Research also shows that we do dream in non-REM stages of sleep, but these dreams are typically harder to remember, shorter, less intense, and more thought-like compared with dreaming in REM. “It’s an opportunity for the brain in an unconstrained way to make sense of the world, problem-solve, think creatively, and support memory consolidation.”Ībout one-quarter of your sleep time is spent in REM, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Most dreaming occurs during the rapid eye movement (REM) part of sleep, the stage of sleep where the brain is forming new connections and recalling experiences from the day, says Dr. “What happens during our dreams may help us work through challenging things that happen during the daytime and that we may not be capable of processing during our waking lives.” The prevailing theory based on research suggests that the primary reason for dreams is to support emotional processing, she says. “While there’s no consensus about the functions of certain stages of sleep, the reality is that there’s not a firm consensus about why we sleep in general,” says sleep expert Wendy Troxel, PhD, senior behavioral scientist at the RAND corporation and author of Sharing the Covers: Every Couple’s Guide to Better Sleep. When it comes to the question of why we dream, sleep medicine research has in fact revealed perhaps surprisingly little. RELATED: How to Fix Your Sleep Schedule Most of Our Dreams Happen During REM Sleep And as it turns out, there are a few reasons why you might remember or you might not - and whichever it is probably doesn’t predict how well you’re sleeping. “Everyone dreams, but not everyone remembers it,” says licensed psychologist and board certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist Shelby Harris, PsyD, an associate professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. You might be wondering: Does whether or not you can recall imaginative stories from the night before say something about the quality of your sleep? Others of us tend not to remember our dreams at all. You're not paying attention: Lastly, in a previous interview, author and lucid dreaming expert Robert Waggoner mentioned that some people are simply more interested in dreaming and dissecting the dream world than others.Do you remember the dream you had last night? First thing in the morning some of us might recall scenes vividly enough to share over breakfast, but later in the afternoon it’s probably fuzzy at best."Grogginess is an exquisite hybrid state of consciousness," he previously tells mbg, so that period where you're just easing out of sleep seems important for dream recall. You're waking up too fast: According to psychologist and dream expert Rubin Naiman, Ph.D., your painfully early alarm clock might be making you forget your dreams.Sleep disorders: Everything from insomnia to sleep apnea to narcolepsy can negatively affect a person's REM cycles.Certain medications: According to sleep expert and NYU professor Girardin Jean-Louis Ph.D., "Certain medications could affect REM cycles-or induce nightmares.".Research shows alcohol before bed, as well as marijuana 3, negatively affect REM sleep and dream recall. Substances: Bad news for anyone who enjoys a glass of wine before bed-it's likely messing with your sleep.This can lead to insomnia but also a total suppression of dream recall in an effort to forget painful nightmares. Trauma: You can think of trauma like stress but much more intense.(Here are 10 more foods to eat to support a good night's sleep!) Research shows a diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, fiber, and limited vegetable oils is conducive to a good night's sleep. Your diet: That's right, your diet isn't only affecting your body while you're awake.Both of these things can make it harder to remember your dreams. Stress: Consider one of sleep's worst enemies stress has been found in research to not only disrupt and reduce REM sleep 2 but also increase the number of awakenings during the night.
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