Dreams: Why do we have them and what do they mean?

By: Ariana Marquez

Everybody in the world has been known to have both good, and bad dreams whenever they decide to sleep in any place they find comfortable. But it is hard to tell why we have dreams in the first place, and how they come to life in our minds.

Mr. Woodbury, a Biology teacher at Redwood High School says, “I think the reason why humans dream is to consolidate memories, kind of like when you have to re-start your computer to install updates. Dreams occur during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep, so any creature that does REM during sleep is probably capable of dreaming.”

He continues with, “Memory consolidation is beneficial because it aids in the neuroplasticity of your brain. Basically, sleep helps in building new neural pathways (brain cells communicating with other brain cells) in order to make a memory more stable and accessible. Dreams can also challenge your mind if you dream about difficult situations where you have to make a decision. A lot of the time those situations (and your decisions) in dreams are irrational, but it’s good practice for ‘just-in-case’ situations.”

He adds, “I’ve read somewhere that ‘dreams serve the purpose of allowing for the rehearsal of threatening scenarios in order to better prepare an individual for real-life threats.’ A lot of times I’ll have dreams about school/work and think to myself, ‘Huh, that was weird. What would I actually do if a situation like this happens?,’ and then I gain insight when I think about it in a more rational state of mind. Dreams are like roller coasters- I’m just there for the ride.”

He also says, “It could be harmful to your mental health if you constantly have nightmares. Or it could be bad if you interpret your dreams literally and act on it. For example: I had a dream where I got rich by stealing people’s wallets, and I didn’t get in trouble in my dream.”

He continues with, “I think dreams are generally random, but they can be influenced by stress or something that’s on your mind. I frequently had dreams in college where I’d show up to a class I’ve never been to before (because I forgot I was enrolled in that class) and we’d have a final. Or I’d have dreams where I was unprepared for situations, like missing my alarm and showing up late, or showing up and having forgot to bring something important.”

He concludes with, “I have heard about lucid dreaming where people can train themselves to control their dreams without waking up. It’s pretty hard to do, but it sounds like it might be fun to try.”

Redwood student, Megan Yang, ’24 says, “I think humans dream because it’s our subconscious trying to tell us something. What I mean by that is, maybe deep down we know something about ourselves that we haven’t said out loud yet, so we dream it instead. I also think we dream about things we think of throughout the day. Usually, the last thing on my mind before I sleep makes an appearance in one of my dreams. So, I think dreaming is based on what we think about.”

She adds, “I think dreaming is supposed to benefit our minds. Sleeping should be relaxing and a way to get away from the reality of things. When we’re dreaming, it could be like an escape to our own ‘little world’ that we create. We don’t exactly control our dreams though, so I could see how that would be challenging to our minds.”

She also says, “I think being able to dream, whether it’s good or bad, is healthy. Sometimes when I don’t have a dream, I feel kind of off in a way because it feels like I’m missing something before I start my day. Bad dreams could also show that there’s something wrong in your life that you need to fix or something that’s unresolved. To me, it’s cool to think that in some way dreams are telling us the things we need to realize.”

She finishes with, ” I think dreams are motivated by what we think about the most. If I’m thinking about school or homework before I sleep, most of the time that will pop up in my dream. I don’t think dreams are planned out ahead of time because there’s no knowing what you’re going to be thinking about throughout the day.”

An interview by healthessentials with Michelle Dreup, a doctor of Psychology says, “The prevailing theory is that dreaming helps us consolidate and analyze our memories (like skills and habits) and helps us with priming (our ability to respond in a certain way).” But she also says, “some experts disagree. And don’t yet have detailed knowledge about how this happens.”

While being interviewed by Piedmont Healthcare, Jennifer Butler, a Sleep Medicine Physician and Pulmonologist says, “Based on the work of Harvard University psychiatrists, this theory suggests dreams occur when there is stimulation in the brain that brings thoughts to our awareness, ‘Activation-synthesis hypothesis suggests dreams are caused by brainstem activation during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and stimulation of the limbic system (emotional motor system).'”

Tags: Ariana Marquez, clubs & lifestyles, dreams, research, science