7 things you should know about your dreams

~Vanguard Nigeria. Thursday, March 2, 2017.

Every night we go to sleep and go through different stages of sleep until we sometimes reach the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage when we have the most vivid and memorable dreams, and our brains are the most active when sleeping. Dreams remain much of a mystery, though psychologists and philosophers have tried to explain the reason why we dream. Even with these explanations and scientific studies, the reason we dream is still largely a mystery.

However, though we might not know the reason we dream, there are certain facts about dreams you should probably know and Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 7 of these facts.

Your Mind Can Incorporate External Stimuli into Your Dreams

If you are sleeping and music is being played during your sleep, you are more likely to dream of being in a concert or having a 'music-centric' dream. The same applies if loud shouts or noises are being made around you during your sleep, you are more likely to have a noisy dream or a dream of being shouted at.

Women and Men Dream Differently

Men tend to have more men than women in their dreams. Also, men tend to have more aggressive dreams than women. Women's dreams mostly feature the same amount of men and women.

Dreaming Can Help You Learn

Researchers report that dreams are the brain's way of processing, integrating and understanding new information. When the brain dreams, it helps you learn and solve problems. So when studying for a test or trying to learn a new task, you will learn and understand better if you take a nap in the process or head to bed early, rather than forcing the information into your brain.

For Most People in Relationships, Their Most Common Nightmare Is Their Partner Cheating

A survey of more than 5000 people in relationships found that, the infidelity dream is the nightmare that haunts most people. It rarely has anything to do with an actual affair but is born from the universal fear of being wronged or left alone.

So the next time you dream of your spouse having an extra-marital affair, sit back, relax and take a deep breath. It is rarely a 'sign' that something is wrong with your relationship; rather it is more of a pointer to your paranoia. Physical evidence is best to stir up or confirm suspicions about infidelity or unfaithfulness, not dreams.

The Best Way to Remember Your Dreams is to Stay Put When You Wake Up

Immediately you wake from a dream you seem to have forgotten and want to remember, just lie still and don't move a muscle for some time. As you do, take your mind back and slowly latch on to the bits of the dream you begin to remember until the whole thing comes to you. It's not something you do forcefully or with tension, but rather you relax in a sort of semi-dreamlike state and calmly explore your mind to reach for the memories.

The reason you remain in the position you woke up in is because that was the position you were dreaming in. When you move your body, you more or less disconnect yourself from the dream you were in just seconds ago.

Recurring Dreams Can Be Subliminal

If you keep having the same dreams or nightmares over and over again, you should check for underlying messages in the dreams. For example, according to Loewenberg, a renowned dream expert, if you keep dreaming of losing your teeth or of your teeth being cracked, you should then think of what your teeth and mouth represent. To the dreaming mind, you teeth and any part of your mouth mostly symbolize your words, your communications. The dreams might be trying to tell you to monitor and improve the way you communicate.

Also, especially when the recurring dreams are strange, another way to interpret what they are trying to communicate is to analyze how the dreams make you feel. The meaning of these dreams often times relates to things we need to understand about ourselves and the world around us.

You Don't Have To Be Asleep To Dream

There is something called 'Wakeful Dreaming', which should not be confused with 'Day Dreaming'. In wakeful dreaming, you tap into your active imagination. You first think about a recent dream you had (one of your good, bad or strange dreams) in a quiet and contemplative place. When you have brought the dream into your waking awareness, you then let the dream 're-energize' and unfold within your control. This type of dreaming can be used as a relaxation tool and can also help the mind process a puzzling dream.