Dreaming is among the most mysterious yet so interesting experiences a human being experiences. Dreams have been captivating people ever since the beginning of time and they have always been considered to be something supernatural but interpretation or explanations of dreams often vary. For instance, did you know that dreams were considered futuristic visions from God in the early Roman days, and most dream interpreter’s all around the world believe it to be a gateway to another dimension – or to the spiritual world. Anyway, here are the 10 Amazing things about dreams you should know.
1. Everyone dreams
Everyone dreams, except of course those who suffer from various psychological disorders. If you think that you don’t dream, it is probably because of fact #2.
2. You forget 90% of your dreams within 3 seconds of waking up
Ever had such a wonderful dream but on waking up you have no clue what it was yet your body still feels like the dream? Well, that’s because you forget over 90% of your dream within a few seconds of waking up, 90% of the time.
3. You only recreate faces you know in your dreams
The brain works in mysterious ways, one of them being the ability to assign the people you know different characters in each dream. Every face you see in your dream, even that of a stranger, is not new, it’s a face you have seen before, even if you saw it once when you were a toddler.
4. Dreams are symbolic
Your dreams are often coded symbolic stories that have a pattern. The symbolism is sometimes very deep and complex, sometimes simple and straightforward in your native language. In all the cases though, the symbolism is of the dream itself.
5. You can control your dreams
Ever heard of lucid dreaming? This is a form of dreaming where the body is asleep but the mind is aware, so you know you are dreaming and can shape it the way you like. Lucid dreaming is one of the most exciting things a person will ever experience.
6. Dreams instigate emotions
While dreaming, you experience all the emotions you would in real life. However, the most dominant emotions in dreams are negative emotions such as sadness of losing someone close, near-death experiences, panic and fear and of course, sex-related emotions.
7. Even blind people dream
People who were not born blind see images in their dreams. People born blind do not see any images because dreams are replaying images stored in the brain.
8. Not everyone dreams in color
Whether you dream in color or gray scale (black and white), your dreams will still as vivid and realistic as you experience reality. Research shows that about 12% of people with sight dream in Black and white only.
9. Your body becomes paralyzed when dreaming
To prevent accidental physical performance of the dream, your body automatically switches to paralysis mode when you start dreaming. The paralysis sets in during the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage although some people experience it even before or during normal sleep mode when the brain becomes aware.
10. Men and Women dream differently
Here is something you did not expect – about 70% of the characters in a man’s dream are often male but women often have an equal number of males and females in their dreams. Men also generally have more aggressive emotions compared to women.
Amazing, right?