When We Are Asleep
Everyone dreams, but some people never recall their dreams, or do so very rarely. Other people
always wake up with vivid recollections (回忆)of their dreams, though they forget them very quickly.
In an average night of eight hours' sleep, an average adult will dream fbr around one hundred minutes,
probably having three to five dreams, each lasting from ten to thirty minutes.
Scientists can detect when someone is having a dream by using an instrument which measures
the electrical waves in the brain. During dreaming, these waves move more quickly. Breathing and
pulse rate also increase, and there are rapid eye movements under the eye lids, just as though the
dreamer were really looking at some moving objects. These signs of dreaming have been detected in
all mammals studied, including dogs, monkeys, cats, and elephants, and also some birds and reptiles
(爬行动物).This period of sleep is called the "D" state. Babies experience the "D" state for around
50% of their sleep; the period reduces to around 25% by the age of 10.
Dreams take the form of stories, but they may be strange and with incidents not closely connected,
which make little sense. Dreams are seldom without people in them and they are usually about people
we know. One estimate says that two-thirds of the "cast" of our dream dramas are friends and relations.
Vision seems an essential part of dreams, except for people blind from birth. Sound and touch are
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