Dreams are stories and images that are created during a period of sleep.
They can tell a convoluted story of anything which resembles deep-rooted fears to ambitious dreams.
They are somewhat of an enigma to scientists as how they occur and what causes them is still an emerging field.
Though a few people may not remember dreaming, it is thought that everyone dreams between three to six times per night.
It is thought that each dream lasts between five to 20 minutes.
Around 95 per cent of dreams are forgotten by the time a person gets out of bed.
Humans often form dreams as they pass through the phases of sleep towards deep sleep.
This form of half-wakefulness occurs withing minutes and allows for the formation of microdreams.
The content of these microdreams appear to be random and we usually don’t have any memory of them when we wake.
There are five phases of sleep:
Stage 1 – Light sleep, eyes move slowly, and muscle activity slows. This stage forms 4-5 per cent of total sleep
Stage 2 – Eye movement stops and brain waves become slower.
This stage forms 45-55 per cent of total sleep.
Stage 3 – Extremely slow brain waves called delta waves begin to appear, interspersed with smaller, faster waves. 4-6 per cent of total sleep.
Stage 4 – The brain produces delta waves almost exclusively.
It is very difficult to wake someone during stages 3 and 4, which together are called ‘deep sleep.’
People awakened while in deep sleep do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes after they wake up.
This forms 12-15 per cent of total sleep
Stage 5 – REM – Eyes jerk rapidly in various directions, and limb muscles become temporarily paralysed.
Heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, and males develop penile erections.
When people awaken during REM sleep, they often describe bizarre and illogical tales – dreams.
Forms 20-25 per cent of total sleep time.