12 Amazing Things You Did Not Know About Dreams

There have been many studies that have been conducted on human dreams for the simple reason that having a dream is an amazing phenomenon. We all know that dreams are colorless and whatever we imagine in our dreams is just that, imagination. We are also familiar with the fact that the only faces we can see in our dreams are the faces that we have seen in real life!

The base word from which this word was taken (dreme) actually refers to joy and music but there have been instances (several of them) where dreams have not been all joy and music! This list will take you into the finer details regarding dreams, things that you may not know about dreams!

1 Brain Activity When You Dream

Have you ever heard that a person died of fatal insomnia, a problem where the patient cannot sleep at all! Well, that is due to the reason that the brain decides not to shut off at all, not even if a coma is induced! The amazing thing that most of you might not have known before is that a lot of portions of the brain are actually active while we sleep.

Read also – 10 Ways to Get a Good Night’s Sleep Despite Stress

There are different stages of human periods of sleep where different parts of the brain are involved especially the visual areas of the human cortex and the limbic system that is responsible for our emotions. The human cortex is, in some cases, more active during the sleep than it is while a human is awake!

2 Animals and Dreams

Doctors are not a hundred percent sure that dogs can dream but they have been diagnosed as entering into an REM sleep which by definition is the Rapid Eye Movement sleep. This kind of sleep occurs in all kinds of mammals.

The mammals basically use this as a defense mechanism because they can wake up as soon as they enter the REM phase, as concluded by the doctors. This whole pattern varies from animal to animal and of course, it is different for birds altogether!

3 Marijuana and Dreams

You know how some people say that after they had taken Marijuana, they could not dream at all! Even people who are regular smokers of Marijuana said the same thing which causes doctors to realize that perhaps Marijuana messes with the REM sleep. The reason is that all those people who reported a lack of dreams also reported that when they stopped taking Marijuana, they had very vivid dreams which can only happen during REM sleep!

After research doctors have concluded that Marijuana actually does affect the REM sleep of many (and this was concluded after a lot of tests were done on smokers and non-smokers). So the next time you take some drugs and wonder why you have no dreams, this will give you an idea!

4 Epic Dreams

They are known as dreams that are completely life-changing and can alter the whole perspective of life for the one experiencing this. Before I get into further details I would like to tell you that people actually fall asleep in an epic dream after which they experience a dream within a dream! Back to the feeling of having an epic dream, they are very influential and people who have seen such dreams have woken up feeling completely changed as far as their life is concerned.

Opinions have changed via such dreams. They give the dreamer a fresh new take on life that is refreshing and healthy. I am sure right now you might be wishing to see such a dream, aren’t you?

5 Dreams of Men and Women

This particular fact might be of interest to both males and females. The thing is that as per the research that has been conducted, men and women dream differently. They are nearly as different as men and women are in real life. For example, women’s dream tends to last longer whereas men’s dream is shorter. Similarly, a women’s dream involves many emotions whereas a man’s dream does not have that many (which makes their dreams quite lame actually).

The most interesting thing to note might be that nearly 8% of people’s dreams include sexuality wherein, men normally dream about random places and strangers and women tend to dream about known places and people who are close to them!

Read also – 6 Reasons Men Get Better Sleep Than Women

6 Consistent Disturbed Sleep Leads To Psychosis

It has been observed that students whose REM patterns are disturbed frequently get very irritated and short-tempered. And doctors have researched that if the REM patterns and this the dream patterns are disturbed frequently, it might eventually lead to psychosis, which is an extreme possibility but never the less, it is possible!

7 Blind People Can Dream Too

You might be thinking that for blind people it is impossible to dream but the thing is that even if one is blind by birth, even then the dreams are as vivid as a normal human being. The only difference is that we can see images while they only dream of sense and sounds!

Which I think is quite spectacular. For a person who was not blind at birth but was so later in life, they can dream images even when they cannot see in their real lives!

8 Some Great Inventions Were Conceived In Dreams

Vincent Van Gogh once said and I quote, “I dream my paintings and then I paint my dreams”. And this is true for a lot of inventions and masterpieces scattered throughout the world. There are many scientists, Newton and Graham Bell, for example, dreamed of the solutions to the toughest of problems and even came up with a few inventions!

That is how powerful dreams are!

9 90% Of Dreams are Forgotten

It is very insightful to note that you forget nearly 50% of your dream within five minutes of waking up and the remaining 90% is forgotten within ten minutes of waking up!

Even if you think you remember your dream vividly, give it like a few moments and you will not be able to think clearly and eventually, you will forget it all! Of course, you can always make it up from the bits and pieces you do recall!

10 Children Have More Nightmares Than Adults

Children experience nightmares significantly more frequently than adults, with research showing that up to 50% of children ages 3-6 have regular frightening dreams compared to only about 2-8% of adults. Nightmares in children often coincide with developmental milestones, serving as a way for young minds to process new information, fears, and emotional experiences they encounter during waking hours.

While concerning for parents, these bad dreams are typically a normal part of cognitive development rather than a sign of psychological distress, though persistent severe nightmares may warrant professional attention.

Read also – 7 Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep

11 Recurring Dreams Have Psychological Significance

These persistent dream patterns often reflect unresolved emotional issues or ongoing life stressors that your subconscious mind still processes. Recurring dreams typically involve similar themes, settings, or emotions rather than exact replicas, with subtle variations that may shift as you progress through the underlying psychological issue.

Research suggests that addressing the waking-life trigger of these dreams through therapy or self-reflection can reduce their frequency or transform their content.

12 External Stimuli Can Be Incorporated Into Dreams

Your sleeping brain frequently incorporates real-world sensory input — like sounds, smells, temperature changes, or touch — into your ongoing dream narrative creatively and often bizarrely. For instance, a ringing alarm clock might become a fire alarm in your dream, or a partner’s snoring could transform into thunder or machinery.

This phenomenon, known as “dream incorporation,” demonstrates how the brain remains partially connected to its environment during sleep while attempting to maintain the dream state.

Some people even say that infants normally cry when they see people or when they are around people because they seem to know the future of each and every one. But when they start speaking and interacting, they lose that power! Now that is awesome!