Freud perseverated on dreams during sleep and emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind. He postulated that our brains paralyze our muscles during REM sleep to save us from hurting ourselves if we are physically acting out our dreams during sleep. His belief was that the unconscious mind governs the body’s behavior and makes us, in a way, conscious while we are asleep. While our body slows down and becomes quite inactive during REM sleep, it allows blood flow into the relaxed muscles to rejuvenate cells that have been loaded with toxins. Even though our brain is still active during REM sleep, we do lose some daytime rationality, which is why we dream of things that during the day we know could not happen. Dreams during sleep of choking, suffocating or drowning could be indicative of OSA or other sleep disorders and should be pursued accordingly. Click this link to read more about the importance of dreams during sleep.
