Why Do We Dream?

 

Introduction 

Do you ever remember your dreams?  Are they scary, frustrating, uplifting, boring or just plain confusing?  Do you dream in color or black and white?  Why can’t we remember most of our dreams? 

 

What are Dreams? 

Dreams are images, thoughts and feelings that occur during sleep.  They can involve all of the senses, but visual imagery is the most common.  Some dream in color while others dream in black and white. (I do both.)  

 

Dreams can be as diverse as the dreamers themselves, but some common characteristics include the following: 

• It has a first-person perspective. 
• It is involuntary. 
• The content may be illogical or incoherent. 
• The content includes other people who interact with the dreamer and one another. 
• It provokes strong emotions. 
• Elements of waking life are incorporated into the content. 

Why Do We Dream? 

Nobody knows for sure why we dream, but below are some theories from Sleep Foundation's article on Dreams: 

• Building memory 
• Processing emotion 
• Mental housekeeping 
• Instant replay 
• Incidental brain activity (no purpose) 

Facts on Dreams 

Some fast facts on dreams from What does it mean when we dream?: 

• We may not remember dreaming, but everyone is thought to dream between 3 and 6 times per night (about 2 hours on average). 
• It is thought that each dream lasts between 5 to 20 minutes. 
• Around 95 percent of dreams are forgotten by the time a person gets out of bed. 
• Dreaming can help you learn and develop long-term memories. 
• Blind people dream more with other sensory components compared with sighted people. 
• Younger people are more likely to dream in color. 

Types of Dreams 

Nightmares are distressing dreams that often leave the dreamer feeling fear and anxiety.  They can be caused by the following: 

• Stress 
• Fear 
• Trauma 
• Emotional difficulties 
• Illness 
• Use of certain medications or drugs 

Lucid dreaming is when the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming. They may even have some control over the dream. 

 

Vivid dreams are dreams that are especially realistic or clear. 

 

Dream Lag is when recent images, people and experiences appear in our dreams. Interestingly, the more we try to suppress a thought, the more likely it is to appear in our dreams. 

 

Forgetting Dreams 

Some people rarely remember their dreams even though most people over the age of 10 years dream.  I have no doubt most of my dreams are totally forgettable (even the ones I remember are forgettable).  But it’s frustrating when I try to remember a dream and it slips through my fingers before I can lock it down.   

 

It's said that 5 minutes after a dream, we have forgotten 50% of its content.  This increases to 90% in another 5 minutes.  Most dreams are totally forgotten by the time we wake up.  It isn't precisely known why dreams are so hard to remember. 

 

Some people remember dreams better than others. Below are some tips to help recall your dreams (if you're interested): 

• Reminding yourself at bedtime that remembering your dreams is a priority. 
• Waking up naturally and not with an alarm. 
• Focusing on the dream as much as possible upon waking. 
• Writing down as much about the dream as possible upon waking. 
• Making recording dreams a routine.  

What Do Dreams Mean? 

According to 9 Common Dreams and What They Mean, researchers have found the 7 most common dreams involve being attacked or chased, being late, loved ones dying, falling, flying, school and sex.   

 

What dreams mean is open to interpretation, but below are some popular theories: 

• Falling dreams are a sign that something in your life isn't going well. 
• Dreams about being naked in public might indicate you feel like a phony or you're afraid of revealing your shortcomings. 
• Dreams about being chased means you are trying to avoid something in your daily life. 
• Dreams about losing teeth means you are worried about your attractiveness or appearance. 
• Dreams about dying reflect anxiety about change or a fear of the unknown. 
• Dreams about taking a test might reveal a fear of failure. 
• Dreams about infidelity indicates issues with trust, loyalty and communication in a relationship. 
• Dreams about flying can represent feelings of freedom and independence or a desire to flee or escape from the realities of life. 
• Dreams about pregnancy represent fear of being an inadequate mother. 

Personal Experience 

I've always been fascinated by dreams.  Even if most of the ones I remember just leave me frustrated.  I never seem to find the person or place or thing I'm looking for (usually a bathroom) before I wake up.   

 

Still, I get a feeling of satisfaction when I can trace back something in my dream to something I did or thought about in the recent past.  I also love the way everything is so fluid in a dream.  Anything goes.   People (myself included) can change from one person to another, or the setting can go from one place to another, all in the blink of an eye.  I'm in a house talking to a relative, then I'm outside, only it isn't me anymore... 

 

I especially love it when relatives I've lost visit me in my dreams.  (This is quite common in older people.)  We're always younger, before age has taken its toll.  We’re most likely doing something totally mundane.  But some part of me knows that there's something precious about this brief interaction.  I want to hang on to it.  Even though deep down, I know I can't. 

 

That’s okay.  Maybe I’ll see them in the next dream. 

 

What do you dream about?