DREAMS

The official definition of a dream is a series of thoughts, images and sensations occuring in a person's mind during sleep. Dreams can include people you know, people you've never met, places you've been and places you've never even heard of. There are many types of dreams. Some examples are deja vu, daydreaming, lucid dreaming, hallucinations and night terrors. 

Dreams are most memorable during the REM stage of sleep. But what is the REM stage of sleep of sleep? This stage is the deepest of your sleep cycle. Your eyes are moving rapidly, your breathing and heart rate becomes inconsistent and paralysis of your skeletal muscles occur. This is a safeguard to keep us from acting out our dreams physically. REM stages can be from a couple of minutes to 30minutes. The average person has 3 to 5 dreams a night however some people can have up to 7.

Nowadays, people connect dreams to the unconcious mind. However, the theories in the past were very different. In Greek and Roman times, people thought dreams were messages from Gods, Angels or the dead. They thought these messages could be used as a prophecy.

In Ancient Egypt, the Egyptians wrote down dreams on papyrus. Papyrus is a paper that the Egyptians invented. People with vivid dreams were thought to be special and blessed. Egyptians would go to sanctuaries and sleep on special dream beds in hope to recieve advice, comfort or healing from the Gods.

Dreams can also have links to religion. In Judaism, dreams are considered as experiences that can be interpreted and learnt from. The ancient Hebrews connected dreams heavily with religion. They saw good, positive dreams as being from God and bad, nightmarish dreams as being from evil spirits. Also Christians in the past and still some today believe God speaks to people through dreams by using images and messages.

Today, there are many theories but no single concensus has been chosen. Some believe dreams are essential to being healthy whereas others believe they have no real purpose. One theory is that dreams help us consolidate and process all the information we have collected during the previous day. Another theory is that dreams are our brain's attempt to make sense of what would be otherwise meaninglless and random messages.

One of the most popular theories is Sigmund Freud's. Freud believed dreams were manifestations of our deepest desires and anxieties which could often link to childhood. In 1900, he developed a book called the 'Interpretation of Dreams'. This book was made to help everyday people discover the meaning of dreams by using symbols. 

Similar to Freud, physcologists today have come up with some meanings for dreams. It's thought that dreams with particular subjects and…