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.

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:

• One third of most people’s lives is spent asleep, and a good portion of that time is spent in dream sleep.

• In the average lifetime, a person will have spent approximately six years in dream sleep, equivalent to more than 2,100 days of dreaming.
• Dreams have existed as long as human beings.  There are records of dreams going back over 4,000 years.
• Dream interpretation has existed almost as long as dreaming, and Roman senators in the ancient world often engaged the services of dream interpreters before making important political and social decisions.
• Every human being dreams.  Even if you do not remember your dreams, you dream between four and seven times a night, every night.
• Many animals dream as well.  All mammals are thought to dream, and it is suspected that some lower animals dream as well.  What they dream about, however, remains a mystery.
• If people are prevented from dreaming, they suffer a variety of personality disorders and psychological problems.  The exact function of dream sleep is still not known, but it is known that dreaming is an indispensable part of life.
• The average person spends two hours per night sleeping, and has from four to seven dreams during that time.
• Even blind people dream.  The dreams of blind people who were previously sighted sometimes contain visual images, while the dreams of those who have been blind from birth do not.  Vision is not the only component of a dream, however.  Dreams also contain sounds, sights, smells and touch sensations.
• Dreams are forgotten very quickly upon waking.  It is estimated that 50% of the content of a dream is lost within five minutes of waking, and after 10 minutes as much as 90% of the dream can be forgotten.
• The word dream is derived from a word in Middle English.  This word, dreme, translates to “music” and “joy”.  It is therefore apparent that dreams have long been looked at as a source of wonder and inspiration.
• Men most often dream about other men, while women tend to dream about men and women equally.
• Studies of brain wave activity have revealed greater activity during dreaming than during waking periods.
• People who are awakened during dream sleep are able to recall their dreams vividly, while those who wait until morning to wake often are not.
• Everyone, men and women, seem to experience sexual arousal during their dreams, regardless of whether or not the content of the dream is overtly sexual.
• Smokers who are trying to quit often report greater intensity in their dreams.
• Studies have shown that toddlers do not dream about themselves.  In general, toddlers do not appear in their own dreams until they reach the age of three or four.
• It is impossible to snore and dream at the same time.
• Children commonly experience nightmares, and these nightmares usually begin by the age of three and last until the child is seven or eight years old.
• More than 60% of people surveyed have reported experiencing Déjà vu in their dreams.  Déjà vu dreams occur more frequently in women than in men.

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.