What do you dream about? Not your goals or visions or plans. I mean, what do you literally dream about while sleeping? Well, if you are in the 95% of us who forget our dreams, you simply don’t recall. Seeing how most of us have four to six dreams that last up to 20 minutes each, that’s a lot of dreaming to forget.
Do you sleepwalk? My brother Steve did when we were kids. I thought it was funny. He didn’t laugh. About 15% of people do sleepwalk, and it can be a dangerous habit, especially when it involves grooming oneself, cooking food, or driving a car.
Do you dream about falling? More than half of Americans do, making this the most common recurring dream. It’s followed by being chased, being back in school, or being naked in public — or in my case, all three at once.
Does everyone dream? The vast majority of us do, and even blind people can have visual dreams. If you are a pet owner, you likely know that animals dream, too.
Do we dream in color? Most people do (in pastel colors, to be specific), but about 12% dream in black and white. Either way, the visual aspect is the primary sense. People rarely use their smell or taste senses in dreams.
Did you know that we can only dream about people we’ve seen before? Whether we know them well or just met them briefly, the people in our dreams are all people we have seen prior.
Do you have nightmares? Up to 85% of adults do, at least occasionally. Nightmares are common for children ages 3-6, but the serious ones usually diminish with age. As a child, I would dream that Santa Claus was chasing me down to kill me. I hid under my lower bunk bed in each dream and would wake up in a sweat when he would reach for me. Merry Christmas.
And finally, how about recurring dreams like being late, failing an exam, being attacked, or losing control of a car? I often dream that I am driving a car too fast with hopes I can ramp over open water and land on ground. When it becomes apparent that I can’t, I usually wake up. Recurring dreams occur when people have to deal with unresolved conflicts in their lives. Hmmm.
Want to learn more about dreams? Check out the research behind the statistics I shared and much more at disturbmenot.co/dreams-facts.
Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115
