I've never been one to remember my own dreams. I'd wake up and think, "Man, what a crazy dream. Wait, what happened in it? Ah shoot, forgot again." I never understood how people could say, "Hey, you were in my dream last night" or "Yo, yo, yo... I had the craziest dream yo. In it I was at Chuck E. Cheese shootin' laser beams at Darth Vader! And there were Ewoks and those things from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but all of 'em had your face on them. Dude, it was crazy!"
Nah, I never understood how one could remember.
Out of curiousity, I picked up a book this summer called "The Mind at Night" to learn more about what the hell goes on in our brains while we sleep. A window to the subconscious? Indicators of our true emotions and feelings? Hmm.
It turns out we don't know too much about dreams. I did learn some, for example:
-The activity of the neurotransmitter serotonin becomes increasingly low as you reach REM sleep. In replacement, acetylcholine activity rises. Because your serotonin level is low, your mind runs rampat... your mind construes vivid imagery. Serotonin, though, is key to memory. So, the causal link between dreams and difficulty in remembering dreams rests in the activity of serotonin. Low serotonin level = dreams + low memory.
If you want to dream while awake, try drugs like LSD. They'll decrease your serotonin level, and you will hallucinate. Yes!
Anyway, that's besides the point. I reassure myself that I learn by showing off what I learn in my blog. So, forget you. The true meat of this entry is what follows...
Since I finished the above mentioned book, I've embarked on an attempt to record my dreams on a daily basis. Right when I awaken, I take out my dream journal (if you will) and record all that I can remember. Before, I'd go days without remembering a thing (while knowing there was definitely something there). But now, every morning all these thoughts start to burst in my mind... "Oh yeaah, man that was weird. Hmm, I wonder why he/she was in my dream? Weeeird, I've dreamt about this same thing 3 nights in a row."
I've become what I never understood.
It's awesome. It's practically a nightly vacation. Plus it's free and right in the comforts of my own brain. I highly recommend it. Dream!
2 comments:
Interesting points you bring up here. I've always wanted to keep a dream journal, but I get too lazy. It would have been nice to look back and see what I was dreaming about when I was younger.
P.S. Thanks for your endorsement of LSD. If I ever get caught, I will reference this post.
cool, free vacation. do you have any ide why I dream more (or remember more) if I sleep on my back?
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