Dreaming is a normal and routine part of sleeping, though not everyone recalls their dreams when waking up.  Although we all dream, no one is quite certain of why our minds perform this function.  There have, however, been a number oftheories surrounding this phenomenon. 

 

Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams

 Back in the early 1900s, Sigmund Freud developed a theory about why humans dream.  According to Freud, dreams were symbolic representations of the desires that we hold within our subconscious minds.  Following this theory, Freud used dream interpretation in order to try to uncover the desires of his patients. 

 

Getting Organized as You Sleep 

As scientific understanding of how the human mind works has improved, many have come to believe that dreaming is the mind’s way of organizing its thoughts.  Many scientists also believe that dreaming helps the mind to work through recent experiences or memories in order to help reach a greater understanding of them.

 

Keeping Out of Danger Through Dreams

Another hypothesis surrounding the purpose of dreaming is a matter of survival.  According to this theory, animals that dream do so in order to help them avoid being in danger when they are awake.  In essence, the animal plays out different scenarios as it sleeps in order to determine how to best deal with that situation if it were to occur in real life. 

 

Boiling it All Down to Science

According to the activation synthesis theory, dreaming doesn’t hold any deep underlying meaning.  Rather, the dreams are simply caused by neurons that randomly fire on the cerebral cortex when a person is in the REM stage of sleep.  In order to try to make sense of the information it receives, the forebrain creates a story based on the information it receives.  This theory attempts to explain the reason for the odd events that often take place in dreams.

 

Revisiting Your Day with Dreams

Yet others believe that dreaming while not in the REM stage of sleep is the brain’s way of processing the events that took place during the day.  This theory attempts to explain why epileptics go into a stage that is similar to the REM stage when they have serious relapses, yet they cannot remember what happened to them during the few hours before the relapse occurs.

Regardless of the reason for dreams, having them is often an enjoyable part of the sleeping process.  One fun and interesting thing to do is to keep a pad of paper and pencil near to your bed each night.  Then, if you wake up during the night after having a dream, write down all of the details that you recall.  Reading about your dreams the next day and for months to come can be an intriguing and fun experience. If possible, find someone else to follow this same practice and then share your dreams with each other after you have had them, it will sure to help start a very interesting conversation.