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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

  • 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...

> View all free online courses

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

Latest News:

Could you help produce this valuable resource?

As you may be aware, after 26 years as editor of the Human Givens Journal, Denise Winn will be stepping down at the end of 2023. Despite advertising for a successor last year, we have been unable to find any one person who could fulfil the role.

Date posted: 13/04/2023