The science community is divided between many theories regarding the reason we dream. Among these theories some claim that dreaming is one of the ways of our brain to give rise to ideas, thoughts and other simulations in order to prepare itself (ourselves) for real time scenarios. Another option states that dreams set up the ideal scene to cooperate with different life experiences, especially hard ones. Other researches suggest dreaming as an evolutionary response to events and experiences we have throughout our lives. 

All these options, include within them an opportunity of the mind to practice problem solving, decision making, prioritizing and information processing. These opportunities appear to have a significant positive effect on the very same capabilities practiced in real time. 

Did you ever dream about the lecture you were about to take? An important speech? The upcoming football match in which your favorite team is playing? Have you woken up in the middle of solving math exercises from your homework? Rehearsed your latest breakup? Or an upcoming breakup? These are just the tip of the iceberg, we all practiced important tasks while dreaming. And guess what? It actually improved our performances.

Dreams appear during the R.E.M stage of sleep. R.E.M, which stands for rapid eye movement, is the sleeping stage that usually occurs about 90 minutes after we fall asleep, and lasts for 10 minutes. With each sleep cycle, the R.E.M stage lasts longer and the dreaming time increases. During this stage, our hearts beat faster, our breath becomes quicker, and in fact all the nervous systems acting according to the occurring dreams.

How can we remember our dreams? Waking up in the middle of the R.E.M stage increases the chances of remembering the content of dreams later. Yet, the ability to remember those can be learned and practiced. The most common way to practice is to leave a notebook next to your bed and write down the last thing you remember from your dreams as soon as you wake up, worth a try, isn’t it?

In addition to the outlet dreaming provides our minds with, a significant R.E.M sleep is also an indicator of sleep duration and quality. Actually, if you’re not dreaming for a while, there’s a chance you just can’t remember them, yet there is another chance that your sleeping habits can use an update. The very first recommendation is to take care of one or more of the following: bedroom temperature while sleeping, its humidity, sleeping comfortness and sleep cycle synchronization. For more information and detailed tips explore “Sleep Talking”.  

We @elvy.ai encourage you to dream, both literally and figuratively speaking

Wishing you a good night’s sleep, and sweet dreams

elvy.ai