Flying Dreams...

Aren't they great! We only recall our dreams when we awaken during them and the experience of flying during sleep is a guaranteed awakener. In the flying dreams we are most likely to be flying away from danger, flying to make new discovery or flying to demonstrate new skill. If you appreciate a good flying dream then you may be interested to learn how they may relate to our health, fitness and well being.

So why do we have flying dreams and what do they mean?

It is quite possible that our action and limitation of flight is reflective of our personality, behavior and psychological patterns. The way we fly in our dreams varies between individuals but individuals usually exhibit a consistent method of dream flight.

I have collected examples of flying dreams and their limitations; they are
as follows.
a) superman style: horizontal position, arms straight out with subtle shoulder and hip twisting for guidance. The limitation of this style is poor vision. The arms tend to block the view of the flyer and can cause frustration in the dream experience.

b) breast stroke style: as in breast stroke swimming but using the hands position for guidance at the beginning of each stroke. The limitation of this stroke is fatigue. It involves constant stroke to maintain height.

A world champion butterfly swimmer has claimed that his style of dream flight is his butterfly stroke. Like the breaststroke style, his flight limitation is fatigue. Since movement through air is just a dynamic of another medium, the type of dream flight may also be likened to our most confident response to water.

The limitations of your dream flight and its relationship to your psychological limitations are open to interpretation. However, in optimizing your personal fitness training, mental and physical well being we should not under estimate the power of our dreams. A dream study conducted on athletes reported that those who dream about competition and success have faster personal best times(1).

If you are able to contribute another style of dreaming flight I would be
interested to hear from you, so please drop me an email. tahnee@healthfitness.com.au .

Whatever the flying dream, the timing of the dream is likely to signify mental recovery and the realization of a learning experience. They usually follow episodes of depression or intense periods in your life. Even when the dream flight is to escape danger it shows that your psychological state is on the way up, you have found a solution and you are dealing with a change in yourself or a change in your life!. It is all good!

Stay tuned for a follow up article on information relating your dream content to your brain chemistry ... 'If you dream for long enough it will eventually turn bad.'

By Tahnee Kinsman
Sleep Researcher
Australian Institute of Sport