What Happened to My Dreams?

Growing up my nights were the equivalent of a live stream movie. I never knew where I would be or what would be happening, but one thing is certain, it would be a full color movie style event. I would wake up at times and be able to drift right back to sleep and carry on where the movie was paused. Unfortunately, as I aged, the vivid memories of my dreams slipped away. What happens to our dreams, and why do they fade from our consciousness as we grow older? Dr. Aaron Workman, a member of one of the highest rated auto injury care programs, Chambers Medical Group, in Lexington, Kentucky, looks at dreams and what happens in our mind throughout our years.

To understand why dreams seem to vanish as we age, we need to look into the phases of sleep. Sleep is not just sleep. It is divided into several stages. There are two primary categories of sleep and for our purposes we will talk about rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Dreams primarily occur during REM sleep. This is the stage where brain activity increases, and most vivid dreams come about. Throughout the night, we cycle through these sleep phases, with each complete cycle lasting around 90 minutes. If we are lucky, we reach the REM phase because as we age, the amount of time we spend in REM sleep decreases. This decreases the possibility to have those vivid dreams.

While we dream during REM sleep, our ability to remember these dreams hangs on a thread. Sometimes we may wake up in the middle of the dream and remember a small part yet by morning we have no memory at all. So, what is happening? During this phase of sleep, the brain releases certain chemicals that help prevent us from acting out our dreams physically. This “paralysis” is the body’s protective mechanism to keep us from harm. Unfortunately, these chemicals also interfere with our ability to store dream memories.

As I have aged, the ability to recall dreams has all but disappeared. The exact reasons are not entirely understood, but there are a few interesting thoughts on why this happens:

First, as we age, the structure of our sleep changes. Older individuals tend to experience more fragmented sleep and spend less time in deep REM sleep, where vivid dreaming occurs.

Second, it is thought that cognitive changes associated with aging can affect dream recall. A decline in memory and attention can make it more challenging for dream memories. The brain’s processing abilities may diminish, making it harder to hold onto those weird stories our mind makes up.

Thirdly, our lifestyle and daily stresses can also impact our dream recall. By the time I lay down my head at night, I also carry the worries and concerns of adulthood. This makes the mind more preoccupied with less ability to recall a dream.

So, what happened to your dreams? They are still there, buried in the depths of your mind. You may be able to access them if you can focus on relaxation and stress relief. Most importantly a great night of uninterrupted sleep may get you back into your own mind’s live stream movie.

— This article is written by Aaron Workman, DC, one of the members of Chambers Medical Group’s team of car accident chiropractors who offer a variety of treatments and therapies ranging from diagnostic testing to various soft tissue therapies for car accidents and injuries in Kentucky.

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Have you been in a car accident? If you or somebody you know has been in a car accident, be sure that you seek medical attention from a car accident doctor or car accident chiropractor to treat your injuries. Visit Chambers Medical Group to receive world-class medical treatment for your injuries.

Chambers Medical Group has car accident medical clinics in the following locations:

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