--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: REM sleep ushers you into a preposterous…" description: "\"“REM sleep ushers you into a preposterous theater wherein you are treated to a bizarre, highly associative carnival of autobiographical themes.”\" — Mat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/matthew-walker-9547_dreaming_rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous_1974882.jpg" --- # REM sleep ushers you into a preposterous theater wherein… ![“REM sleep ushers you into a preposterous theater wherein you are treated to a bizarre, highly associative carnival of autobiographical themes.” quote by Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/matthew-walker-9547_dreaming_rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous_1974882.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/matthew-walker-9547_dreaming_rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous_1974882.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/matthew-walker-9547_dreaming_rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous_1974882.jpg) > ““REM sleep ushers you into a preposterous theater wherein you are treated to a bizarre, highly associative carnival of autobiographical themes.”” [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. REM sleep creates vivid, associative mental scenes that blend personal memories in a surreal way. **In simple terms:** REM sleep produces strange, memory‑filled dreams. Key Takeaway Embrace sleep for mental processing. Themes sleep dreams memory Mood curious introspective Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - nighttime rest - dream journaling - mental health - creative problem solving Key Concepts neuroscience psychology creativity Questions to Reflect On - How do your dreams influence your waking life? - Can you use dream imagery for creative work? A Different Perspective Dreams can be unsettling and may disrupt sleep quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaming/) [Hallucinations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallucinations/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [Deep non-REM sleep almost hits the save button on those recently acquired informational pieces so that when you wake up the next morning, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/deep-non-rem-sleep-almost-hits-the-save-button-on-those-recently/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [My girlfriend says that I thrash throughout the night, for longer periods than are generally accepted as corresponding to REM sleep, and she often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-murray/my-girlfriend-says-that-i-thrash-throughout-the-night-for-longer/) [Keith Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-murray/) > [“Normally, it takes people about 60 to 90 minutes to reach REM sleep, so they wouldn’t enter this stage during a 20 minute nap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-flygare/normally-it-takes-people-about-60-to-90-minutes-to-reach-rem-sleep-so/) [Julie Flygare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-flygare/) > [So we go through in the beginning of the night, we go into the really deep stages of sleep and we actually cycle through.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/so-we-go-through-in-the-beginning-of-the-night-we-go-into-the-really/) [Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/) > [“health benefits of sleep come from the REM cycle, which do not happen throughout an eight-hour slumber. It only occurs a couple of hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rank/health-benefits-of-sleep-come-from-the-rem-cycle-which-do-not-happen/) [Michael Rank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rank/) > [When you're in the more deeper stages of sleep - REM sleep, your body is quiet, but your mind is actually very active. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/when-you-re-in-the-more-deeper-stages-of-sleep-rem-sleep-your-body-is/) [Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/) > [“Our REM sleep in 90-minute bursts, in a 24 hour cycle "digests" trauma that is experienced on a daily basis. In dreaming, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-f-solomon/our-rem-sleep-in-90-minute-bursts-in-a-24-hour-cycle-digests-trauma/) [Marion F. Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-f-solomon/) > [“Dreams are associated with a state called REM sleep, the abbreviation standing for rapid eye movement. The REM state is strongly correlated with sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/dreams-are-associated-with-a-state-called-rem-sleep-the-abbreviation/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [So when you're in REM sleep, your brain is very active, our body is quiet, but your brain is really processing a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/so-when-you-re-in-rem-sleep-your-brain-is-very-active-our-body-is/) [Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/) > [Early studies of sleep and dreaming were crucially dependent on waking subjects up during sleep to find out whether they are dreaming or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-churchland/early-studies-of-sleep-and-dreaming-were-crucially-dependent-on/) [Patricia Churchland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-churchland/) > [So you have Sleep Stage One, Two, and then Three/Four. One is a little bit lighter stage of the quiet, non-REM sleep and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/so-you-have-sleep-stage-one-two-and-then-three-four-one-is-a-little/) [Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/) > [Predictions are preposterous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-mason/predictions-are-preposterous/) [Jackie Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-mason/) > [Preposterous ass, that never read so far to know the cause why music was ordain'd! Was it not to refresh the mind of man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/preposterous-ass-that-never-read-so-far-to-know-the-cause-why-music/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Horror, let's face it, is basically pretty dumb. You're writing about events that are preposterous, and the trick is to dress them up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/horror-let-s-face-it-is-basically-pretty-dumb-you-re-writing-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Society never made the preposterous demand that a man should think as much about his own qualifications for making a charming girl happy as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/society-never-made-the-preposterous-demand-that-a-man-should-think-as/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More by Matthew Walker > [“Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubling your risk of cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/routinely-sleeping-less-than-six-or-seven-hours-a-night-demolishes/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [You're trying to sleep off a debt that you've lumbered your brain and body with during the week, and wouldn't it be lovely if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/you-re-trying-to-sleep-off-a-debt-that-you-ve-lumbered-your-brain-and/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.”VII”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/the-best-bridge-between-despair-and-hope-is-a-good-night-s-sleep-vii/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [I think we perhaps are, with sleep, where we were with smoking about 50 years ago, in that we had all of the science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/i-think-we-perhaps-are-with-sleep-where-we-were-with-smoking-about-50/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [It's simply that older adults don't seem to be able to generate sleep efficiently, and that's why they're not getting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/it-s-simply-that-older-adults-don-t-seem-to-be-able-to-generate-sleep/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [The time of night when you sleep makes a significant difference in terms of the structure and quality of your sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/the-time-of-night-when-you-sleep-makes-a-significant-difference-in/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [Do you tend to sleep in during the weekends? That usually signals that you're trying to sleep off a debt you've accumulated during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/do-you-tend-to-sleep-in-during-the-weekends-that-usually-signals-that/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [No one wants to give up time with their family or entertainment, so they give up sleep instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/no-one-wants-to-give-up-time-with-their-family-or-entertainment-so/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [If sleep does not provide a remarkable set of benefits, then it's the biggest mistake the evolutionary process has ever made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/if-sleep-does-not-provide-a-remarkable-set-of-benefits-then-it-s-the/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [Your subjective sense of how well you're doing under conditions of sleep deprivation is a miserable predictor of, objectively, how you actually are doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/your-subjective-sense-of-how-well-you-re-doing-under-conditions-of/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [If you were not to set an alarm clock, would you sleep past it? If the answer is yes, then there is clearly more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/if-you-were-not-to-set-an-alarm-clock-would-you-sleep-past-it-if-the/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [Friends say, 'Shall we go out to dinner at 8?' I say, 'I can't, I'm a 10 A.M.-till-6:30 P.M. kind of guy.' I keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/friends-say-shall-we-go-out-to-dinner-at-8-i-say-i-can-t-i-m-a-10-a-m/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [I give myself a non-negotiable eight-hour sleep opportunity every night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/i-give-myself-a-non-negotiable-eight-hour-sleep-opportunity-every/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [We know that efficiency and effectiveness are increased when you're getting sufficient sleep, and it will take you longer to do the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/we-know-that-efficiency-and-effectiveness-are-increased-when-you-re/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [As you try to tweak your sleep one way or the other, you might be, you might be doing great - you might do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/as-you-try-to-tweak-your-sleep-one-way-or-the-other-you-might-be-you/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) [Explore all 72 Matthew Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) ## More Dreaming quotes > [When I am creating art, I have absolutely no social responsibility. It's like dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cronenberg/when-i-am-creating-art-i-have-absolutely-no-social-responsibility-it/) [David Cronenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cronenberg/) > [He's the first thing I think of when I wake up. the only thing I think of when Im awake. and the last thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/treasure-2/he-s-the-first-thing-i-think-of-when-i-wake-up-the-only-thing-i-think/) Treasure^^ > [U R D 1st Thing I Think About Wen I Wake Up Just Thinking Of U Put D Biggest Smiles On My Face Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhatsprincess/u-r-d-1st-thing-i-think-about-wen-i-wake-up-just-thinking-of-u-put-d/) ZhatsPrincess > [The important part of dreaming is what you do when you wake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dal-lamagna/the-important-part-of-dreaming-is-what-you-do-when-you-wake-up/) Dal LaMagna > [Courageous dreaming allows you to create from the source, the quantum soup of the universe where everything exists in a latent or potential state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-villoldo/courageous-dreaming-allows-you-to-create-from-the-source-the-quantum/) [Alberto Villoldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-villoldo/) > [I went to sleep dreaming of Malawi, and all the things made possible when your dreams are powered by your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kamkwamba/i-went-to-sleep-dreaming-of-malawi-and-all-the-things-made-possible/) [William Kamkwamba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kamkwamba/) > [“Her silent singing wrapped around the story she was telling herself, which she extended further every night on the deck. (Averill often told herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/her-silent-singing-wrapped-around-the-story-she-was-telling-herself/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“Dreams are part of our human survival kit, part of what has kept us going, and evolving on this planet. Across history most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/dreams-are-part-of-our-human-survival-kit-part-of-what-has-kept-us/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Sometimes I close my eyes; sometimes I let my hunger rise. I think of all you are - you are the love of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/sometimes-i-close-my-eyes-sometimes-i-let-my-hunger-rise-i-think-of/) [Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/) > [Dreaming by the river, I dedicated my imagination to water, to clear, green water, the water that makes the meadows green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/dreaming-by-the-river-i-dedicated-my-imagination-to-water-to-clear/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“I had a dream about you last night... you kept meowing at people and licking yourself it was not unlike you normally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-mckay/i-had-a-dream-about-you-last-night-you-kept-meowing-at-people-and/) [Nicole McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-mckay/) > [If I go to sleep with you on my mind, will I wake up in your arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taty-the-great/if-i-go-to-sleep-with-you-on-my-mind-will-i-wake-up-in-your-arms/) Taty The Great > [Be bold in your caring, and be bold in your dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/be-bold-in-your-caring-and-be-bold-in-your-dreaming/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [Of course when I started, it's not because I was such a brilliant actress. I didn't know I was good. I thought I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-bouquet/of-course-when-i-started-it-s-not-because-i-was-such-a-brilliant/) [Carole Bouquet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-bouquet/) > [While sleep is clearly vital to emotional well-being, what is it, exactly, about sleep that is so necessary? As it turns out, mood disorders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/while-sleep-is-clearly-vital-to-emotional-well-being-what-is-it/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) [Browse all 1,667 Dreaming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“REM sleep ushers you into a preposterous theater wherein you are treated to a bizarre, highly associative carnival of autobiographical themes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthew Walker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous-theater-wherein-you-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreaming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous-theater-wherein-you-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/matthew-walker-9547_dreaming_rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous_1974882.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/matthew-walker-9547_dreaming_rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous_1974882.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/matthew-walker-9547_dreaming_rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous_1974882.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“REM sleep ushers you into a preposterous theater wherein you are treated to a bizarre, highly associative…” — Matthew Walker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Matthew Walker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“REM sleep ushers you into a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous-theater-wherein-you-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/rem-sleep-ushers-you-into-a-preposterous-theater-wherein-you-are/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```