A dream is defined as a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood although they have been a topic of scientific, philosophical and religious interest since long time ago. Dream interpretation is the attempt at drawing meaning from dreams and searching for an underlying message. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology. Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, they tend to be much less clear or memorable. The length of a dream is various, ranging from a few seconds to around 20–30 minutes. Most dreams are immediately or quickly forgotten, but people have a higher chance to remember them if they wake up during the REM stage. The average person has three to five dreams per night, and some may have up to seven. Dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses. During a full eight-hour night sleep, most dreams occur in the typical two hours of REM. Dreams related to waking-life experiences are associated with REM theta activity, which suggests that emotional memory processing takes place in REM sleep. People can remember their dream if …

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A dream is defined as a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood although they have been a topic of scientific, philosophical and religious interest since long time ago. Dream interpretation is the attempt at drawing meaning from dreams and searching for an underlying message. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology.

Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, they tend to be much less clear or memorable. The length of a dream is various, ranging from a few seconds to around 20–30 minutes. Most dreams are immediately or quickly forgotten, but people have a higher chance to remember them if they wake up during the REM stage. The average person has three to five dreams per night, and some may have up to seven. Dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses. During a full eight-hour night sleep, most dreams occur in the typical two hours of REM. Dreams related to waking-life experiences are associated with REM theta activity, which suggests that emotional memory processing takes place in REM sleep.

People can remember their dream if …