Do you dream? If you said no, you’re actually mistaken, because everyone dreams. In fact, people of all ages typically dream for about two hours per night, which means in an average lifetime, a person spends six years dreaming. Why do we dream? No one really knows for sure. Here, though, are some interesting facts that we do know about dreaming:  

• People tend to forget their dreams. About 95 percent of dreams are forgotten upon waking. Some scientists believe that this is because the changes in the brain during sleep aren’t compatible with the information processing and storage needed to form memories. In fact, brain scans of people who are sleeping indicate that the frontal lobes, which play a key role in memory formation, are not active during REM sleep, the stage in which you dream.  
• If you’re interested in trying to remember your dreams, there are a few things you can try.  
  • Before you go to bed, remind yourself that you want to remember your dreams.  
  • Try waking up without an alarm, to better remember your dreams.  
  • Try to remember your dreams as soon as you wake up.  
  • Keep a journal and pen beside your bed, to write down your dreams immediately upon waking.  
• Gender influences your dreams. Men tend to have dreams that are more aggressive and physical, while women often have dreams with more conversation than physical activity. Women’s dreams also tend to focus more on relationships, and specifically on rejection and exclusion. Men’s dreams often feature weapons, and women typically have longer dreams with more characters involved.  
• Dreaming can be good for you. When deprived of REM sleep, participants in one study became more anxious, tense, and depressed. They also had difficulty concentrating and a lack of coordination, and they gained weight. It is theorized that dreams help us to solve problems in our lives, incorporate memories, and process emotions.  

• Sometimes you can control your dreams. Lucid dreaming, which is thought to be a combination of consciousness and REM sleep, and during lucid dreams, you have some control of the dream’s content. About half of all people remember at least one lucid dream in their lifetimes, and some people have these dreams frequently.  
• When you dream, you’re paralyzed. During REM sleep, your voluntary muscles are paralyzed, and sometimes this paralysis can last for several minutes upon waking. While this may seem frightening, it’s not dangerous or harmful.  
• Sometimes, vivid dreams are a sign of sleep deprivation. While vivid dreams can sometimes be entertaining, if you’re having them even when you’re only asleep for a few minutes, you might want to consider whether you’re getting enough rest. If you go to bed and get up at regular times and yet have to rely on alarms to wake up and feel drowsy during the day, you may want to examine your sleeping conditions to determine how you can get a better night’s sleep.  

If you’re looking for a good night’s sleep in Northern California, you owe it to yourself to check out Mancini's Sleepworld. Since 1969, the Mancini family has owned and operated their store in Sunnyvale, CA, selling brand name mattresses at fair prices and treating every customer with respect. Beginning an expansion in 1989, we now have 33 locations across the greater bay area, allowing for same day mattress delivery in most cases. To learn more about Mancini's Sleepworld, contact us through our website or call 800-647-5337.