Lisa Zottman, age 15, of Lebanon, Ky., for her question:
CAN YOU EXPLAIN DREAMS?
On one side of the dream scale is the nightmare, a frightening dreamlike experience that often awakens a sleeper in terror. A nightmare will usually occur only occasionally in times of severe tension. Children between the ages of 2 and 6 are known to have them from time to time. If adults and older children have nightmares frequently, it often indicates a physical or emotional problem.
A dream is a story that a sleeping person may either take part in or watch. Events in dreams are usually imaginary, although they are often related to real experiences and the needs in the dreamer's life.
Some dreams are pleasant while others are annoying or frightening. They seem very real while they are taking place.
Scientists say that everyone dreams. Some people never recall their dreams while others are able to remember many details. It is easiest to remember the dreams that occur just before awakening. No one is able to recall every dream.
Dreams are a part of the sleeper's mind. In most cases they include events and feelings that the sleeper has experienced. Most dreams are either related to the day's events or to the dreamer's wishes.
Most adults dream about 100 minutes during an eight hour sleep. There are usually between three and five dreams each night, with each dream lasting from 10 to 30 minutes. The later dreams are longer than the early ones. During the periods of dreaming, an instrument used to measure brain waves will go from large and slow sweeps to faster and smaller marks. The dreamer's eyes, although closed, will move rapidly as though the sleeper were watching a series of events.
Doctors who specialize in sleep and dreams say that frequently deep wishes or fears that have been held since childhood appear, and that many dreams fulfill such wishes. Events that happen in a sleeper's surroundings, such as a loud noise, may become part of a dream but they will not cause dreams.
An Austrian physician by the name of Sigmund Freud originated psychoanalysis and developed one of the best known theories on dream interpretation. Freud suggested that dreams are actually fulfillments of the dreamer's wishes, even though they are usually in disguised form.
Many doctors say that dreaming may help maintain good learning ability, memory and emotional adjustment.