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Life

Reality check: Why dreams aren't what they seem

By Anil Ananthaswamy

10 August 2011

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

The body of your dreams

(Image: Henrik Sorenson/Getty)

The able-bodied dreams of people with a variety of disabilities challenge the theory that dreams are mere echoes of your day

“WE HAD to flee. After a frantic race I started walking, carrying my daughter in my arms…” No matter how exciting to the dreamer, listening to people recount their dreams is notoriously dull. But reports such as this one, from someone who was born paralysed from the waist down, are perhaps more interesting.

This is because a flurry of recent dream studies in people with disabilities are challenging our understanding of…

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