Everybody dreams and most of us don’t remember what we dreamt about last night.
Dreams can be images, thoughts or feelings that we have when we are asleep. Images are the most common, and some people even dream in black and white. Our dreams can involve all five senses. People who are blind often have more dreams, including sound, taste and smell.
The content and frequency of our dreams are related to our gender, age and personality. There is a lot of science behind dreams and countless studies to back it up. Here are a few things you might not know about dreams.
The pandemic has impacted our dreams
Nearly half of the UK’s workforce is working from home, and four in five of us have visited the workplace in our dreams. Remote working has made it more challenging than ever to distinguish between our home and work environments.
In fact, according to a survey conducted by banner printing specialists, instantprint, 17% of remote workers said they dreamt about being unprepared for a task or having a regular day at work. The latter sounds far more enjoyable. Work has infiltrated our stress-free home environment, and consequently, our dreams.
Dr Sarah Daly explains why we might be having these dreams, “Kitchen tables, coffee tables, beds, sofas – all places that were once stress-free are now sites of work production”.
Working from home can make it difficult to find a space solely for relaxation and resting but try and designate one area solely for work, helping to separate work and relaxation in your mind, even though technically they are both under one roof.
Dr Daly further said, “Dreaming provides us with space and time to process and playout our subconscious fears to problem solve and work through our subconscious issues”.
Everybody dreams
There are many types of dreams. Adults and babies have multiple dreams a night, which can last between five and twenty minutes each. We dream when we enter REM sleep, and there is intense brain activity in the forebrain. Interesting, right?
Most dreams are forgotten
Up to 95% of dreams are forgotten shortly after waking up. Scientists think this is because the changes that happen in our brains when we are asleep do not facilitate the support and storage of information. In other words, our brain is too busy dreaming and resting and to form memories.
Not all dreams are in colour
12% of people claim to dream in black and white. This phenomenon is more common in the older generations, who had black and white TV. For the most part, people dream in soft pastel colours.
Men and women dream differently
Men are likely to dream more about weapons, physical activity and aggressive content. On the other hand, women are more likely to dream about references to clothing, rejection, exclusion, and conversation.
