Each night we go through a 90-minute sleep cycle. We move from light sleep to deep sleep to REM sleep. Most people have four to five cycles per night. This, of course, can change depending on whether we work days or nights, or if we stay up for long periods of time. The point in the sleep cycle in which you wake up is what determines whether or not you remember your dreams.

Give yourself a few days to do this activity. Place a pen and paper by your bed before you fall asleep. As soon as you wake up, write down whatever you can remember from your dreams. If you can't remember anything, try waking up 15 minutes earlier the next day. Play with this 15-minute time interval until you can remember. If you can't remember anything even after experimenting with your wake-up time, you will still be able to answer the questions.

 

For your paper, discuss how much you were able to remember from your dream(s). Were any of your dreams tied to memories, whether it was a childhood memory or something you read the previous day? Also, address the following questions:

 

• Why do we dream? At which point in the sleep cycle do we dream?
• Do people need to dream? What happens if we don't dream? How can medications affect our dreams?
• How are dreams and memory connected? Is our memory affected if we sleep poorly or if we don't dream?
• What are some ways we can enhance our sleep and our dreams?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 Dreams are thought to serve various functions including processing emotions consolidating memories ... View the full answer