Dreams have been studied throughout history, and dream interpretation is an old art form indeed, dating back at least as far as 3000-4000 B.C. Even today, dream interpreters are highly sought out for their help untangling the sometimes puzzling world of dreams.

You may think you know everything there is to know about dreams and dream interpretation, but did you know that:

1. A third of our lives is spent in sleep, and a good amount of that time is spent in dreams.
2. The average person dreams from between four to seven times every night. That means that by the time you reach the age of 80, you will have had between 116,800 and 204,400 dreams.
3. That number may be even larger, since there is evidence that dreaming begins even before birth. No one deigns to know what unborn babies dream about, but there is evidence that they do dream.
4. In the average lifetime, a person will have spent approximately six years in dream sleep, equivalent to more than 2,100 days of dreaming.
5. There are records of dream interpretation, written on clay tablets, dating back more than 4,000 years.
6. Those who could interpret dreams were held in high regard in Roman and Greek societies, and their counsel was sought before making significant political and military decisions.
7. Everyone dreams every night, even though only a tiny fraction of those dreams are remembered upon waking.
8. Many animals dream as well, although no one has been able to ask them what they dream about.
9. People have to dream, though no one really knows why. What we do know is that preventing people from dreaming can cause irritability, mood changes and even hallucinations.
10. The average person spends about one quarter of his or her sleep time in dream sleep, and dreams an average of four to seven times during that time.
11. The average episode of dream sleep lasts about 10 to 15 minutes.
12. Dreams slip away very quickly upon waking. It is estimated that as much as half the dream’s content is forgotten within five minutes, and after only ten minutes up to 90% of the dream can be gone forever.
13. Men dream more about other men than about women, but women tend to dream about men and women equally.
14. The brain is actually more active, not less during dream sleep than during wakefulness.
15. People who are awakened during dream sleep are able to recall their dreams vividly and in great detail, while those who wake normally generally are not.
16. Both men and women experience sexual arousal during most dreams, regardless of whether the nature of the dream was sexual or not.
17. Smokers who are quitting often experience more intense dreams than either non smokers or current smokers.
18. Babies and toddlers dream just as adults do, but studies have revealed they do not dream about themselves. Toddlers generally do not appear in their own dreams until they are at least three or four years old.
19. It is not possible to dream and snore simultaneously.
20. Nightmares are a common trauma of childhood, with the first nightmares usually occurring by the age of three, and typically lasting at least until the child is seven or eight years old.
21. Many people report having experienced Déjà vu in their dreams, but dreams involving Déjà vu are more common in women than in men.

It is important to understand the sleep cycle in order to understand the dreaming process.  Before we can gather information from our dreams, we need to understand where those dreams come from, and to do that we must understand the various stages of sleep and how they fit together.

The sleep cycle consists of four individual stages, and every person goes through all four stages each and every night.  The length of each cycle varies from person to person, but every human being experiences all four stages of sleep every night.

In general, the dreams that are most likely to be remembered are those that take place the closest to waking.  Dreams that take place earlier in the night are almost never remembered.  The one exception to this rule is those dreams that are disturbing enough to wake the dreamer.  If a dreamer awakens in the middle of dream sleep, as with a particularly vivid nightmare or a dream about falling, he or she will most likely remember vividly every detail of the dream.

Let us take a look at the four individual stages of sleep, starting, logically, at stage one.

Stage 1:

The initial stage of sleep is a very light sleep, and the slightest disturbance can wake the dreamer at this stage.  The first stage of sleep usually lasts for only a few minutes, and most sleepers move on quickly to stage two.

Stage 2:

The second stage of sleep is much deeper, and it is much harder to wake the sleeper up at this point.  While the dream state begins in stage two, there are usually no clearly formed images at this point.  Instead dreams in stage two consist mainly of vague ideas and images floating around the mind.  After stage two is completed, the dreamer moves quickly on to stage three.

Stage 3:

The third stage of sleep is even deeper than the second stage.  At this stage, the muscles in the sleepers body have relaxed, and the heart rate and respiration rate have both slowed down.  The sleeper’s blood pressure also drops off at this point, and breathing is typically even and steady.  A sleeper in stage three sleep is very difficult to awaken, and typically waking can only be accomplished by a very loud startling noise or by shouting the sleeper’s name repeatedly.

Stage 4:

Stage four is the deepest stage of sleep, and the one in which most dreaming takes place.  During this stage of sleep, it is almost impossible to wake the sleeper.  During stage four of sleep, the sleeper moves in and out of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep several times.  It is during REM sleep that dreaming is occurring.  The eyes move back and forth rapidly under their lids, the heart beat and respiration spike, and brain wave activities increase.  As a matter of fact, studies have shown that brain wave activity is higher during dream sleep than it is during normal consciousness.

Most sessions of dream sleep last for about 10 minutes, after which the sleeper returns to the normal deep sleep of stage four.  The dreamer will cycle back and forth between stage four sleep and dream sleep several times each night, usually repeating the process from four to seven times on an average night.