Scientifically, it is called "oneirology" and serious scientists and even entire institutes are engaged in it. Who will gladly tell you what you already know - you sleep a third of your life. And you don't know. For example, the fact that you see approximately 1,460 dreams a year - that is, four per night, and that you remember (if you remember at all) is only the last of them, which lasts on average from half an hour to an hour and a half. And even then, remember it only for the first twenty minutes after waking up. If you think that you do not see dreams, then you are mistaken, absolutely everyone sees dreams. And that on average you sleep for a quarter of a century, of which you have dreams for only six years.
But dreams, you know, are such an interesting thing that you can talk about them endlessly:
The Egyptian pharaohs were considered the direct descendants of the sun god Ra, and all their dreams were considered, if not prophetic, then certainly divine.
In the Chinese province of Fu-Kein, people "communicate" with their ancestors and "receive advice from them", falling asleep, not too comfortable, one must think, on their graves.
The New Testament describes six dreams, which contained revelations, instructions, and warnings. Mostly to Joseph, husband of Mary, mother of Jesus.
Plato believed that dreams "nest" in the stomach. More precisely - in the liver, and this is where their "biological place" is.
The West African Ashanti (or Asante) tribe takes dreams so seriously that they legitimately allow a husband to kill another man who has an erotic dream about his wife. How they will know this remains unknown.
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Once a year, the Iroquois had a real rally for the exchange of dreams, during which everyone described in faces and details what they had dreamed, and collectively decided whether it would affect or not, and if so, how, on the fate of the tribe.
In Hawaiian mythology, dreams are called moe'uhane or "soul sleep" because they believe that the soul leaves the body at night through the tear ducts. And nightmares dream because while the soul is absent, spirits penetrate into a person in the same way.
Hindus believe that our world is actually a dream, and that reality is somewhere else. The Vedas, the oldest Hindu manuscript, which is more than 4,000 years old, speaks of endless reincarnations in this world of dreams, and only by breaking the chain of rebirths, a person can “wake up” in the real world, then he will know the truth and become free.
The Raramuri people from northern Mexico are so able to control their dreams that they can wake up of their own accord in the middle of the night to discuss their dreams with their fellow tribesmen.
The Buddhist yoga practice, among other indisputable advantages, helps its adherents to control dreams by controlling the inner life energies.
Unlike modern dream books, focused exclusively on psychology and psychiatry, in ancient times dreams were considered the keys to a possible future.
After the invention of the printing press, the interpreter of dreams "Oneurocritics" of the 2nd century AD by Arthermidor Daldiansky, instantly became a bestseller, second only to the Bible in popularity. But the landmark work of Sigmund Freud "Interpretation of Dreams" of 1990 in the first two years was sold in a circulation of only 400 copies.
The French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault (ours, in principle, a contemporary) described in his essay "Dreams, Imagination and Existence" that dreams are nothing more than a reflection of the human soul. In addition, he points out that dreams of death are very important, because they fill your existence with life. However, the philosopher-mathematician Rene Descartes also spoke about the "reflection of the soul" several centuries before him.
The priest Tertullian in the third century tried to scientifically prove that the soul leaves the body during sleep, which means that, easily freed every night from the mortal shell, it is immortal.
The most "sleepy" of all the biblical characters was Abraham, whose dreams are devoted to several chapters in Genesis.
Saint Jerome, translating the Bible for medieval Christians, accidentally made a mistake in translating some Greek verbal passages, which led to the fact that poor people were panicky for a long time in fear of their dreams, thinking that the devil was sending them, leading them astray.
The Talmud contains entire sections devoted to the systematic analysis of dreams, nightmares, and visions.
For a long time, it was believed that the planet Neptune (named after the Roman god of the seas), discovered in 1856, rules over dreams. Because dreams are as ephemeral and ghostly as the water and fog of this planet.
In a dream, many scientific and technical discoveries were made, in particular - the famous chemical table, a sewing machine and even the structure of the atom.
One of the most famous prophetic dreams was that of President Lincoln in 1865, which he even wrote down in detail in his diary. Indeed, a few days later, on April 14 of the same year, he was killed exactly as in a dream during a performance at the theater.
Current research shows that low-calorie diets significantly reduce the likelihood of sexual dreams and, consequently, nocturnal emissions.
If you think what a dream about aliens means - then, according to psychiatry - it simply indicates that it is difficult for you to get used to the current situation when someone invades your personal space. Well, or that you were really abducted by aliens in order to insert your anal probe. Joke. But if you dream of chocolates and cakes, then in real life the meaning of such a dream is the lack of a reward (in your opinion) that is due to you, or at least a banal gratitude.
In a dream, a person can see anything except the immediate moment of his own death. He will definitely wake up, because the brain has its own "protections" against such stress.
Vampires, witches and other representatives of folklore in a dream mean not only your unsatisfied sexuality, but in the opinion of many peoples can steal your soul while you sleep, or "suck" life. Therefore, if such nightmares recur, it is advisable to place a knife under the pillow - ideally with a silver handle.
Dreams that you are falling are peculiar only to the first phase of sleep. These dreams are accompanied by muscle spasms, from which you wake up. Do not be afraid, almost all animals see such dreams, and humans are no exception.
Flying in a dream has been known since ancient times, when a person has not yet invented even a banal paraglider (or other means of transportation by air).
Vitamin B6 allows a person to have more vivid dreams. Actually, like nicotine patches, which, in addition, make sleep more emotionally rich.
You cannot snore and dream at the same time, which means that if you wake up even the neighbors behind the wall with thunderous rumblings of snoring, you should know that you are not dreaming of anything. That is, absolutely.
The connection between hallucinogens and dreams has been known since prehistoric times. For example, belladonna was used by the Delphic oracles to go into a trance state. And the early Persians for the same purposes used the "divine drink" Haomu, infused with now unknown roots and herbs.
Children more often than adults see animals in their dreams, such as dogs, cats, snakes, lions and horses … however, they also see monsters more often. True, childhood dreams are shorter than those of adults, but 40% of them are nightmares.
Dreams that visit a person during REM sleep are much detailed and have a clear storyline, in contrast to those incoherent short snippets that visit people during other phases of sleep.
Men often dream about strangers and travel, women mostly see only people they have encountered, and the actions of the dream take place inside the house / building. By the way, men see men in their dreams one and a half times more often than women see them in dreams. And it has nothing to do with sex.
By the way, those who had a black-and-white TV in childhood more often see black and white dreams than children who were lucky to be born much later.
If a person is awakened during REM sleep, they are more likely to remember their dream than if they woke up in another phase of sleep.