20 Facts about Dreams

You can’t read while dreaming nor tell the time.
The studies show that when a person is dreaming, he cannot read, nor tell the time. If you are unsure whether you are dreaming or not, then try to read in your sleep or try to tell the time. Every time you will witness different times on the clock, with no hands moving as confessed by the lucid dreamers.

Inventions inspired by the dreams
Dreams are also responsible for the inspiration of some of the greatest inventions of mankind, which includes:
-The idea for Google -Larry Page
-Alternating current generator -Tesla
-DNA’s double helix spiral form -James Watson

-The sewing machine -Elias Howe
-Periodic table -Dimitri Mendeleyev and the list goes on!

Sleep Paralysis
One of the most deadly effects of the heart-shrieking nightmares is the susceptibility to sleep paralysis. It is said to be one of the deadliest experiences, where due to paralysis, you are not able to move and on the other hand you feel some evil presence with you in your room. It doesn’t seem like a dream but seems 100% real. It is a package of emotions consisting of fear, terror, and anxiety!

 REM Sleep disorder
In the state of the Rapid-eye movement (REM), the body is normally paralyzed, and sometimes in very rare cases, people even act out loud in their dreams which results in breaking of the arms, legs, furniture, or in one extreme case even a house was burnt down.

Sexual dream
The scientifically-coined “nocturnal penile tumescence” is a very well documented phenomenon. In laymen’s words, it simply results in the stiffness, while you are sleep. The studies revealed that men get up to 20 erections per dream.

 Increased brain activity
In contrast to our belief that the brain becomes serene and peaceful during sleep, it tends to be more active during sleep, than while we are awake.

Pets dream too
Our beloved pets enjoy this hallucinating ride too! They are sometimes seen as moving their legs and paws and humming or making noises. Well, they are actually dreaming.

You always dream-you just forget it
The study shows that everyone dreams but only 60% tend to remember it!

Blind people dream too
The people, who were not blind by birth, see images in their dreams but the people who were born blind by birth, surprisingly, also tend to dream. Their dreams are as piercing and interesting, just like ours, but they include the senses besides sight.

Dreams tend to be negative
Dreams tend to be more negative, rather than always being positive. The three emotions encountered while dreaming are anger, sadness, and fear.

Gender Differences
It is seen that almost 70% of men tend to see other men in their dreams; while on the other hand, women see women and men both equally in their dreams. Both experience sexual dreams.

Not all dream is colorful
It is known that almost 12% of the people’s dreams tend to be black and white, rather than being colorful.

You Have Several Dreams Per Night But Don’t Remember Them
—If you’re like most people, you probably wake up remembering only one dream–if that. But truth be told, you likely have an average of 4 to 7 dreams each night. That adds up to about 100,000 dreams–or six years of dreaming–in your lifetime.
—Here’s the thing: you’ll wake up forgetting 95 percent of your dreams, says dream researcher J. Allen Hobson. And if you think you’re one of those people who just doesn’t dream, you’re kidding yourself. Everybody dreams, including babies and animals. Some people are just better at remembering their dreams than others are.

 Actually…Some People Don’t Dream
—Scratch what I just said. Pretty much everyone dreams. However, in rare cases some people with serious psychological disorders won’t ever dream. At least that’s the theory.
—Dr. Patrick McNarama has another theory. When measuring sleep patterns, everyone enters into REM sleep, the stage where dreaming occurs. It’s thought that people with personality and psychological disorders may not actually dream, but Dr. McNarama says these people may just be awful at remembering their dreams or are simply flat-out liars.

You Never Invent a Face in Your Dreams
—Have you ever had a dream starring a mysterious man or woman who you’re sure you’ve never met? Chances are you’ve seen his or her face before. In fact, I’m sure of it. When we see faces in our dreams, we draw on those that we already know instead of inventing new ones. Since you’ve likely seen thousands of faces before, you have a virtually endless supply of faces to choose from to put to the characters in your dreams.
—If the face seems new, it’s probably someone you passed on the street but don’t remember. And those times when you have really weird dreams about someone you’re close to? Your mind is simply applying that face to the character in your dream

You Can Train Your Mind to Control Nightmares
—Have you ever experienced a lucid dream, one where you knew you were dreaming and could control the outcomes? Turns out you can actually teach yourself to do that, says dream researcher Kelly Bulkeley. This is an especially helpful tool when you experience reoccurring nightmares.
—Dr. Bulkeley says that you can give yourself a pep talk before going to bed, reminding yourself that it’s just a dream. If you tell yourself that you’ll remember you’re dreaming before you enter the dream, you have a better chance of recognizing the dream and controlling it, much like the characters in Inception trained themselves to do. In fact, there are groups of people who practice techniques to become lucid dreamers.

Brain Activity Spikes While Dreaming
You would think that your brain activity decreases when you’re asleep. After all, people look so peaceful when they’re dreaming, right? Turns out your brain is actually more active when you’re dreaming than when you’re awake.

Men and Women Dream Differently
When it comes to the way men and women dream, there’s actually a divide in the types of characters they dream about. When men dream, their characters are on average 70 percent men. Women dream equally about both genders. While there’s a difference there, there’s not a difference when it comes to sexual dreams as you might expect. Men and women both dream about sexual themes equally often–and both can have wet dreams.

People Can Experience “False Awakening"
When you wake up from a dream, that’s usually it. It’s over. But sometimes people feel they’ve awakened from a dream when they’re actually still dreaming. Instead of waking up, they’ve simply entered into another vivid dream. This phenomenon is called “false awakening.”

Your feelings come out in dreams
For example, you're more likely to experience negative dreams about a lost loved one of you're suffering from posttraumatic symptoms, guilt, or blame even their death.