Matt Stone delves into the dream world. By Matt Stone
I DREAM, but not with quite the same repercussions as Martin Luther King Jnr, who famously said, in his 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech, “I had a dream.”
I was never sure of what he actually dreamt so I did some research. The gist of it was racial equality, freedom from inequality, justice and fairness, unity and brotherhood and opportunity for all. Hmm, doesn’t sound like the America of today, does it?
He paid a high price for his dream five years later, when he was (supposedly) assassinated by James Earl Ray. It was later proved Ray was falsely convicted – love a good conspiracy. That’s more like the America of today!
On the subject of dreams, I always dream. In fact the only way I know I have slept is the memory of dreaming – but I have little recollection of what I dreamt, unless Liane accuses me of kicking her in the leg, and I then recall trying to kick a football that kept rolling away. Hopefully, for matrimonial harmony, my football dream days are far and few between.
I DREAM, but not with quite the same repercussions as Martin Luther King Jnr, who famously said, in his 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech, “I had a dream.”
I was never sure of what he actually dreamt so I did some research. The gist of it was racial equality, freedom from inequality, justice and fairness, unity and brotherhood and opportunity for all. Hmm, doesn’t sound like the America of today, does it?
He paid a high price for his dream five years later, when he was (supposedly) assassinated by James Earl Ray. It was later proved Ray was falsely convicted – love a good conspiracy. That’s more like the America of today!
On the subject of dreams, I always dream. In fact the only way I know I have slept is the memory of dreaming – but I have little recollection of what I dreamt, unless Liane accuses me of kicking her in the leg, and I then recall trying to kick a football that kept rolling away. Hopefully, for matrimonial harmony, my football dream days are far and few between.
Then I began to wonder, does everyone dream? Australian researchers say dreaming is a universal human experience that occurs during both REM (rapid eye movement) and non-REM sleep. They confirm that everyone dreams, even if they don’t remember it and that it is a form of conscious experience during sleep – apparently it accompanies healthy sleep. Sounds like I’m fairly normal, so far.
Liane has detailed recall of her dreams, which she recounts in the mornings, to my amazement – like bedtime stories in reverse. She also claims vividly coloured dreams, which makes me wonder, as mine are black and white, who is the odd bod in our relationship. Back to our researchers.
Most people (80% of the adult population) dream in colour – I’m sounding a little less normal now. When I dug deeper, I found certain factors that influence the difference:
Sometimes, when I do recall a nice dream I try to go back into it – unsuccessfully. You absolutely can wake up and return to the same dream — it’s more common than people think and research results back this up. The brain can “pick up where it left off”.
I’m really into this now, so I wonder why this happens. Apparently it can be trying to resolve unresolved emotions or conflicts in waking life, or it’s trying to process something important, so it keeps replaying the same scenario until it is satisfied. On the basis of Liane’ tales of her dreams, and the fact we live together cheek by jowl, I must be missing some really weird things in her life. Anyway, who believes every piece of research.
Some of my dreams end in falling, or being chased, but are they dreams? Nope, they would qualify as nightmares. What’s the difference? Simply, a nightmare is a dream where the brain has hit the danger button, even if you aren’t actually in danger. Many things influence the occurrence of nightmares – stress, trauma, medications and irregular sleep.
Lastly (I promise) I wonder about the different dreaming patterns of women and men. AI (sorry) tells me that women don’t necessarily dream more than men but they do remember their dreams more often. Well, that fits in our household, at least.
Sleep well!
Liane has detailed recall of her dreams, which she recounts in the mornings, to my amazement – like bedtime stories in reverse. She also claims vividly coloured dreams, which makes me wonder, as mine are black and white, who is the odd bod in our relationship. Back to our researchers.
Most people (80% of the adult population) dream in colour – I’m sounding a little less normal now. When I dug deeper, I found certain factors that influence the difference:
- Older generations who grew up with black and white TV are far more likely to report black and white dreams (that’ s me).
- Some people naturally have more vivid visual imagery when awake and asleep (that’s her).
Sometimes, when I do recall a nice dream I try to go back into it – unsuccessfully. You absolutely can wake up and return to the same dream — it’s more common than people think and research results back this up. The brain can “pick up where it left off”.
I’m really into this now, so I wonder why this happens. Apparently it can be trying to resolve unresolved emotions or conflicts in waking life, or it’s trying to process something important, so it keeps replaying the same scenario until it is satisfied. On the basis of Liane’ tales of her dreams, and the fact we live together cheek by jowl, I must be missing some really weird things in her life. Anyway, who believes every piece of research.
Some of my dreams end in falling, or being chased, but are they dreams? Nope, they would qualify as nightmares. What’s the difference? Simply, a nightmare is a dream where the brain has hit the danger button, even if you aren’t actually in danger. Many things influence the occurrence of nightmares – stress, trauma, medications and irregular sleep.
Lastly (I promise) I wonder about the different dreaming patterns of women and men. AI (sorry) tells me that women don’t necessarily dream more than men but they do remember their dreams more often. Well, that fits in our household, at least.
Sleep well!