What causes us to not remember our dreams when we wake up?

Question

so, apparently if you don't dream at night, you can die because it shows there is no brain activity or anything going on, but i mean how do we know if we dreamt or not? what causes us to wake up & not realize we've dreamt anything? i never can remember any of my dreams, yet im not dead.


so im asking you to tell me, why do we not remember dreams, yet we have to have them to live? and is it true the average human has like 5 dreams a night?

Answer 1

Actually, the average human has dream cycles of 90 minutes... meaning every 90 minutes we sleep, we fall into what is called REM(rapid eye moment.)... now it just depends on how long you sleep for...

i wouldn't worry about dying... our brains naturally fall into REM... you would have severe psychological problems if you didnt because in REM sleep, the chemicals in our brains are reorginised and recoup... you would know if you had this problem... ;)

but now onto the major part of your question... some people naturally remember their dreams much more vividly then others... its just that simple....

now, with people that dont remember their dreams, this might be because after a dream, we may not become fully awake... our bodies relax during sleeping hours and waking up enough to conscieously contemplate the dream may not always happen...

but, if you want to remember your dreams, i have a solution for you... its called a dream dictionary.... keep a notepad by your bed at night, and every time you dream, get up, and write as much as you can... in as much detail.... then transfer the writings to another more leigable note pad...

you might still be saying, but i dont wake up, or i dont dream... you'll find that if you hold the intent of writing down your dreams after you have them will actually program your brain into waking up...

example: have yo ever needed to wake up early for somthing? i mean before you usually wake up... like getting up to go fishing or cook for the family... ever actually wake up a few minutes before your alarm goes off? that's because your brain reliszes what you want it to do, so it does it...

same with your dreams... if it is your intent to remeber and write down your dreams, you will remember them..

after a few weeks of keeping your journal, your dreams will be easier to recall, and more vivid and descriptive... after a few months, you wont even need your journal anymore.... you'll probably begin remembering 5 dreams a night on your own...

i hope that answered your question... good luck!

Answer 2

Wow, where did you hear that? I never heard of such a thing...unless you're talking about people who don't have REM sleep. This is an important sleep stage during which dreaming takes place, and it seems to be vital for the brain to rest. Your eyes move rapidly back-and-forth, hence the name, "rapid eye movement." People with chronic insomnia or other sleep-related disorders can suffer many mental and physical ailments as the result of never getting enough sleep, or from frequently waking up. Sleep deprivation was used as a form of torture by the Nazis.

Everyone dreams, but not everyone remembers them. I often have really cool dreams, but as soon as I wake up, they fade away to nothing. Usually, I can recall only bits and pieces; only rarely do I remember an entire dream. I have no idea why we don't remember them, though...maybe it has something to do with the part of the brain that stores long-term memories not being active during sleep.

Answer 3

Well, to tell you the truth, I should've written my answer before reading the other answers.
They all seem to know what they're talking about and I thought the explanation was different.

We all agree however that saying that lack of dreams could kill you is total nonsense.
As I understand, we NEED to dream in order to stay asleep, sort of "to keep us entertained" and not wake up too soon (oversimplifying).
Our Psyche has rational defense mechanisms like denial, projection, and others.
When we go to sleep those defense barriers get weaker and your subconscious get a little more freedom and you generally dream about your innermost fears and desires. Whatever little rationality you have active will still try to keep you from seeing those things and it "disguises" the concepts, and that's why dreams have "meanings" or "interpretations.
But we have to be careful with those interpretations because their origin comes two basic and contradictory sources: fears and desires.
If you dream a friend dies, it doesn't mean you want him to die, probably you are afraid something bad happens to him because you would miss him.

I know this is maybe messy and definitely oversimplifying... but hey! it's past midnight and I'm tired... :)

Answer 4

You only dream during the REM phase (Rapid Eye Movement). It seems if you awaken long after it, you don't remember, but those who are awakened during REM will recall their dreams. A small percentage of those studied recalled dreaming during other sleep stages.
On average, a human dreams about two hours per night.
According to Craig Hamilton-Parket, author of Fantasy Dreaming, many people find certain dreams extremely difficult to recall as they realize they just had a dream upon wakening, but cannot remember what the dream consisted of. However, people often won't be able to remember anything about a dream, and thus assume that the dream didn't take place at all. According to Henry Reed, author of Dream Medicine a useful technique to improve dream recall is to keep a dream journal.

Answer 5

The Brain has two sections. The active and nonactive. The active half is the side you think with and stuff. The other side is random stored information that you don't remember untill it just pops into your head later. Dreams go into that section and you may learn stuff but you don't know you do.

Answer 6

I never heard of this before. I dream all of the time, just about every night and I remember everything that happened. Some of them are so real and I awake aroused and they are sexual. You don't know what your missing... It's a good thing I do dream as I don't have the real thing in my life right now........

Answer 7

Just because you don`t remember your dreams does not mean you didn`t dream. EVERYONE dreams, some people say they don`t but they just don`t remember. I remember my dreams differently. Sometimes right after Waking, sometimes they come back throughout the whole day (like something that happens triggers my memory) and sometimes not at all. WE ALL DREAM

Answer 8

Edgar Cayce's book Dreams answers this .... ..."even his most determined dream students were not recalling all of their dreams, and should not expect to do so. Many dreams are only meant to advance the dreamer's total growth, without reaching consciousness- nocturnal workouts which the psyche gives itself from the larger perspective of the subconscious. dreams do their work and go on..."

Answer 9

I have never heard that if you don't dream you die.

Your sleep goes in stages, some deeper than others. If you don't get to the dream stage, then you don't dream. You certainly won't die, but you'll be tired.

Answer 10

Think it depends on what state of sleep you are in when you wake.

If you wake straight from a deep sleep then you don't remember but if you wake from a light (or REM) sleep then you do remember.

You might be interested in Lucid dreaming here......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dreaming