25 Facts You May Not Know About Dreaming

Check out these great and unusual facts, compiled by List 25, that you may have never heard before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygR5Glr-kmo If you do not have time to watch the video we have written them out for you: 25. The average human spends 6 years of his or her life dreaming. 24. Ancient Romans submitted their significant or unusual dreams to the Senate for interpretation. 23. The Beatty Papyrus is the oldest dream dictionary in existence. It was written around 1350 B.C.

 22. Birth order influences the world of progression of dreams. Men generally dream about more violence, and first-born females tend to have more aggressive characters. On the other hand, first-born males tend to dream about themselves in a more positive light than their younger siblings.

21. People who grew up watching black-and-white TV when they were younger dream in more monochrome settings while people who grew up watching color TV have more vivid and colorful dreams.

 20. Visually impaired people dream too. Those who lost their sight later in life can see visual images in their dreams, while blind people who don’t dream visually can dream in sound, smell, and touch.

19.  We only dream of faces of real people we have encountered but might not remember, because people usually see hundreds of faces every day. 18. Between 18 - 38% of people say they have experienced at least one precognitive dream, and about 70% have experienced déjà vu. 17. Daydreaming, according to psychologists, may be related to dreams that occurred during sleep.  However, they require different mental processes.

16. Within 5 minutes of waking up, half of dreams are forgotten. Within 10 minutes, 90% are forgotten. In just 10 minutes, however, people are more likely to remember their dreams when they are awakened during REM sleep. 15. Dreams of unpreparedness, falling, flying, and public humiliation come from common human anxieties and seem to transcend social and economic boundaries.

 14. The inventor of the sewing machine, Elias Howe, said the cannibals who chased him in his nightmares held spears that looked like the needle he designed.

13. Falling dreams typically occur in the early stages of sleep. The muscle spasms of these dreams are called “myoclonic jerks.” 12. Even fetuses in the womb dream.  Even with the lack of visual stimuli, scientists think their dreams come from sound and touch sensations. 11. Experienced by 40% of the population, sleep paralysis occurs when a sleeper awakens and recognizes his or her surroundings, but is unable to move for up to one minute. 10. Around 70% of characters in men’s dreams are other men, whereas women dream of an equal amount of men and women. 9. Plato believed that dreams originate in the organs of the belly. He described the liver as the “biological seed of the dreams.” 8. Research involving students suggests that waking someone up at the beginning of REM stage of sleep can cause irritability and hallucinations, and can eventually lead to psychosis. 7. William Shakespeare used dreams to help develop characters and advance the plot in many of his plays.

6. The Greeks regarded dreams as messages from the gods, and would sometimes sleep in sacred places to conjure significant dreams. 5. Children tend to have shorter dreams than adults do, and 40% of them are nightmares.  Scientists believe this is because dreams act as a coping mechanism. 4. Studies have revealed that animals (mammals in particular) dream just like humans.

3. Known as “Dream Incorporation,” while sleeping you may include or incorporate sounds and stimuli from your surrounding environment into your dream. For example, if your brother is playing a loud guitar next door, you may dream you are at a concert. 2. The word “dream” is most related to the West Germanic “draugmus,” meaning “deception,” “illusion,” or “phantom.” 1. Toddlers do not appear in their own dreams until the age of 3 or 4.

Which fact did you find the most surprising?  Comment below!