d dreams: life.Sinking into a deep slumber can be your ticket to dreamland dream·land n. 1. An ideal or imaginary land. 2. A state of sleep. Noun 1. dreamland - a pleasing country existing only in dreams or imagination dreamworld, never-never land . But do these resting fantasies have anything to do with reality? Scientists are still puzzled over why people dream. Matthew Walker, a psychiatrist at the Harvard Medical Institute, believes dreams can help you think creatively to better solve problems in waking life. Most vivid dreams occur during a sleep process called Rapid Eye Movement rapid eye movement n. Abbr. REM The rapid periodic jerky movement of the eyes during certain stages of the sleep cycle when dreaming takes place. , or REM (REMarks) A programming language statement used for documentation. Rem statements are not executed by the compiler. They are created for people to read. Rem is also used in DOS batch files for comments as well as for disabling instructions. . With up to six REM cycles a night--about every 90 minutes--you can have hundreds of dreams! As you dream, certain brain areas stay awake--like those involved in processing emotions and images. The brain region that does get shut-eye--the pre-frontal lobe lobe (lob) 1. a more or less well-defined portion of an organ or gland. 2. one of the main divisions of a tooth crown. (brain area behind your forehead)--normally keeps your thoughts realistic. "When we dream, the logical control of the brain disappears and the brain is free to become a little bizarre," says Walker. Without that reality check, people are more creative. In one study, Walker found that when he woke people from dreams, they solved scrambled-word puzzles better than people jolted jolt v. jolt·ed, jolt·ing, jolts v.tr. 1. To move or dislodge with a sudden, hard blow; strike heavily or jarringly: from non-REM sleep non-REM sleep A period of sleep characterized by decreased metabolic activity, slowed breathing and heart rate, and the absence of dreaming. In humans and certain other animals, the sleep cycle occurs in five stages, the first four consisting of non-REM . What do your dreams mean? Walker says that when you sleep your brain may tie certain images to emotions. Now, try your hand at dream interpretation (see chart, above). MATCH UP Scientists still debate whether dream symbols represent real life. But just for fun, try and match the following symbols with their traditional meanings. DREAM Teeth falling out A stone Rainbow Beer chasing you The ocean Turtles MEANING Hope and joy Feelings of anger Symbol of life Slowness Loss of power A burden in your life |
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