"I had the craziest dream last night."
In a matter of seconds, someone's dream dictionary is taken out and a round table discussion about being chased, flying and even dying, ensues.
But some people find themselves rarely participating in conversations like these.
Many of us already know how sleep deprivation is linked to a number of chronic health problems. But what about dream deprivation?
The reasons why we aren't dreaming enough lie in the complicated cycles of our sleep.
What makes a 'good' sleep?
Good sleep is sleep that is refreshing and lets you get through the day with energy, according to University of Queensland sleep psychologist Professor Simon Smith.
But Professor Smith says good sleep doesn't always mean "perfect".
"It can be quite normal to wake up a few times during the night, or have the occasional night where getting to sleep is hard," he told ABC News.
A good sleep can be thought about in four ways, Dr Smith says:
- 1.Sleep duration: how many hours were slept?
- 2.Quality: how good was it?
- 3.Timing: do your bedtime and wake-up time suit your lifestyle?
- 4.Regularity: when does your body clock determine your sleep?
"Sleep quality can be defined in the laboratory as getting enough of each 'stage' of sleep," Professor Smith says.
How much sleep do you need?
Individuals vary in their sleep needs, according to the Sleep Health Foundation.
Here's what they recommend, based on a report of expert panels:
Adults: Most require between seven and nine hours per night to feel properly refreshed and function at their best the next day,
Teenagers: Need between eight and 10 hours of sleep per night.
Children aged 6-12: Typically need nine to 12 hours of sleep per night.
Toddlers: Require 11 to 14 hours of sleep per night.
One interesting thing the Sleep Health Foundation points out is the circadian rhythm.
This is our body's natural clock cycle that determines when we sleep, and it's different for teenagers than younger children and adults.
Five hours or less linked to risk of chronic illnesses
Getting five hours of sleep or less a night could increase your risk of getting two or more chronic diseases as you get older, research has found.
A study published in the journal PLOS Medicine in 2022 documented the sleeping habits of 7,000 men and women over 30 years, tracking the amount of sleep they had and the chronic diseases they developed.
Short sleep duration and restless sleep were linked to an increased risk of developing two or more chronic diseases.
Some experts emphasise the risk is relatively low, but others say we need greater awareness of the importance of sleep.
What are the stages of sleep?
Humans cycle through five different stages of sleep each night: NREM1, NREM2, NREM3, NREM4 and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
NREM stands for "non-rapid eye movement".
And REM stands for "rapid eye movement".
Here's a breakdown of each stage:
Stages |
What happens? |
|---|---|
Stage 1 |
Dozing or drowsiness — you hover between being asleep and awake. |
Stage 2 |
You lose awareness of your surroundings, your body temperature starts to drop and your breathing and heart rate slow down. |
|
Stage 3 & Stage 4: |
This is deep sleep, also known as "delta sleep" – your blood pressure, heart rate and breathing become very slow and your muscles relax. Growth and repair processes occur during this stage. |
So the first four stages are non-REM sleep. They are ranked from light sleep to deep sleep.
Light, especially NREM2, is a critical stage of sleep when memories form.
NREM3 and NREM4 are crucial for your body to recover from injuries and to have energy for the next day.
What is REM sleep?
REM sleep is a stage of sleep most associated with dreaming, nightmares and memory consolidation, according to Professor Smith.
"It's a really interesting state to be in, as although definitely 'asleep', your brain is very active," he says.
REM sleep occurs about once every 90 to 120 minutes, according to Victoria's Department of Health.
It makes up about one-quarter of your night’s sleep.
What happens during REM sleep?
"The major muscles of the body are essentially paralysed," Professor Smith says.
"But your heart and other important functions continue on. Your breathing may be less regular and faster than in non-REM sleep."
While dreaming does occur during other stages of non-REM sleep, Professor Smith says REM sleep is thought to be most important for emotional processing and for forming new memories.
If I'm not in REM sleep, should I be concerned?
Anyone who is cutting their sleep short may be missing out on REM sleep, Professor Smith says.
"Whether it's because of work, family, education or social commitments, not getting enough good sleep can lead to increased daytime sleepiness, difficulty concentrating and poorer memory and increased irritability," he says.
"Babies and children spend more of their sleep in REM, but adults still need about 2 hours or so."
Professor Smith says some sleep disorders can lead to a reduction in REM sleep.
But he says the greatest cause is likely overall poor sleep or insufficient sleep.
What does it mean if I don't have dreams?
Most nights, Jane Teresa Anderson can remember 1-3 dreams.
With an honours degree in zoology specialising in developmental neurobiology, Jane has been researching dreams since 1992.
She says if you think you're not dreaming regularly, then you're actually not remembering your dreams.
"Around 60-80 per cent of our dreams occur in the last 2 hours of an 8-hour sleep," Ms Anderson says.
Why can't I remember my dreams?
"Dreams are definitely related to quality and quantity of sleep," Ms Anderson says.
"Anyone who regularly survives on less than 6 hours sleep may not be remembering many dreams."
Martina Kocian, on the other hand, can remember at least two dreams on a good night.
With a psychology degree and training as an embodied imagination therapist, Ms Kocian has specialised in dream therapy since 2008.
"Our brains prioritise deep sleep for bodily restoration and cellular repair, which means we may only dream for 5-10 minutes for the first three cycles with the final cycle extending up to 45 minutes called the 'pre-dawn flow'," Ms Kocian says.
She says we are most likely to remember dreams in this extended period because they contain more content and because we wake up to them creating opportunity for memory storage.
"If we aren't getting enough deep restoration or enough sleep in general, we are less likely to experience these dream cycles and less likely to remember our dreams as a result."
How can I remember my dreams?
There are many ways that dream memory can be encouraged, according to Dr Denholm Aspy, a research fellow at the University of Adelaide.
He's provided some tips to help you remember yours:
Don't rush into the day as soon as you wake up
Dr Aspy says the "most tried and true method" of remembering your dreams is all in the moment your alarm goes off.
"Ensure that the very first thing you do when you wake up is take the time to try to recall your dreams without getting distracted by other thoughts, like what your plans are for the day ahead," he says.
"Even if you can only recall a small dream fragment, spend some time focusing on this and see if you can recall what happened directly before."
"Sometimes, you can recall a long dream sequence in reverse with this method if you spend some time on it before starting your day," he says.
Supplements such as vitamin B6
"Some supplements, such as vitamin B6, can enhance dream recall," Dr Aspy says.
He says other supplements that can boost dream recall are alpha-GPC and galantamine.
"But these should be used with caution — especially galantamine, as it is a prescription medication."
Meditate before bed
"Meditation before bed, as well as setting the deliberate intention to remember your dreams before going to bed, seems to make it easier to recall dreams," Dr Aspy says.
Keep a dream journal
This doesn't just mean writing your dreams down in a notebook.
Dr Aspy says recording voice notes could also help you recall your dreams.
"This sends an unconscious message to your mind that dreams are important, and also helps you to build the habit of paying attention to your dreams and valuing them," he says,
