Sleep and dreaming

You will find lots of information about the importance of sleep and the connection between dreaming and mental health on this website, see:

HG College - Free online courses

Human Givens College - Free online courses

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Why do we dream?

Joe Griffin reviews past theories and recent research findings (all of which add further evidence in support of his ground-breaking theory) as he tells the riveting story of how he solved the mystery of our dreams...
Dreaming, daydreaming and creativity

Ivan Tyrrell's fascinating talk from the HG Diploma course throws new light on our evolution as he explains the crucial role of the REM state and much more...

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Definition of dreaming

An imaginary perceptual experience that occurs primarily in REM sleep. Dreams act out our unexpressed emotional expectations (positive and negative) through the medium of metaphor. Dreaming reduces stress and preserves the integrity of our emotional responses. Excessive and intensive dreaming has been linked to clinical depression. Dream phenomena occurring while patients are awake have been linked to schizophrenia.

More information about why we dream can be found in the book Why we dream: the definitive answer (listed opposite)

> Click here to explore a website dedicated to why we dream

Explore our articles and interviews

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The evolution of the human givens approach

John Halker interviews Joe Griffin (co-founder of the human givens approach) at the human givens conference 2018.
Helping a child in pain

Pain expert Leora Kuttner shares up-to-date understandings about children’s experience of pain and some ways to help them reduce it.
The therapist's account

Read Mike Beard's therapist account of Nina's treatment.
Work and the mental health continuum

Ezra Hewing describes how he helped a large insurance company change perceptions about stress and improve the mental health and wellbeing of its employees.
Using the human givens to cope with personal adversity

Val Giblett shares her experience of how human givens principles helped her cope, in her own way, with the diagnosis and treatment of an aggressive cancer.
An HG lens on Bereavement

Julia Welstead looks at the impact of bereavement and grief
The curious case of covid consternation

Julia Welstead looks at how our inner resources - with a little help from an effective therapist - can help us to overcome trauma, build resilience through difficult times and develop a positive mindset and zest for life.
3 ways to relax immediately

Do you feel overwhelmed with life? Like you are paddling hard just to stay afloat?