Life's Great Mysteries - When I have dreams, why does it often feel like I’ve had those dreams before?

I haven’t had one in quite a while, but I used to have recurring dreams in which I could fly. But I could only lift off the ground if I concentrated hard enough. And I always flew at night, when people couldn’t see me. In these dreams I had these incredibly visual scenes of flying over darkened trees and buildings. In other dreams, I’m trying to solve some problem or get something right (without ever having success, of course). Then, when I wake (assuming I remember the dream), I feel like I’ve had that same scenario in numerous previous dreams.

The question is… did I really dream about those same scenarios in previous dreams, or do I just think I did? After all, dreams are snippets of things that have happened to you (or things you’ve imagined, such as flying) while you were awake. In other words, by definition, dreams should always seem kind of familiar. So, are recurring dreams actually recurring, or do they just seem to be recurring?

As it turns out, according to the Academy of Sleep and Wellness, 60 to 75 percent of adults really do experience recurring dreams. And for whatever reason, recurring dreams are experienced more by women than by men. People report that these recurring dreams may take place over a span of weeks, or months, and sometimes throughout their entire life.

Interestingly, the majority of recurring dreams are considered nightmares, involving unpleasant or frustrating situations, such as falling, losing your teeth, being chased by something, or being unprepared for an exam. Most of the articles I found contained tips for how to stop recurring dreams. Hmm… okay, I do have one recurring dream I wouldn’t mind stopping. It’s my teacher version of the exam dream mentioned above. It always involves me being unprepared for a class I must teach, and I find out the class is starting like, right now. I have this dream all the time, even though I’ve been retired from teaching for years. However, most of my recurring dreams are positive, even euphoric. The flying dream is an example. Another example is being outside somewhere, and the scenery is bizarrely beautiful, or I keep finding impossibly beautiful animals, such as snakes with rainbow colors. I don’t want advice on how to stop these recurring dreams, I want to advice on how to make them happen more often.

Photo Credits:
- Man flying over field - DepositPhotos