Brain and Dreams

Dreams are defined as images, emotions, ideas and sensations that involuntarily occur during REM sleep. Throughout the centuries, they have been extensively studied in the field of oneirology. But up to now, no MENSA genius has been able to determine the purpose of dreams. While research about dreams remain nascent, we still have discovered quite a few interesting facts about dreams thus far.

Do you often wake up knowing that you had a wild dream, yet you cannot remember it no matter how you try? You are not alone. In fact, 90% of people don’t remember their dreams. For most individuals, 90% of the dream is lost within the first minute. In some people, 50% of the dream is forgotten within 5 minutes of waking up. Although this is the case, you can resume your dream by getting back to sleep and sailing back to dreamland once again.

While most people forget their dreams, you can remember what transpired last night if you are woken up during the REM (rapid eye movement) phase of your slumber. (Unfortunately, you cannot sync that to your alarm!) If you wake up outside REM, you will not be able to recall the dream – or nightmare – that took most of your sleep time.

An average person experiences three to five dreams per night. Some individuals, however, have more active brains – dreaming as much as 7 episodes every night. This equates to as much as 100,000 dreams per lifetime.

Dreams take about 2-3 hours of the usual sleeping time. The first dream lasts about 5 minutes long, while there are episodes that last up to 45 minutes! When compounded, the overall duration of dreaming accounts for an average of six years. In active dreamers, however, the dreaming period covers 1/3 of the individual’s lifespan.



Dreams occur in black and white. Just like television, not all dreams are in Technicolor. Research shows that 12% of dreamers have nightly visions in black and white. Most of the time, these monochromatic dreamers grew up watching TV shows in black and white. In other words, it is the older persons who commonly come up with monochromatic trances.

You are paralyzed whenever you are in dream land. Dreams often occur during the REM stage of sleep, and while the brain is very active during this phase, the body is temporarily paralyzed in order to stop the person from acting out his sleep. This event – called sleep paralysis – happens in 40% of people. During sleep paralysis, you will not be able to speak or move for a few minutes. Some feel choked, while some feel undue pressure. Although this is the case…

There are persons who get to act out their dreams despite the phase known as sleep paralysis. Some go sleepwalking (the usual activity), but there are some who ‘transform’ into different individuals come nighttime. Case in point: Nurse Lee Hadwin evolves into a world-class artist when he is dreaming; he is able conjure up beautiful portraits in his dreams. Here are some other ‘uncanny events’ that have taken place during a person’s dream:

Some women have intercourse with ‘random men’ during their sleep. When they wake up, they feel tired and sore – they do not have any idea that they have been getting busy the night before!

Dreams help dictate the creativity of the person. Dreams occur in the REM sleep phase, and those who suffer from a rare case called “REM disorder” don’t dream at all. As such, these people exhibit diminished creativity and problems with regard to creative problem solving.

While not all dreams do come true, there are some that do—and it all might just be pure coincidence for those that come true.  18 to 38% of people report experiencing at least one precognitive dream. Some of the people who attest to this fact are President Abraham Lincoln, who dreamt that he will be assassinated (and he was, by John Wilkes Booth), and Mark Twain, who visualized his brother’s untimely demise. Nineteen survivors dreamed about Titanic going down after getting hit by an iceberg, while several 9/11 victims had a premonition of the terroristic catastrophe.