Dreams, what are they?Dreams come from your subconscious mind as a means of processing andsorting information. But the truth is no one really knows what causesdreams and why some folk seem to have vivid colorful dreams and othershave short uneventful ones.Dreams mainly occur during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep.REM occurs every one and a half hours during the sleep cycle. DuringREM the eyes move from side to side and the body is relaxed and almostincapable of movement.Have you ever told people, "I never dream"? Well you're wrong. The factis everybody dreams every night. You just may not be able to rememberyour dreams.Don't worry too much if this is the case. Not remembering dreamsdoesn't mean you're abnormal or unnatural in any way. While most peopledo remember their dreams, the memory is fleeting and occurs mainly whenthe sleeper first awakens.If you really want to be able to remember your dreams, the best way is to 'remind yourself' before falling asleep.This programs the subconscious mind - the source of your dreams - to hold on to the memory.When you wake up, try and hold the dream in your mind until you have achance to record it. The easiest way to do this is to have a notebookand pen or a personal voice recorder beside your bed, so you can writedown the dream before it disappears and gets 'buried' by the normalthoughts and concerns of everyday life.With a bit of practice you'll find little snippets of your dreamsbeginning to reveal themselves. This procedure will also work well forthose who remember occasional dreams or those who want to rememberevery dream they have.Books on dream interpretation abound and many people believe thatdreams create a window into the subconscious mind where they can findanswers to their most pressing problems and even see into the future.This can be a dangerous practice. At best you can waste a lot of moneybuying books which lean towards the esoteric and lack knowledge in thisarea. Even sleep specialists know a large part of interpreting dreamsis pure speculation.At worst dream interpretation can be taken too seriously and people can depend too heavily on finding the (sometimesfalse) meaning of their dreams. This can lead to depression and evenparanoia. It's best to treat dream interpretation as a bit of fun andrealize that there may be many different ways to analyze dreams andtheir meaning.If you are having recurring dreams or nightmares, it's best to contacta therapist experienced in this area. Don't go down the mystical routeof trying to analyze yourself by means of a book.Nightmares can be caused by stress, so work on ways to relieve this andthe nightmares should ease or may even disappear by themselves.