Showing posts with label Dreams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreams. Show all posts

Monday, January 12, 2026

What are some of the interesting facts about dreams?

 #1: Everyone dreams.

Some people claim that they don't, but in fact, they do. They just forget.
Only people suffering from extreme personality disorders don't dream.

#2: We forget 90% of our dreams.

Within the first 5 minutes of waking up, a person forgets 50% of his/her dream. Within 10, nearly 90% is forgotten.

And maybe that is the source of the Deja Vu we occasionally experience.

#3: We spend nearly 6 years of our lives dreaming
We dream almost 2-3 hours every night.

#4: The gender difference

Men usually have more aggressive dreams than women. But there is a special case in which the above statement does not hold true. First born males have lesser aggressive dreams while first-born females have more-aggressive ones.

Also, men tend to dream more about other men. Around 70% of the characters in a man’s dream are other men. On the other hand, a woman’s dream contains almost an equal number of men and women.

#5: Color v/s Black-and-white

People who grew up watching black and white television dream mostly in black and white.

#6: The stranger in your dreams

"I am the guy in your dreams. The one with a silver knife, ready to slit open your throat"

Sounds like a bad dream? One with a stranger in it trying to hack you to pieces?
Unfortunately, the guy is no stranger. He is someone you have seen in your lifetime. Our brain lacks the capability to visualize new faces (similar to trying to visualize a new color). The only reason we think of them as strangers is that we forget faces just like we forget dreams.

#7: The case of nightmares

Nightmares are common in every social culture. Ever been in a dream being chased by an angry mob or a horde of zombies or by a fierce predator? Ever found your dream-self in a humiliating public situation? Ever walked into your office in your dream only to find you forgot to wear your pants?

Don't worry. It's natural. Dreams of anxiety, falling, being chased are some of the most common ones.

#8: You can control your dreams:

You can control your dreams by a process known as lucid dreaming.
More info on Wikipedia: Lucid dream

A simple step-by-step procedure on "How to Lucid Dream".

#9: Your body is paralyzed when you are dreaming

So as to prevent you from enacting out your dream. In cases, where the paralysis is incomplete, people suffer from sleep-walking and other disorders.

#10: Blind people dream too

Blind people have dreams too. They are just as vivid as those of sighted people. The only difference is that their dreams involve more of their other senses like sound, smell and touch.

#11: A sense of insecurity

The most common dream that people have is that of their spouse cheating on them.

#12: Breaking the rules

We mostly dream about the things that are forbidden to us. For example, a diabetic is more likely to dream about gorging on sweets and chocolates.

#13: Dreams are the source of some great inventions

Some other examples of great things being conceived through dreams: Twelve Famous Dreams


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