Imagine coming home from a long night of work. You haven't slept well lately, so you practically collapse into bed. In an instant, the world was transformed into one of wonder and magic. Suddenly the sky darkens and your worst fears, snakes, spiders, injured loved ones, start to appear right in front of you. You sit up in bed and scream. As you calm down, you realize it was just a nightmare. This phenomenon happens to many people every night. In fact, it is one of the most common sleep phenomena. These visions, these dreams, appear to everyone every time they sleep, but few people understand the science of their sleep and the meaning of their dreams. Webster's Dictionary defines sleep as "the natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored." .” Brynie writes that the human body is controlled by a cycle known as the circadian clock. It corresponds to a twenty-four hour day and coordinates all the biological activities of a lifetime (74-75). The sleep cycle is one of the most complex biological cycles the body goes through. This goes through five stages. Stages one through four last approximately seventy minutes (Brynie 14). In the first stage, the senses begin to shut down (Kallen 14) and the brain begins to “send slow amplitude signals.” A person's eyes are always moving and any disturbance will startle the sleeper. (Brynie 12). During the second stage of sleep, “brain waves slow down and become theta waves,” which cycle 4 to 8 times per second. The sleeper at this stage is still easily startled. (Brynie 12). In the third stage, the sleeper begins to become more difficult to wake up. Delta rhythms occur. (Byrnie 13). In the fourth stage, the delta waves take over entirely and the sleeper is at the deepest......middle of paper......characterized by very distinct waves. These waves also reflect actions in the dream. Climbing a ladder or staircase is reflected in sharp vertical waves, and walking across plains is characterized by long-wavelength, low-amplitude waves (Kallen 24). Researchers believe that dreams have a very distinct purpose. They are necessary for the brain’s “housekeeping” process. It is through dreams that researchers believe the brain sorts, eliminates and stores memories. Experts say that it is not harmful to remember some dreams, but the majority of dreams are often forgotten in the morning (Byrnie 16). In fact, these vividly remembered images sparked an incredible folklore about dreams. There are three dominant beliefs about dreams in popular culture. Most dreams seen in today's stories are depicted as telepathic, prophetic, or inspirational..