Sleep in human life is a basic and unconditional need. In a dream, the average person spends a third of his life, that is, about 25 years. The duration of a night's rest is approximately 7-8 hours, however, there are people who need 4-5 hours of sleep to fully restore their strength and maintain working capacity. But science still cannot explain the nature of dreams, it is only known that this is most likely a projection of our thoughts, feelings and experiences. Let's look at some interesting facts about human sleep.
Sleep phases
Today, human sleep is usually divided into five phases, which can be repeated several times during the night.
The first phase is falling asleep. At this time, a person experiences drowsiness, slowly sinks into sleep. Sleepy dreams are possible, ideas for overcoming life's problems.
Second phase - shallow or light sleep. Muscle tone decreases, heart rate slows down, body temperature drops.
Third and fourth phases are collectively called "slow-wave sleep". At that timea person is immersed in a calm, deep sleep, rest and recuperation of the body takes place.
The fifth phase of sleep is considered "rapid". It is at this moment that the sleeping person can observe rapid movements of the eyeballs. During this period, breathing and heart rhythm become uneven and right now a person is able to dream.
In the process of a normal full-fledged sleep, a person goes through all phases. The first phase - the transition from wakefulness to falling asleep - is the shortest, it lasts 5-10 minutes. Other phases last between 20 and 30 minutes.
The state of he alth depends on the phase of sleep a person wakes up in. Thus, the rise in the fast phase is accompanied by weakness, a feeling of lack of sleep, and apathy. Therefore, daily rest should not exceed 40-60 minutes.
Dream Colors
Scientists in the course of experiments were able to establish that if a person's dream has predominantly blue and green tones, then his life is stable, measured, and nothing bad happens in it. People whose dreams are colored in shades of red are likely to have a fever or develop some kind of disease. Black and all dark colors indicate nervous tension, overwork and, possibly, an imminent emotional breakdown.
Emotions during sleep
It has been proven that for the most part dreams leave negative emotions rather than positive ones. The most commonly experienced feeling in a dream is a feeling of anxiety. As a result, people who are least stressed mentally and emotionallystable, rarely remember their dreams. But a suspicious and restless person, most likely, will relive the feelings experienced at night for a long time.
Settings and people
Interesting facts about dreams concern both the places where they occur and the characters. So, only 20% of dreams include real people and places that are well known to the sleeper. The rest is a figment of fantasy, a unique picture peculiar to a particular dream and person. Some people are able to see what is happening in a dream as if from the outside, being not a participant, but an observer of events. This phenomenon has been called "lucid dreaming" and is a big mystery to scientists.
Prophetic dreams
Many people have often heard that there is a prophetic dream and dreams. Interesting facts about this phenomenon can be found in the specialized literature. However, this phenomenon has not yet been proven. It is believed that a single disturbing dream can be easily ignored. But if an unpleasant dream is repeated several times, has a negative meaning, awakens feelings in a person, then it is worth considering. Perhaps this is how the brain sends warning signals that a person simply does not pay attention to during daytime wakefulness.
What are you dreaming…
Scientists have also noticed the following interesting facts about dreams: men in their dreams see at least 70% of men, and women - equally of both sexes. Heavy smokers who quitbad habits, have the most vivid dreams, even more colorful than people who have never smoked.
Human sleep is accompanied by snoring only during the slow phase, however, during snoring, people do not dream.
Dreams are also influenced by external factors. So, if a person fell asleep in a cold room, most likely, he will feel cold in his sleep, perhaps the action of sleep will unfold at the North Pole. When thirsty, a person may dream about how he gets a glass of water and cannot drink it, as a result of which he wakes up and really realizes in reality that he is thirsty.
Wake dream
There are proven facts about a person's waking dream. In order to experience a similar state, you must do the following. After a long hard day at work, lie down on the sofa. It is better to lie on your back, stretch your arms along the body, close your eyes. Next, you should be in a stationary state and try not to fall asleep, you can think about something or remember the past day. After some time (usually no more than half an hour), you will feel heaviness in your chest, you may hear sounds. This is the so-called sleep paralysis. If at this moment you open your eyes, you can see hallucinations, but the body will not be able to move, as it is already asleep. This is the daydream. If you close your eyes, you can fall asleep for real.
Dreams are only for intellectuals
A group of scientists from the United States of America has been studying sleep and dreams for several years. Interesting facts were discovered during these studies. It turns out that only smart people can see dreams. This conclusion was made on the basis of a survey of more than two thousand people. Most of them claimed that they do not remember their dreams at all and hardly ever see them. However, some people who passed a series of intellectual tests said that, on the contrary, they perfectly remember part of their dreams. Further polls showed that the more mentally developed a person is, the more vivid and colorful dreams he sees.
These interesting facts about human sleep can be explained as follows: it is known that during a night's rest, the information received during the day is ordered. Accordingly, the busier an individual is during the day, the more problems he solves and the more he thinks, the more information he receives. So, during sleep, the brain is working on its "processing". Conversely, the less active the brain is during the day, the less information it receives, which means that it rests at night.
What about animals?
No less interesting facts about dreams can be found in representatives of the animal world. So, for example, in dolphins, half of the brain remains active during sleep. This is necessary in order to remain alert all the time and monitor the attack of predators.
Sea otters hold on to each other's paws even when they sleep, so as not to drift away.
Snails can sleep for about three years in a row.
70% of their lives are spent sleeping cats.
Conclusion
So, sleep is the most common and at the same time one of the most mysterious processes that occur withhuman body. Interesting facts about dreams are being discovered more and more every year, but scientists may not always find an explanation for them. And while the best minds of the whole world are struggling to unravel these processes, we can only remember that a person can live only 11 days without sleep, and a full 8-hour nightly rest every day restores the physical and mental strength of the body, replenishes energy resources and makes it possible to live a long and a fulfilling life.
