Dreaming is a sign of healthy sleeping. Many people who snore and stop breathing during the night report a total absence of dreaming. We do most of our dreaming in the stage of sleep called REM. Appoximately 15-25% of a healthy sleep night should be spent in REM, most of which occurs during the second half of the night. Unfortunately for those who snore and stop breathing at night REM sleep is also when breathing becomes most difficult. Our brain knows when we struggle to get enough air in our sleep and many times will prevent REM sleep for this reason. Once healthy breathing is re-established with an oral snoring and sleep appliance the brain no longer looks at REM sleep as a threat and allows dreaming to start up again!
Adequate REM sleep is critical for forming long lasting memories and the lack of enough REM has been implicated in weight gain and inability to lose weight. Please call us if you feel that you are dream deprived and would like a better, healthier nights sleep.