Sleep Basics - 101 Questions About Sleep and Dreams

Chapter 2 - Dreams

I never dream. Am I abnormal? Will I go insane if I do not dream?
Why do we dream?
Why are dreams so strange and silly?
I have the same horrid dream every night that someone close to me is going to be killed. Is this a premonition will it happen?
Can you solve problems by dreaming about them?
I have read that dreams have meanings beyond the things we remember when we awaken. Is this true?
What is a 'wet dream'?

15. Q: I never dream. Am I abnormal? Will I go insane if I do not dream?

As far as scientists know, everyone dreams but some people do not remember their dreams. Because they do not remember, they believe that they do not dream. Not remembering dreams is no cause for concern.

For most people who have their principal period of wakefulness during the day and their principal period of sleep at night, NREM sleep starts the night off and alternates with REM sleep every 80 - 100 minutes. It is during REM sleep that the thought patterns we know as dreaming occur. People in sleep laboratories -- even those who say they never dream -- do remember dreams vividly, provided that they are awakened during a REM sleep period. Under these special laboratory circumstances, the sleeper can recall much more of the action, color and sensations of a dream than they can when they wake up in the morning.

There is no reason to think that someone will go insane if they do not dream. It is true that some early experiments on deprivation of REM sleep led to temporary personality changes in volunteer subjects. However, today doctors use certain drugs and procedures because they reduce the time spent in REM sleep. Such treatments are effective for depression and certain medical problems that get worse during REM sleep.

16. Q: Why do we dream?

The reason we dream is unknown. However, dreaming is an integral part of sleep and appears to be unavoidable. Scientists have many possible explanations of why we dream. Dreaming, for example, may provide necessary stimulation to the brain from within the brain itself, thereby compensating for the loss of stimulation from the environment that is all-but-eliminated while we lie in bed asleep. Many psychiatrists and psychologists think that dreaming may be a safe and socially acceptable way to fulfill our wishes and desires. Specialists in learning have done experiments showing that dreaming is important for transferring what we have learned during wakefulness from short-term memory to long-term memory thereby allowing us to remember things for years and years. This transfer may be accomplished within brain cells by the manufacture during dreaming sleep of special protein molecules. Other scientists such as the Nobel Laureate, Francis Crick, think that dreaming may activate groups of brain cells in certain combinations and sequences in a way that does not occur during wakefulness and thereby help us remain flexible in our behavior and thought.

The drawing shows a cut-away view of the human brain with lines pointing to the various locations involved in sleep, biological timing, and dreams. Two important areas for promotion of sleep are the forebrain and pons. The biological clock is situated in the hypothalamus. The stimulation we know as dreaming comes from other areas in the pons. There are also other areas in the pons and the medulla that cause and maintain the muscle paralysis of REM sleep. Damage to these muscle paralysis areas can cause humans and animals to act out their dreams.

Whatever dreaming actually does, the sleep in which dreaming occurs, REM sleep, seems to be necessary for life itself. Experiments in rats that were automatically awakened just as they began to have REM sleep found that life cannot continue after complete REM sleep deprivation for longer than 1 - 2 months. For this level of REM sleep deprivation, very special equipment is required that detects the particular brain wave patterns of REM sleep and then causes an awakening. These experiments should not frighten people who think they are getting little REM sleep. The extremes of REM sleep deprivation created in the rat experiment are not possible in humans, even when sleep is very disturbed.

17. Q: Why are dreams so strange and silly?

During REM sleep, our body is almost completely paralyzed. The heart and other automatically controlled muscles still function, but our head and limbs really cannot move very much. Also during REM sleep, there is intense stimulation getting to those parts of our brain that interpret what we see, hear and feel. However, this stimulation is coming from within the brain itself. And, the stimulation is occurring at a time when the muscles we use to move about and orient our eyes and ears to stimulation are inoperative. Even under these conditions, our mind does its job and tries to make sense of what it 'sees, hears and feels'. Our mind 'making sense' of stimulation coming from inside the brain, while our muscles are paralyzed, leads to the bizarre experiences we know as dreams. Doctors believe that many common features of dreams stem from the physiological paralysis that occurs during REM sleep. For example, many people dream about falling, being unable to get away from a pursuer or being unable to move fast enough to prevent some accident. All these kinds of dreams have the common feature of movement impairment which may stem from the brain's recognition of paralysis during REM sleep.

18. Q: I have the same horrid dream every night that someone close to me is going to be killed. Is this a premonition -- will it happen?

No one can answer this kind of question with certainty. Many doctors believe that the subject matter of dreams can reveal important information about the way we think and feel. People who frequently have disturbing dreams may have a psychological problem that requires professional attention. Repetitive nightmares involving a constant frightful theme are usually a sign of psychiatric or psychological problems. This is a rather common phenomenon in combat veterans, for instance. Such patients may be treated with medications that block REM sleep, which is when nightmares occur.

19. Q: Can you solve problems by dreaming about them?

Many people believe that we can solve problems during dreams. The uniqueness of REM sleep as a behavioral state has suggested to some doctors that REM sleep may enhance powers of the mind. There are many stories of dream-like mentation during sleep suggesting solutions to problems in waking life. The great chemist, Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz told of a dream that gave him a mental image leading to the correct molecular structure of benzene -- a ring of six carbon atoms joined together by double bonds. Kekulé's dream was of the ancient alchemist's symbol known as Ourobouros -- the self-devouring snake which is drawn as a spiny-backed serpent with a dark-colored head biting its own light-colored tail. The dream's symbolism was on-target. It easy to see the relationship between a snake biting its tail and a ring. But also, ancient alchemists used Ourobouros to represent the unity of nature, and benzene can be viewed as a unifying compound since the benzene ring is a component in the molecular structures of over two-thirds of all known organic chemicals!

There are also experiments showing that patterns in dream content can predict the degree to which women will cope with the loneliness and frustration stemming from a life crisis. Dreams with themes of independence and self-reliance, on the one hand, correlate well with successful resolution of troublesome situations such as a divorce. Dreams with themes of dependency and helplessness, on the other hand, correlate well with unsuccessful resolution of such situations. These kinds of phenomena may very well be at the root of the age-old advice for someone with a problem, 'sleep on it'.

20. Q: I have read that dreams have meanings beyond the things we remember when we awaken. Is this true?

Yes. Some psychiatrists and psychologists have specialized training in dream interpretation. By careful review of someone's dreams, these trained doctors can learn much about the person's personality, as well as gain insight into what problems are being faced and how well the person is coping. In this respect, doctors use dreams in the same way they use Rorschach ink-blots and other projective tests.

21. Q: What is a 'wet dream'?

The original term means 'a dream in which there is an ejaculation of seminal fluid'. Many males report dreams involving sexual arousal and orgasm prior to awakening and finding seminal fluid in their pajamas or on the bed. Sometimes there is no dream recall at all, just evidence of an ejaculation. The term 'wet dream' is sometimes applied to a similar phenomenon in females. At least one third of all women experience orgasm during sleep. Many others experience awakenings from a dream to find vaginal wetness. As with males, there may also be no dream recall, just secretions. Such experiences are not abnormal, but can perplex, or even upset, young boys and girls on the verge of sexual maturity. Even though they may have been taught about human sexuality, without an understanding of the physiology behind these sleep-related experiences, there may be unwarranted disturbance and concern. The reason for 'wet dreams' is that during REM sleep there is intense activity in areas of the brain that control the autonomic nervous system. Heartbeat and breathing, for example, can be quite irregular during REM sleep. In the course of the autonomic activity of REM sleep, there is normally an activation of the erectile system of the penis and the secretory and erectile systems of the vagina. In some cases, the self-stimulatory activity of REM sleep may also lead to the an orgasm and an activation of the ejaculatory system in males.

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