Perchance to dream

A BBC story about the (very common) exam anxiety dream:

We may have lots going on in our lives, so why is it that exams can stand out in our dreams?

"It's a common theme to dream about anything that is threatening," says Prof Espie. Just because something is threatening it doesn't mean it's bad, he says, but it can mean it's challenging - and exams are, almost by definition, challenging.

"For most people, they don't look forward to their exams, right?"

"It's on your mind during the day, and it shouldn't surprise us that it's on our mind during the night."

Exam dreams are quite common, according to Prof Espie. "Pretty much" everyone has dreams even if they do not remember them.

"For a proportion of people those [exam dreams] are not breaking into consciousness, so you're not aware of them at all," he says.

"For some people it will be breaking through a little bit more and it will be occasional, and for some people it will be an every night problem."

I do find it somewhat surprising that, even after 40 years since my last significant exams, I can still have the occasional exam dream of the typical "but I haven't prepared for this" scenario.

Lately, I seem to be having a fair few dreams in which the problem is that I can't remember whether or not I have done something important I had to do.  I hate it when you get that type of dream and you half awake, try to think "wait, that's only a dream, isn't it?" and them fall back into semi-sleep where the anxiety feeling of not having done something resumes.

There was also an article recently in the Washington Post about what the elderly tend to dream about:

It’s one of the mysteries that sleep scientists still ponder. Do dreams change as we age? If so, how and why?

Research suggests that they do, and experts say it’s probably because of changes that occur over the life span, including in jobs, relationships, trauma, even death. Dreams often reflect these changes in ways that can be disturbing as well as pleasant. They also can include old memories that the elderly relive while sleeping, such as dreaming you are back at an old job long after leaving it.....

As we age, the frequency of erotic dreams and sports dreams declines, said Michael Schredl, research director of the Sleep Laboratory at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany. While students are more likely to dream about friends, the elderly more often dream about relatives, he said. Older people also have nightmares less often, he said. But dreams about people who have died increase.

Older people also report dreams of being lost in a strange environment, or of searching for their car in a foreign city, Schredl said. “And there are a substantial number of work-related dreams in retired persons, often negatively toned — being back in the old job — if the job was stressful.”

Well yes, I still have dreams about my former job relatively often.   

The comments following the article are interesting too:

As a retired English professor, I often dream about being in class and teaching a topic that I have not prepared. For years, I had dreams about having a thirty page research paper due, and it is the night before the due date, and I have not started writing. Fun stuff. 

And:

I retired at age 81. My dreams since retiring are so real that I have to remember upon awakening that it was a dream. I also dream of trying to get home from a downtown area without a way to get home. I was really wondering why my dreams of work were so real and if something was going wrong with my brain. Loved reading that it is common for retirees.

More:

I’m a 77 year old man. Certainly have way fewer erotic or even pleasant dreams. And, consistent with your article, my dreams consist mainly of work related (I’ve been retired quite awhile) and travel. I’m often lost,can’t find my car, missed trains and the like.  

And the answer to this seems to be "no":

Will the "Oh My GOD I forgot to attend class all year now I have a final and I will fail and never graduate" dreams ever end?

Never had them in college. Started after I graduated

A few people miss having flying dreams.  (I'm not alone in enjoying them, then):

At 84 sadly I never dream of flying ! I loved those dreams ! ....

I used to have flying dreams once in a while. Where are those dreams? They were great.

Weren't they! I'm the same age as you and flying used to be a recurring lovely dream that I too haven't had for over 20 years. I could levitate and soar through the air just by stretching my arms out and making gentle movements like one does treading water. People would watch in amazement, but it was so easy for me! 

 That sounds just like my flying dreams! I would soar about 10 or 15 feet above the ground ( never higher which is good as I am afraid of heights) and be moving slowly and gently, more like floating. But the sensation was so strongly felt in my body that when I awoke I would be thinking I really ought to be able to do this during the day. Loved those dreams and also haven’t had them for about a decade.

I haven't read of anyone who has had my recurrent "proof of flying" dreams - which I described way back in 2006.    Haven't had one of those for some time, though.