When We Are Asleep

When We Are Asleep

Everyone dreams,but some people never recall their dreams,or do so very rarely.Other people always wake up with vivid recollections of their dreams,though they forget them very quickly.In an average night of eight hours' sleep,an average adult will dream for around ten to thirty minutes.

Scientists can detect when someone is having a dream by using an instrument which measures the electrical waves in the brain.During dreaming,these waves move more quickly.Breathing and pulse rate also increase,and there are rapid eye movements under the eye lids,just as though the dreamer were really looking at some moving objects.These signs of dreaming have been detected in all mammals studied,including dogs,monkeys,cats,and elephants,and also some birds and reptiles.This period of sleep is called the "D"state. Babies experience the "D"state for around 50% of their sleep,the period reduces to around 25% by the age of 10.

Dreams take the form of stories,but they may be strange and with incidents not closely connected,which

make little sense.Dreams are seldom without people in them and they are usually about people we know.One estimate says that two-thirds of the"cast "of our dream dreams are friends and relations.Vision seems an essential part of dreams,except for people blind from birth.Sound and touch are senses also often aroused, but smell and taste are not frequently involved.In "normal"dreams,the dreams may be taking part,or be only an observer.But he or she cannot control what happens in the dream.

However,the dreamer does have control over one type of dream.This type of dream is called a "lucid" dream.Not everyone is a lucid dreamer.Some people are occasional lucid dreamers.Others can dream lucidly more or less all the time .In a lucid dream,the dreamer knows what he is dreaming.