Do You Remember Your Dreams?

I don’t know about you, but I (Neil) am a frequent lucid dreamer.

Lucid Dreaming according to Wikipedia
A lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while dreaming. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment; however, this is not actually necessary for a dream to be described as lucid.

In fact, my first novel, “A Warrior’s Heart: The Awakening” was born out of my lucid dreaming. The dreams spurred me on to write the story. The interesting part is that it wasn’t until book three of the series before I actually wrote out as part of the storyline what that initial dream was about in the first place!

As a lucid dreamer, I am a repeat offender. I frequently have variations of the same dream over many days in a row! I add and subtract details based on my apparent whims at the moment I am dreaming.

Because I frequent the same dreams over and over, my dreams become very long, involved, with many characters and very complex. They are like J. R. R. Tolkien’s, “Lord Of The Rings” or Ann Rand’s, “Atlas Shrugged” tomes. Each dream builds upon the previous days’ dreams.

From WebMD
Dreams can happen at any time during sleep, but you have your most vivid dreams during a phase called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep when your brain is most active. Some experts say we dream at least four to six times a night. A lucid dream is one in which you know you’re dreaming.

My little fitness app indicates I get on average of 2 to 2.5 hours of REM sleep a night. This could be why I have so many lucid dreams. Do you remember your dreams? Are you a lucid dreamer?

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6 Health Benefits of Dreaming

Six health benefits of dreaming include: (copied from the Medicinenet.com website)

1. Improves memory:
   • Some studies proved that sleep aids in the retention of new knowledge, and there is some evidence that dreaming helps reinforce memories.
   • A study was conducted on 99 participants to play a virtual reality maze. The researcher put the participants’ memory to the test by asking them to recall things in the maze. Half of the participants then fell asleep, and when they awoke, the scientists retested everyone’s memory of the maze. People in the napping group performed better on the exam than those in the non-sleeping group. Those who experienced dreams of the maze during their naps improved 10 times faster than the rest of the sleeping group.
2. Helps you learn and memorize:
   • There is scientific proof that you do learn while being asleep. While you sleep, the brain reactivates and consolidates freshly acquired memories and information snippets.
   • According to Harvard Medical School experts, if you learn a skill and then sleep, you may be 10 times better at that activity than if you stayed up. 
   • Dreaming aids in your brain’s processing of new knowledge. Specialists feel that dreams are actively documenting what we need to know and remember rather than just reflecting it. Their findings imply that your dreams are a kind of virtual reality experience in which we watch memory processing.
   • Your dreams operate as a “rehearsal” for that new knowledge, allowing our brain to put it into practice and actively organize and solidify it.
3. Assists emotional healing:
   • According to recent studies, people are more likely to dream about emotionally powerful situations, and theta brain waves during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep are one mechanism for the brain to consolidate such memories. Although what you encounter in your dreams is fictitious, the feelings that accompany them are quite real, and dreams may help you heal those emotions.
   • An American report stated that your dream tales essentially aim to remove the emotion out of a given event by forming a memory of it. Therefore, the emotion related to the event is no longer active. This helps you cope with emotions, especially negative ones, which may otherwise promote stress and anxiety.
4. Offers a new perspective on things:
   • Dreams do more than just replicate what you have seen or learned; they generate whole new mashups and free linkages between what you have seen and what you know. As a result, your dreams provide a window into your most untamed creativity, as well as new methods of problem-solving.
   • Many prominent artists and philosophers who attribute their greatest works to their dreams have testified to this.
5. Indicates overall health:
   • REM sleep is considered the most essential type of sleep. As most vivid dreams occur during REM sleep, a lack of dreams indicates sleep deprivation. 
   • Excessive alcohol consumption or intake of REM-suppressant drugs such as antidepressants may lead to reduced dreams. This in return contributes to depression and disturbances in consciousness.
6. Nightmares do have their share of benefits:
   • Researchers now believe that experiences such as an emotional “dress rehearsal” are the brain’s way of preparing you for horrible things that may happen. It is almost as if the mind is expecting unpleasant things and then attempting to come up with answers.
   • Some scientists feel this is a primitive protection mechanism; if something horrible happened once, there is a risk it would happen again. As a result, experiencing reoccurring nightmares about that incident may keep you on guard.