Lifting the lid on dreaming

Why do we dream?

Being chased, appearing naked in public, flying, falling… we’ve likely all experienced at least one of these common dreams - and maybe even more than once. But why do we dream, what do our dreams mean and is it even possible to control them? We delve into this fascinating topic to uncover what’s going on when your brain’s getting busy while your body’s getting rest.

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First off, what even is a dream?

Put simply, it’s a succession of images, ideas, emotions and sensations that occur involuntarily while you sleep. Kind of like your own movie. They can be really intense or they can be vague, confusing or mundane. Some dreams make you feel happy, others sad. Sometimes they have a really clear story from beginning to end, but often they make no sense whatsoever. One thing’s for sure, they’ve fascinated, enthralled and puzzled humanity since forever.

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So what’s actually going on when I'm dreaming? Give me the science of dreams

Most dreaming occurs in the Rapid Eye Movement - or REM - stage of sleep which we cycle through periodically during the night. Throughout this period, increased blood flow to the visual cortex in the back of your brain increases activity, your eyes move rapidly behind your closed eyes and you have a temporary loss of muscle tone. Although you can dream in non-REM sleep, you’re likely to have more vivid dreams during REM. In fact, sleep studies show our brain waves are almost as active during this time as when we’re awake.

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I see, but why do we even dream in the first place? What’s the point?

There are many theories about why we dream, and although no-one knows for sure, it’s commonly believed dreams play an important role in consolidating and anaylsing memories, like skills and habits. It’s also thought that dreams help us process, manage and regulate our emotions, replaying things from the day to help us remember, solve – or forget them.

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What is a lucid dream?
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Sometimes when I’m dreaming, I have the odd sensation that I ‘know’ I’m dreaming. How come?

That's called lucid dreaming. It’s a brain state between REM sleep and being awake where you’re aware you’re dreaming - conscious that the events flashing through your brain aren’t really happening - but the dream feels vivid and real. While around half of people recall having had at least one lucid dream in their lifetime, it’s fairly rare. You might well have a bigger prefrontal cortex.

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A bigger what?

That’s the site in the brain that’s responsible for high-level tasks like making decisions and recalling memories. It’s been found that the prefrontal cortex is bigger in people who experience lucid dreams, and that those people are also more likely to be creative types. Some lucid dreamers are even able to influence, change or control the content of their dreams.

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Whoa. That feels like it’d help during a scary dream. What causes nightmares?

No-one’s certain exactly why stressful content ends up in our dreams, but research indicates a strong connection to anxiety. Scary or unsettling dreams may be the brain's attempt to help us cope with and make sense of stressful experiences. If you have a certain nightmare over and over again, your subconscious may be trying to tell you something.

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I do sometimes have recurring dreams, actually…

That’s very common, particularly if in your waking hours, you are constantly thinking about a particular situation. But solutions to problems can often be found in dreams. It’s a good idea to keep a dream journal, like the one in Sleepwave, to help you record and reflect on your dreams, and to spot recurring patterns.

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I’ve read all sorts of theories about the meaning of dreams. Like, if I dream my teeth fall out I’m about to lose lots of money. How can I interpret my dreams?

While dream dictionaries love to theorise, the reason behind your dream really is unique to you. Dream journaling can be really useful here. Write your dreams in a diary - or note them down using Sleepwave (you can even dictate using the microphone function) and take time to reflect on them. Ask yourself what you saw, what you heard. Who was with you, how you felt. Look for images and symbols and see if any stand out or reoccur. These might be things that have personal meaning to you. Try to look at your dream from different perspectives, or share them with someone else; doing all these things can give useful insights. 

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Sometimes I can’t remember my dreams. Why is that?

It’s said we forget 90% of our dreams 10 minutes after they end. Sleep experts don't know for sure why some dreams are easily forgotten. Some say it might be because if we remembered them all we might not be able to distinguish them from real memories. But there’s also a theory that they’re not actually forgotten, they’re just laying in wait for our memories to recall them later.

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What is a dream journal used for?

Sleepwave’s dream journal feature helps you keep track of your dreams.

Write or use the microphone to dictate your dreams from the night before and choose different labels to describe the type of dream you had.

Dreams are thought to be capable of revealing our true emotions and, by using Sleepwave’s dream journal daily, you can reflect on them and notice any patterns.

Our new dream journal feature is now available on iOS and will be coming to Android soon.

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Try the new Dream Journal feature on Sleepwave now

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