10 Mind-Blowing Facts About Your Dreams You Didn't Know!

Doctors and scientists aren’t sure why we dream. No one has able to crack the “dream code” yet, says Patrick McNamara, Ph.D., a dream researcher and associate professor of neurology at Boston University. It’s still a mystery. But scientists have discovered plenty of other fascinating facts about what goes on in the land of Nod. From the types of people who dream in black and white to the best way to lucid dream, here are 10 awesome realities about our nighttime fantasies.

You Create an Emotional Inventory
Brain scans suggest people feel the same emotions they do when they’re awake—fear, joy, and doubt—as they do when they’re dreaming later that night. It’s your brain’s way of sorting and storing data. Your mind wants to remember how you felt during an experience so it knows how to react.

Wet Dreams Are More Common Than Guys Admit
Eighty-three percent of men have experienced nocturnal emissions, a.k.a. “wet dreams”. Researchers believe that a wet dream is more likely to occur when several weeks have passed between orgasms. That’s because it’s your body’s way of making room for fresh sperm supplies.

Dreams Get Crazier As the Night Goes On
When you first fall asleep, your dreams help your mind unpack your day and try to make sense of it. But later on, your mind is free to wander, the research suggests. And that’s when things get weird—you turn into a falcon or you hook up with.

Only Some People Dream In Black and White
British research shows that senior people dream in black and white about 25 percent of the time. The older generation’s exposure to black-and-white TV may explain why they sometimes struggle to dream in Technicolor.

The ‘Strangers’ You Meet May Not Be So Strange
The theory: Even though you have no recollection of ever laying eyes on them, they could be random people you’ve passed on the street or seen on TV.

Some Of Your Body Parts Will Morph
Most peoples’ brains have trouble recreating hands and faces when they’re unconscious. A finger may be missing or your hand may be deformed. Facial features are often misarranged, blurred, or simply absent when you look closely at someone in your dreams.

You Can’t Walk
Just like your brain has problems rendering hands and faces, your brain has trouble recreating the physical sensation associated with your feet hitting the ground.

You Can Control Your Dreams
You can train your brain to stay conscious during dreams—without ever waking up. This phenomenon is called lucid dreaming. Dr. Winter recommends looking at your own reflection or at your hands—both of which tend to look odd when you dream—in a mirror while you do it. Then tell yourself you’re not dreaming, and that this is reality.

You Can Have Dreams Within Dreams
You wake up from a dream and start your morning routine. But when you reach for your coffee, you notice your arm is actually a Terminator-style metal spear. Then you wake up for real.

You Can Fight Off Nightmares
Maybe you repeatedly dream that a monster (or your ex-girlfriend) is chasing you and you wake up in a pile of sweat. When you’re awake, imagine that same exact scene in your dream, but picture a peaceful or harmless ending, McNamara suggests. Maybe the monster just wanted to tell you that he found your phone on the ground. This “image reversal therapy” can help calm anxiety and improve the ending of your dreams, McNamara says.

Source: Men's Health