not be a single day when you have not dreamt about something while being asleep. However, it is also true that most of the times it seems difficult for you to remember the dream after you wake up. Though researchers have been successful in unfolding the physical reactions and mechanisms of the brain waves during sleep, the reason behind the occurrence of dreams still largely remains a mystery to them.
Scientific analysis of the time of dreams
Scientists have studied the process of sleep to find out at what stage dreams occur. According to this study, dreams begin when you slowly leave behind the conscious world and enter into a deep state of slumber. Sleep is said to be categorized into two distinct phases. During the first phase, the mental and physical part of the person subsides. In the second phase, the person experiences something unusual and breathes irregularly. The brain waves behave as though the person is awake. At this moment, the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) occurs where the eyeballs of the person move rapidly beneath closed eyelids. This is the time when dreams occur according to the analysis done by researchers.
Duration of dreams
Many people believe that dreams last only for a few seconds but it is not so. The duration of a dream may vary from 10 to 45 minutes usually but there are times, when some dreams would last till the time the action in them would in reality. Again, there also are such dreams which, though depict mass events, tend to last for a very short period of time. Interestingly, these kinds of short dreams are generally those that occur just before you wake up.
Significance of dreams
From times immemorial, dreams have been considered important due to their suggestiveness. There are many instances of famous personalities whose dreams were prophetic in nature. The dream which came to Abraham Lincoln or Adolf Hitler or Rasputin gives the evidence that they foretell the happenings of future. In fact, the ancient people believed that dreams were messages directly provided by spirits or deities. But as mankind began to delve deeper into this subject, many new theories came into existence. One of the most established theories on dreams came from Sigmund Freud who shifted the origin of dreams. According to him, the unconscious part of a person plays the most significant role in originating dreams during sleep. Freud concluded that dreams symbolized the unfulfilled wishes of real life or the conscious part of existence.
In most cases, the Freudian theory consisting of psycho-analysis seems to be the appropriate reason behind the occurrence of dreams. However, there are dreams which cannot be deciphered in such a simple manner. These dreams are quite complicated in their nature and seem to have no connection with real circumstances. These kinds of dreams, in most cases, are indicative of the future and enable the dreamer to be aware of it. It is also noted that some of your dreams reveal the drawbacks of your personality and hint at reforming them to lead a contented and successful life. In fact, there are numerous instances of creative works which have been inspired by none other than dreams such as the poem, Kubla Khan by T. Coleridge. Scientists too have at times been able to accomplish certain truth after dreaming about it.
Though dreams are intriguing to mankind, they play a major part in everyone’s life. Whether it is health, forecast of a perilous situation or detecting a crime, dreams have always helped man to know the truth and prepare accordingly. In fact, it is also said that you can also keep a check on your dreams. A recent research says that if you dream about something repeatedly then there are chances that you might direct your dream in the way you desire.
