“The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” – Source Unknown
It is said that everybody dreams, even people who are blind. Dreams are based on senses, not vision alone. For the most part, dreams are forgotten within minutes after ending and most of us do not remember having anywhere from two to seven dreams each night.
Studies show dreaming is important because in order to dream we must reach the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of the sleep cycle. During this stage, the eyes move rapidly in different directions, increasing brain activity while paralysis occurs in the major voluntary muscle groups. REM is a combination of excited brain states and muscular immobility. As a result of increased brain activity, intense dreams occur.
Sleep studies show dreaming is vital to our well-being and overall health. Dreams are essential to help recharge the mind and energize our bodies. Not necessarily because of the dreams per se, but because of the level of the sleep stage. People who are deprived from reaching the REM stage are often more irritable, disoriented, depressed and lack concentration throughout the day.
For me, getting to and staying in the REM stage is rare. Thanks to arthritis, I fall into the category of a person who is sleep-deprived. However, on those occasions when I do sleep through the night, I dream – and often remember them!
Do dreams have meaning or depth? If so, what are they trying to tell us? Is it important? Should we take notice and be concerned or disregard them as nighttime entertainment without the popcorn?
Dreams have been described as being the window to our subconscious minds, revealing true feelings and desires, as well as fears. They can be perceived as an extension of how we identify ourselves and live our lives.
Recurring dreams are common, having little variation in the content itself. The repetitive pattern suggests conflict or unresolved issues in your waking life whether it’s past or present. Analyzing dreams is a method used to determine the underlying message of recurring dreams and can often help a person overcome the obstacle or circumstance. In some cases, the analysis provides hope and empowerment to achieve goals.
Have you experienced a déjà vu moment that caused you to reflect back on a recent dream, making you stop in your tracks? Two years ago, I had a bizarre, exaggerated dream about a friend from high school who I’d lost contact with. The very next day, our paths crossed at an unexpected event. Now that we’ve rekindled our friendship, we often refer back to my dream and use it as an inside joke, adding to our memories.
How do you interpret your dreams? I once read, “Our waking hours form the text of our lives, our dreams, the commentary.” Would you agree? Do you experience the REM stage or does your chronic illness keep you from getting a good night’s sleep?
Thoughin the past few years, I have begun to have pain in my dreams. Can't escape Arthur. I often wonder how many people have Arthur in their dreams. I cannot run in my dreams. My disability is still there, always has been. But now, it's like there is a certain lucid dreaming that says, you are hurting and in my dreams, it may become impossible for me to climb stairs or lift my leg or hold on tight. Lately I've had dreams of losing my medications or traveling and not being able to get assistance. Guess we know what troubles me subconsciously, huh? It's unfortunate that I can't experience some kind of crazy remission upon REM and run and leap like others, but then again, if this were the case I may truly never want to wake!
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