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.

Dreams have been studied throughout history, and dream interpretation has tried to make sense of these nighttime visitations for as long as their have been people to dream.  People who could interpret dreams, and those whose dreams were particularly vivid, where often thought to be imbued with divine powers, and they were given a special place in their societies.

Even today, dream interpretation remains a highly sought after art, and science is continuing to focus on dream interpretation as a way to deal with all kinds of anxieties and other underlying psychological issues.

There are some interesting facts about dreaming that you may not be aware of.  These facts include:

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No one knows the true origins of dream analysis, or how long it has been going on.  Chances are, however, that the analysis and interpretation of dreams, in some fashion, has been taking place almost as long as people have been dreaming.

Dreams must have been both fascinating and terrifying to our ancient ancestors, and they were most likely very confused by this strange form of consciousness.  We do know that many ancient civilizations placed great importance on the situations encountered in their dreams, and used those situations to cast light on their waking lives.

As a matter of fact, many civilizations did not see a distinction between the waking world and the world of dreams, but instead saw one as merely an extension of the other.

Of course dream analysis and dream interpretation is still in use today, and it has been used successfully to deal with all manner of traumas and emotional issues.  For instance, it is known that those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), are often troubled by nightmares.

Dealing with the underlying cause of the PTSD, through a combination of therapies and psychological techniques, can banish those nightmares as well.

Some of the earliest references to dreams and their interpretation occurs in the Bible, and the Bible is full of references to the dreams of prophets and other notable people.

The ancient Greek and Roman world was also full of dream interpreters and analysis, and the Greek and Roman government and military alike used the services of professional dream interpreters to determine the best course of political action and even the best strategy for battle.

Dream interpreters were even taken along as troops prepared for battle, and their prognostications were taken very seriously, as were the dreams of the generals and the troops.

In the ancient world, the Greek philosopher Aristotle was a big propend of dream interpretation, and he spoke about the illusion of the senses that allowed dreams to occur.  He later came to be believe that disturbances of the body were the cause of dreams.

Many ancient peoples thought that dreams were a way for the soul to commune with the spirit world.  In many cultures, the soul was thought to leave the body at night, and dreams were thought of as a way of communicating with, and gaining information about, departed relatives and ancient ancestors alike.

Even today, many people place great significance on dreams and dreaming, and many people continue to see a spiritual element in the dream world.  Dreams still remain largely a mystery to science, and this mystery has helped to spur thoughts that dreams contain more than a mere physical meaning.

Dream interpretation continues to be used, both as a fun hobby and as a serious scientific pursuit.  Dream research is one of the most fascinating, and widely studied, elements of psychological research, and new dream studies continue to reveal hidden insights about the world of dreams.

New symbols, too, continue to emerge from the world of dream analysis and dream research.  From Carl Jung to Sigmund Freud to modern psychologists and psychiatrists, many people have strived, and continue to strive, to understand the hidden meanings, and hidden messages, of our dreams.