How Long Do You Dream At Night?

Question

There are nights when it seems like you have dreamed for hours; maybe even the whole night. But I have heard that you only dream for just minutes at night. Anyone know anything about this? Thanks!

Answer 1

I remember reading somewhere that you dream for a few minutes each night.  Dreaming usually only occurs in REM sleep which is the shortest and last part of the sleep cycle.  So if you sleep for a short time, or really long time, chances are that you will miss out on the dreaming cycle.