Dragon, you definitely are a Dreamin' Dragon! Your journal is incredible. Thank you so much for sharing it. We have a category in the resources for dream diaries. May I post yours?
Well, people dream even if they don't remember it. From what I can understand - and it's a very horrible explanation and I may have misunderstood it - When people go to sleep, the brain hallucinates, thus dreaming. I don't know if it's because of a chemical that is released or something. I read this all from some article where they were trying to make these pills that eliminates sleep altogether. Problem was, people were hallucinating. I think dreams are necessary even if you don't remember any. Well, moving away from that topic since I know very little...
Yes, sleep deprivation does cause hallucinations! Delta is the deepest, most restorative stage of sleep. Many of us fail to get there often enough. Lack of quality sleep can cause physical and mental health problems.
Do you believe you only remember dreams because they were 'traumatizing' or 'disturbing' in a way?
Some people do, but I don't believe that it's the "norm." People who only remember disturbing dreams usually fail to believe that our dreams are so valuable in understanding ourselves and our lives. People who understand this will remember all kinds of dreams, even the just plain silly ones. I had a doozy last night! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> but I do believe that it has meaning.
One thing that annoys me... I could remember a dream in its entirety and just when I roll over in bed and pick up the pen to write in the dream journal - the dream disappears and I just can't remember what happened.
*nods* There is a transition in brain waves from sleep to wakefulness that causes a lapse. If you don't catch the dream, it's gone. This is why it's so important to at least lie there for a few minutes to remember your dream. Sometimes we can remember a dream smack in the middle of the day. I haven't found anything yet that explains that.
I'm so glad you joined this forum. Your participation is going to benefit many members! I'm also glad to see you, firefly. With dreams, it's always helpful to have several sources of input. We're always learning!