World of Dreams

Dreaming has stumped philosophers, psychologists, and sleep medicine experts for decades. Why do we dream? What do our dreams mean? And can you train yourself to remember your dreams? Here’s what we know.

Do you remember the dream you had last night? First thing in the morning some of us might recall scenes vividly enough to share over breakfast, but later in the afternoon it’s probably fuzzy at best. Others of us tend not to remember our dreams at all. You ...

A Soundtrack for Slumber: Max Richter’s 8-Plus-Hour Overnight ‘Sleep’ Concert

In a giant loft space with 160 beds overlooking downtown Manhattan, concertgoers came to experience the sounds of the live nightlong performance intended to help them hit “pause” and sleep, or not sleep, as they wished.

Music and sleep have been connected in our minds ever since the sweet sounds of the lullaby first helped people drift off into slumber. And in fact research shows that listening to relaxing music before going ...

Normally when we go into REM sleep, we become paralyzed. The only muscles that continue to work at routine levels are the diaphragm and the eye muscles. However, some individuals who lack this inhibition and can move while dreaming. In these folks, dreams are frequently violent and result in harm to themselves or a bed partner.

We know that this disorder seems to be more common in middle-aged men, although by no means is it exclusive to them. We also know ...

Recent research has uncovered how men and women’s dreams differ, why some people remember their dreams, and more.

Decoding Dreams

Sweet dreams, horrible nightmares, dreams forgotten before you open your eyes — researchers have been poring over dream journals and monitoring brain activity in attempts to understand what we dream about, why we dream, the emotions behind dreams and nightmares, and male and female differences in dreaming. Studies are just beginning to tap the vast science of dreaming, but here’s what ...

Sleepwalking is actually a type of sleep disorder called a parasomnia. Learn even more uncommon things people do while asleep, from eating to having sex.

Some sleep disorders are actually quite common. Most people talk in their sleep, and some are prone to sleepwalking.

But other parasomnias are more unusual, like sleep sex or sleep crime. “Parasomnia is abnormal behavior that occurs during sleep,” says David A. Neumeyer, MD, a sleep specialist at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass. “Some of ...

Have you ever wondered what an especially weird dream meant? The meaning of dreams is debatable, but the science behind dreams is more clearly defined.

William Shakespeare’s Prospero knew that “we are such stuff as dreams are made on,” but scientists are still figuring out the meaning of dreams themselves. People have inferred the meaning of dreams since ancient times. In more recent years, Sigmund Freud believed that a dream provided a window to our unconscious thoughts, while Alfred Adler argued ...

Eating cheese at night can do more than disrupt sleep.

According to a recent study sponsored by the British Cheese Board, the long-held myth that cheese can seriously affect your night’s sleep might have some truth to it. Researchers found that different types of cheese provoked different kinds of dreams. Blue cheese resulted in the most bizarre dreams including talking animals, vegetarian crocodiles and warrior kittens. Cheddar yielded dreams of dancing celebrities. Leicester evoked dreams of the past, while Lancashire created ...

Sounds like the stuff of movies, but some people can realize they’re in a dream while they’re still having it. Find out about this unusual phenomenon called lucid dreaming.

You’re standing somewhere that you only vaguely recognize. Maybe it’s your second grade classroom or a temple from ancient Greece. All the sudden, five tigers descend directly on you. Fear starts to make your breathing stop and your hand flail. But wait — you try to jump and suddenly you can fly ...

In the province of sleep problems, night terrors are terrifying. Doree Shafrir’s quest for relief included a cross-country move.

You’ve probably had your share of nightmares interrupting a sound sleep, but night terrors take scary sleep experiences to a whole new level. They can be absolutely frightening.

In 2012, Doree Shafrir, an executive editor for the web site BuzzFeed, chronicled her harrowing and ongoing experiences with night terrors, which started back in 2003. Night terrors are a kind of parasomnia, or sleep ...

Is it a nightmare or sleep terror? Get advice for helping kids with nightmares sleep peacefully.

Whether it’s a piercing scream coming from your child’s bedroom or finding your son or daughter at your bedside in tears, there are few everyday occurrences more distressing for parents and upsetting for kids than a nightmare. Nightmares may be a normal part of growing up, but when they happen, they can be disruptive, especially if they happen regularly.

There’s some dispute about when children start ...