Sweet dreams (or nightmares) are made of this - New research puts previous theory to rest:
Bottom Line: My example for conventional wisdom that often isn't wise (brought to you by science) is the egg. You know how seemingly every few years the egg goes from being generally beneficial for you to something that's net negative? It's always fascinating to me how science, which is responsible for incredible advances in technology and health, can find out after decades of conventional wisdom - that they were wrong. That appears as though it may well be the case with regard to REM sleep and the relationship to the "dream-state".
According to the latest research published in the journal "Nature Neuroscience", dreams occur in a part of the brain they call the "hot zone". The hot zone is located on the backside of the brain and doesn't require REM sleep to replicate patterns of activity that are related to dreaming. This might actually suggest that if you don't generally remember dreams you be actually be getting more REM sleep than not. If you do remember your dreams commonly - you might not be getting near as much REM sleep as others. This is potentially represents a near 180 of previous scientific thought.