Do we dream all night?

No. We dream by cycle. It all depends on the phase of sleep in which we are. In deep sleep, we are not dreaming.

According to sleep unit researchers, dreams are born in the paradoxical sleep phase . During brain recordings, there is clearly a certain brain activity during this phase of sleep, such as during an awakening phase, accompanied by rapid movements of the eyes.

In total there would be about a hundred minutes of REM sleep per night .

Why are we dreaming?

For one person in two, it is only a big selection of the events of the day . For some, these dreams are more important, since 2 in 5 French think that this is the work of our subconscious.

But the specialists of our dreams do not all have the same explanation. For most of them, it is about "tidying up" and memorizing the events of the day, in short, to put order in his ideas . Some neurobiologists, on the other hand, distinguish the dream from the phases of sleep.

Jean-Pol Tassin , director of research at Inserm, he says: "Every night, we can count ten microreveils that last only a few fractions of a second. I am convinced that dreams are only made at that moment. For this researcher, the dream would be a kind of "buffer" between these microreveils and the restormant . As a result, in his eyes, dreams simply have no use except to make the sleep-wake passages softer.

Finally, psychoanalysts see them as a way to get to know each other better . From Jung to Freud, the dream is a tool that allows to know more about oneself, its faults, its strengths. The dream is a message of the unconscious.

Is it normal not to dream?

The majority of us (85%) say they dream at least once a month and 48% every night. Only 14% would say that they do not dream. Yet records of our brain activity during the night show that we are far from flat calm.

Conclusion: we all dream. But who said it was absolutely necessary to remember? This is probably why many forget their dreams, they simply do not attach more importance . So, the brain does not keep the memory.

Do premonitory dreams exist?

From the point of view of science, the answer is clear: no! If we see a dream activity, to prove that the dream's content predicts the future is another pair of games.

Yet some individual stories are troubling . Thus, Gaelle who dreamed recurrently of a child with slanted eyes running towards her and calling her "Mom". At each of his four pregnancies? A healthy baby but without slanted eyes. Until the day she starts adopting and the child she receives then looks exactly like the one she had dreamed of. Dream premonitory or not? In any case 1 in 5 French believes ... And 7% even think that dreams are a way for the dead to communicate with the living ....

No wonder that over the course of history, oneiromancy (the Science of Dreams) still carries weight: some warlords have made decisions according to "oracles" or "augurs" that are nothing else as the interpretation of the dreams of some people of importance within a tribe.

Nowadays, the penal code "condemns anyone doing business guessing or predicting dreams, " says Katherine Debelle, author of "Grand dictionary of dreams", ed. Path.

Dreams and nightmares, it's the same thing?

Cerebrally, yes. Simply it emanates from the nightmare sensations so strong that they can wake up. The dream deciphering specialists see them as "messages" from our unconscious alerting us to conflicts or knots to be overcome.

Can we heal with dreams?

It seems that yes. These are dream therapies. Some dreams "can exert a sedative power on the psyche," says Katherine Debelle. According to her, the theme of water, for example, allows some relaxation .

And according to the images, we could even treat some disorders such as headaches or heavy legs . "The stunt images are excellent for circulatory disorders," she says.

Nevertheless one must learn to direct one's dreams to take advantage of them in such a concrete way. Not easy-easy.

Can one provoke one's dreams?

It seems that yes. In general we start by trying to remember his night dreams. First by having the will to want to remember them. If in our eyes dreams do not represent anything, we are hardly awake, the brain manages to put them out.

So, we are getting ready. Mentally, but not only. For this, a small logistics: notebook and pen on the night table to note the memory of the dream right from the moment you wake up, because these images are very fleeting.

Second step: dominate the content of his dreams. In fact we must suggest dream contents to his unconscious t. For this, here is an exercise in retinal persistence to train, explained by Katherine Debelle:
"Pin on your wall, at eye level, the image you have selected for your dream. She must be well lit. Sit in front of her, between 50 cm and 1 m; fix it in its center for two full minutes. To facilitate your concentration, push in its center a white bug. For the duration of fixation, you should only look for the bug. When the time is up, slowly, turn your gaze towards the place of the least lit room. It is advisable not to read or watch TV after this experience. "

Side image to choose : a lake, a river (for calm), a sun (for warmth and vitality), a moon (for emotions, creativity ...), etc.

Why are some dreams recurring?

These are often old or simply contemporary concerns that weigh heavily on a daily basis . The most difficult thing, however, is to give them meaning. And this interpretation is necessarily personal .

To read : "The great dictionary of dreams" Katherine Debelle, ed. Trajectory (Piktos).

Figures from Opinion Matters survey for Ibis, published on October 25, 2013.