Sleep and dreams
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/06d1a8ef-c973-489d-a192-17a5b2d2b801/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Sleep and dreams
idea
What dream characters reveal about the astonishing dreaming brain
Such stuff as dreams are made on: the characters who populate your dreams have their own minds, separate from yours
by Antonio Zadra
![Silhouette of an adult and two children by a body of water during twilight, with one child on the adult’s shoulders.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/e61d2244-8243-4d1d-8888-909f35a13657/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Drugs and psychedelics
idea
To learn from a psychedelic trip, explore the dreams that follow
Psychedelic experiences, properly digested, offer opportunities for change – and the dreams that follow them can help
by Mackenzie Amara
![Person’s legs visible sticking out of the boot of a yellow car parked near a green car. Vehicles are in a parking area with other cars nearby.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/96c699f5-0af0-48a1-9904-68e7187020c1/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Sleep and dreams
guide
How to nap
Whether it’s to recover after a late night or to boost your learning abilities, there’s a science to napping effectively
by Ruth Leong & Michael Chee
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/8714826b-21bc-4c9c-8be9-f794842e5370/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Values and beliefs
film
A sacred dream sends one man on the perilous trail of toxic honey in Nepal
Directed by Ben Knight
![Silhouette of a person inside a car with a rain-covered window, displaying blurry city lights outside.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/399bd19d-b4cb-4efc-8646-35b22d504d8d/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Change and self-development
idea
Personal transformation can start with a whisper, not a bang
To understand personal transformation, we should listen to the incessant whispers in our stream of consciousness
by Jennifer Windt
![Aerial view of a city with prominent castle in foreground, numerous buildings, and distant hills shrouded in mist under an overcast sky.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/a83e186a-8cee-4afb-9572-872e72616bda/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Sleep and dreams
idea
Five ways to take control of your dreams
Lucid dreaming lets you shape your dreamscape, whether your aims are practical or fantastical. These tips can get you started
by Christian Jarrett
![A painting of a person in green and a white cat sitting at a round table with a plate of fish and some flowers, set against a reddish background.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/a32f0e54-48bb-4926-a7f5-5cc6c2b3e19a/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Sleep and dreams
guide
How to embrace being a lark or an owl
Skip the advice about training yourself to rise early or burn the midnight oil. Your natural rhythms are your best guide
by Shayla Love
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/18385b37-90e7-450e-a930-f22e72d51c40/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Sleep and dreams
film
From landscape to dreamscape, using the medium of Hawaiian lava
Directed by Kurtis Hough
![A close-up of hands holding papers with handwritten notes, coin purses, and a pen, set on a wooden surface with grass in the background.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/b8c1f734-b7ea-44a2-93f8-fbc0dfa94857/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Sports and games
idea
For players of fafi, dream interpretation is a vital skill
The fafi lottery game in South Africa requires the careful interpretation of dreams and the waking world around you
by Brittany Birberick
![A family are drawn on the left hand page of an open copy of Freud’s book the Interpretation of dreams. On the right hand page is a drawing of ananaconda](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/8d94f3f9-e72f-414d-9856-956f93266c7d/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Sleep and dreams
idea
The reason we dream might be to bring us closer together
Research has tended to focus on what dreams do for us when we’re sleeping – but what if the benefits play out the next day?
by Mark Blagrove
![Seen through the windscreen a large bear is crossing a country road at night caught in the headlights of a car](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/935fe369-e20b-4611-98b5-318c9822a86a/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Sleep problems
guide
How to calm your nightmares
Whether bad dreams stir you awake occasionally or routinely, these pre- and post-nightmare strategies can help alleviate them
by Katy Jakle
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/74d1c9a0-a2dc-4763-8e1b-cd91b8c7d63a/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Altered states
film
A surreal ode to the wee hours when daily anxieties meet sleepless dreams
Directed by Christine Hooper