Fears and scary dreams relating to imaginary creatures reduced with age, while worries about test performance increased with age. Types of fears, worries, and dreams changed across age groups. These fears became less frequent between the ages of 10 and 12 years. Fear featured in 75.8 percent of dreams.įears relating to scary dreams were common among children aged 4 to 6 years old, and more so among those aged 7 to 9 years.
However, in a study that looked at the dreams of 190 school children aged 4 to 12 years who had not undergone any trauma, the following was noted: In one investigation, children who had undergone severe trauma experienced a significantly greater number of dreams and a higher number of threatening dream events, featuring more severe threats, compared with children who had not experienced trauma. Researchers have proposed that children who live in a threatening environment would dream more actively than those who do not, and at least one study has confirmed this. According to this theory, dreams are an ancient biological defense mechanism that aims to repeatedly simulate threatening events, presumably to prepare people for threats they might face in their waking life. One theory about recurrent dreams is the threat simulation theory. Most of these related to athletic failure.Įlsewhere, a survey in which 30 women who were dealing with relationship violence described their dream experiences, half reported having weekly nightmares, and just over half had recurring dreams. In another study, 840 German athletes discussed distressing dreams that occurred on the nights before an important competition or game.Ībout 15 percent of the athletes reported having had at least one distressing dream before an important competition in the last 12 months. Just over half contained primary emotions other than fear. In a further 431 bad dreams, as opposed to nightmares, interpersonal conflicts were common. One in three of these nightmares contained primary emotions other than fear.
As the night progresses, REM sleep periods increase in length, while deep sleep decreases. The first sleep cycles each night contain relatively short periods of REM and long periods of deep sleep. This paralysis is believed to be nature’s way of making sure we do not act out our dreams and thus prevents injury. This release of glycine effectively causes the body to become paralyzed. These motor neurons conduct impulses outward from the brain or spinal cord. The first REM sleep period usually occurs around 70 to 90 minutes after we fall asleep.ĭuring this phase, an amino acid known as glycine is released from the brain stem onto the motor neurons. Most dreams happen during a phase known as rapid eye movement ( REM) sleep. Each complete sleep cycle takes about 90 to 110 minutes. Share on Pinterest Why and how we dream remains something of a mystery.
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