Dreams

[3Styler]

Firstly does anyone else often have that dream where you dream you're falling/tripping/slip and you sort of fall into your body and wake up/shake/have a short spasm in your leg. (it's really hard to describe but you should know what i mean if you've experienced it frequently). well what is actually happening and why? Also has anyone actually dreamt that they're floating through a tunnel?(supposedly linked to being pshycic)?  Everyone has dreams and i was wondering whether people believe they have any relevance such as being clues to the subconcious and if dream analysis is useful? Afterall without dreams we would die.

[acw]

Hey,

Slight cop out answer, but here we go - http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Body-and-Soul/Question116391.html - discussion the other week about the falling sensation. 

I don't worry too much about the relevance/significance of dreams.

What do you mean by "without dreams we would die"?  I've never heard this before.  I rarely remember mine - am I in trouble?

[lizzierose]

its having the dreams not remembering them thats important. people die within about a month or something if they don't get REM sleep. its as much to do with hormone levels as anything else I think. and possibly white blood cells, although that might just be sleep in general

[acw]

Oh - so what was meant is that you die without REM and REM is an indicated by dreams.  So it's not dreams per se that we need to live!  Thanks lizzierose!

[3Styler]

if you really want to remember your dreams (then possibly analyse) acw all you have to do is actually want to remember them and have a notebook by your bed.  Lots of people say they cant remember their dreams (i myself was of this opinion) but always find that if they make it their goal as soon as they wake up to remember what they dreamt then its actually really easy. I'm still undecided as to whether dreams have relevance but the fact is that millions of pscycologists use dream analysis as an effective technique to discover what is causing a persons mental anguish and then proceed to help them from there. 

[landie]

Mrs landie hurriedly wakened me recently as I was continually pinching the skin on her arm. I had been dreaming that I was a new-born lamb and was being attacked by an old crow. She didn't appreciate the connotation.

[Marvin84]

I've never heard of death as a result of lack of REM sleep... but I do know that lack or no REM sleep can send you insane....

As for that drop - I remember reading an article about it years ago.... and I can't remember the article itself.... but at least we can theorise that almost everyone goes thru it at some stage.... :-)