Get Started with Dreamwork by Exploring Dream Science

The first ingredient of dreamwork and dream observation is sleep.

Sleep is an essential part of life and is the second most essential thing to the human body after water. The longest that someone has lived without sleep was 264 hours which is about 11 days; you can survive more than a month without food.

While scientists are still trying to discover why exactly we sleep there are several thoroughly developed and highly researched theories with a multitude of case studies and peer reviewed papers out there. Sleep and dream sciences are still in their relative infancies.

So let’s explore what we currently do know about dreams.

Circadian Rhythm

The evolution of sleep in humans (and most animals for that matter) began with the development of the circadian rhythm.

An individual’s circadian rhythm is the body’s way of tracking a 24-hour period of time that typically corresponds with the daily cycle of the sun and the subsequent amount of light that we are exposed to during the day.

In your brain, a specific portion of the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is constantly checking in with your body and its processes throughout the day to measure the passage of time.