Most people go through REM sleep four to six times a night, but forget most of their dreams. People remember dreams with strong emotions or events. Dreams can be linked to specific nerve networks. To remember dreams, keep a dream diary and re-read it before bed. Drinking water before bed can disrupt sleep and help remember dreams. Dream interpretation dictionaries can offer insight into the meaning of specific images or themes.
While you probably dream every night, it may seem like you rarely remember your dreams after waking up. Studies indicate that most people go through rapid eye movement (REM) – the stage of sleep where most dreams are thought to occur – four to six times during a full night of sleep, which means that the average person over the age of 10 can have at least that many dreams. But most are forgotten. Scientists who study dreams believe that people are more likely to remember dreams involving strong emotions or events that a person might consider important when awake. When you don’t remember your dreams, chances are they are simply not very interesting.
Memorable dreams
Dream studies have found that many of the dreams people have have to do with everyday situations that aren’t particularly memorable. Since most people have multiple dreams each night, the common ones may simply not be distinct enough to stand out. Most people don’t remember every single detail of every moment of their lives; usually, only those experiences that are actively remembered and/or that elicit an emotional response actually remain in memory. The same can be true with dreams: people seem much more likely to remember very strange, characteristic, frightening, or otherwise emotionally charged dreams, just as they would real-life experiences.
Sleep interrupted
When people wake up during REM sleep, they are more likely to remember their dreams. While this isn’t the only stage of sleep during which dreams occur, it is one of the most common. During dream studies, this is when subjects are often awakened and questioned about their dreams, as they are fresh in the mind. There is evidence that people may also dream during their most active phase at the end of sleep, in the hour or two before waking up. Interesting dreams during this period can also be remembered more easily.
Drugs and dreams
People who take certain medications — and some types of illegal drugs — often report having more dreams in addition to the more vivid ones. Some drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine, cause users to experience less REM sleep and therefore have fewer dreams. When the drugs are stopped, the body can increase the amount of time spent in REM sleep, and dreams can become more common and memorable.
Drugs that affect brain chemistry can also impact dreams. Varenicline, which is a prescription drug used to help people quit smoking, includes a warning about strange dreams and nightmares in its side effects, as do many antidepressants. Some studies suggest that once antidepressant drugs start to work, many people’s dreams become more positive, with less aggressive or hostile characters. L-DOPA, a drug that increases the dopamine neurotransmitter in the brain, has been known to cause patients to have more bizarre and vivid dreams, often with more emotional content as well.
Why do people dream?
No one knows for sure why people dream, although there are many theories. Some people have argued that dreams help people solve problems or compensate for parts of the personality that aren’t fully developed while awake. Others suggest that they help an individual process the day’s events or “clear” the mind after a busy day. Many modern researchers believe that dreams have no real “purpose,” although they appear to have meaning; in other words, while there may not be a physical or psychological reason why people dream, those dreams can reveal a lot about the person having them. Stress and anxiety can often affect dream content, as well as romantic feelings and other interests.
Dreams appear to be linked to specific nerve networks in the brain that develop over time; sleep studies reveal that children younger than 10 appear to dream less frequently than older adults, suggesting that these networks are still maturing. It seems likely that some people simply don’t dream much or at all, even during REM sleep, and therefore don’t have many dreams to remember. Injuries to certain parts of the brain can also prevent a person from dreaming, and these people appear to be as mentally healthy as the average person, even without dreams. Dreaming can simply give the mind something to do while people sleep, helping them stay asleep.
Tips for remembering dreams
The easiest way to increase your ability to remember dreams is to want to remember them. If you believe that dreams are simply random brainstem activity, you have no real incentive to train yourself to remember the details of what you dreamed about the night before. Just as actively trying to remember something while you’re awake can help you memorize it, a desire to remember what you dream about and confidence in your ability to develop this skill are crucial to success.
Experts recommend that people who want to remember their dreams more accurately keep a dream diary. Put a small notebook and pen next to your bed; then, when you first wake up, immediately write down all your dreams that you can remember. Don’t worry about trivial things like spelling, grammar, or sentence structure—just write as much as you can, even if it’s just a few words, sentences, or pictures. If writing proves too difficult, you can try drawing a quick sketch or supplement your notes with a small tape recorder. After two or three weeks of this practice, you will probably find that you can remember your dreams much more frequently.
If you’re bothered by a dream and want to increase your chances of remembering specific details, try drinking several glasses of water before bed. This will often cause you to wake up in the middle of the night, disrupting your sleep cycle. When you wake up to use the bathroom, spend some time writing in your dream journal while your mind is still focused on the details of your dream.
Many people interested in dream interpretation recommend getting into the habit of re-reading your dream diary every night before going to bed. This will often make it easier to remember dreams that are related. While there is debate as to whether or not symbols in dreams mean the same thing to different people, you may also want to use a dream interpretation dictionary to look up possible meanings for specific images or thematic elements within your dream. This can offer new insight into the issue at hand, whether your dream is about a failed romance or work-related anxiety.
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