Dream FAQ Dictionary: Does everybody dream?
Does everybody dream? A. Everybody dreams. All humans (indeed, all mammals) have REM sleep. Most dreams occur in REM sleep. [REM=Rapid Eye Movements – in this sleeping stage the eyeballs move around like when awake.] This has been demonstrated by awakening people from different stages of sleep and asking if they were dreaming. In 85 percent of awakenings from REM sleep, people report having been dreaming. Dreams are rarely reported following awakening from other types of sleep (collectively called non-REM sleep). REM sleep alternates with non-REM sleep in 90 minute cycles throughout the night. In a typical 8 hour night, youwill spend about an hour and a half total time in REM sleep, broken upinto four or five “REM periods” ranging in length from 5 to 45minutes. Most dreams are forgotten. Some people never recall dreamswhile others recall five or more each night. You can improve yourability to recall dreams. Good dream recall is necessary for learninglucid dreaming. There are two basic
