Why people dream

Dreams Worth Remembering

Dreams combine visual and emotional stimuli into an often entertaining, and sometimes cryptic storyline that we enjoy each night. And even though we may not remember them, everyone dreams several times a night. In fact, during a typical lifetime we spend about six years dreaming.

Most dreams last anywhere from five to 20 minutes, and typically occur when we hit REM sleep, about 90 minutes after we go to sleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) was discovered in 1953 by University of Chicago researchers Eugene Aserinsky, a graduate student in physiology, and Nathaniel Kleitman, Ph.D., chair of physiology. REM sleep is primarily characterized by movements of the eyes and is the fifth and final stage of sleep.

Dream recall?

It is said that five minutes after the end of a dream, we have forgotten 50 percent of the dream's content. Ten minutes later, we've forgotten 90 percent of its content.

Sigmund Freud theorized that we forget our dreams because they contain our repressed thoughts and wishes and so we shouldn't want to remember them anyway. Other research points to the simple reason that new ideas get in the way - we are forward-thinking by nature, so remembering something when we first wake up is difficult as we’ve already moved on to the next thing.

So how do we go about trying to remember our dreams – especially the good dreams?

Prepare to dream

In order to increase your chances of remembering the good dreams, a little work is involved:

•    When you go to bed, tell yourself you will remember your dreams. Saying the words out loud      create a powerful link to your dreams and aid greatly in dream recall.
•    Keep a pad and pencil next to your bed. The creation of a dream journal will serve to enhance what you remember and will provide a good log you can then reference later. With each entry your dream recall should improve.
•    Try to wake up slowly to remain within the "mood" of your last dream. Don’t rush to wake up – use those first moments of the day to try and remember and note down what you can.

Better sleep means better dreams

Of course, not every dream is worth remembering, but, you can improve your chances of good dreams with a better night’s sleep. Your sleep environment can greatly impact the number of restless nights you experience, dramatically decreasing your chances of good dreams.

Some small steps to better sleep and dreams include keeping your bedroom cool and dry, and ensuring that you have a supportive mattress, such as a memory foam mattress. Memory foam mattresses work to eliminate pressure points that are the leading cause of tossing and turning.

You can find the latest in memory foam mattresses at Sleep Studio: http://www.sleepstudio.com/mattresses