Dreaming Occurs: Modern Research And Theories On Dreams

Dreaming is yet another state of consciousness. A dream is simply an unfolding episode of mental images that involve characters and events. Dreams usually tend to occur during REM sleep but can occur during NREM sleep as well. We dream on a variety of topics, subjects, and individuals. No dream can be exactly interpreted or defined, therefore people have always been fascinated with what, why, and how we dream. An unpleasant and almost terrifying type of dream is a nightmare. This is a very vivid, almost real

We spend six years of our lives in sleep and many of us do not think about what occurs while asleep. Everyone has experienced more than a few dreams while asleep, that is because, whether you know it or not, everyone dreams while asleep. Based off the Activation Information Mode Model theory, dreams are random neurological firings that have no particular meaning. The reason dreams feel so real and personal is because they are based from recent memories located in the brainstem. Although dreams are meaningless, our brain tries to make connections. Through the Activation Information Mode model people are able to analysis personal dreams.

To many people, dreams are the thoughts that occur while sleeping, having almost mystic qualities. For millennia the significance of dreams has escaped even the brightest of philosophers and intellectuals. Many people have speculated about why people dream and what meanings the dreams have but in recent times two theories have gained credibility in answering those questions. The first theory is Sigmund Freuds and the other is known as the cognitive theory of dreams also known as biological determinism.

Both Freud and Jung provided important and interesting theories on dreams; encompassing their functions, their roots, and their meanings. Freud looked at dreams as a result of repressed memories, particularly repressed sexual memories from our childhood. Jung however, believed that dreams delved beyond sexual repression during younger years, to other problems, be it trauma, anxiety etc. Jung also believed dreams changed predominately through middle adult years, while Freud believed the opposite. There is little empirical evidence to reinforce either Freud or Jung’s theories, however, their contributions to the study of dreams in psychology cannot be lessened or denied.

Dreams are a very ponderous things. Simply saying, dreams are a stream of images, sounds, and

Thesis Statement: Dreams are successions of images, emotions, and sensations that occur subconsciously during sleep.

Dream psychology helps to piece together someone's life by using the symbols they create involuntarily. The dreams reflect parts of your unconscious life created by your imagination. Dreams are considered to be one of the extreme parts of your conscious experiments within your

Normally, dreams occur in the REM stage of sleep, but they can occur in the fourth stage of sleep. Although little is truly known about dreams, because we can only rely on the dreamer, there are three main theories that try to explain dreams. These theories are Freud’s psycho dynamic theory, the cognitive theory, and the activation-stimulation theory.

So what are dreams exactly? Dreams are a universal human experience that can be described as a state of consciousness characterized by sensory, cognitive and emotional occurrences during sleep. The dreamer has reduced control over the content, visual images

They tend to trigger a forgotten memory that makes it seem like it is telling the future but it is actually just connecting the dots that the dreamer did not completely remember. Scientists have not been able to find a real reason as to why we lose so much of our memory regarding our dreams within five minutes. Five minutes after one dream around fifty percent of the memory of the dream is gone and ten minutes after the dream a little under one hundred percent is gone (Nichols 1). Belief about dreams are not only a current generational conception, there has also been traces found in the Bible. God uses many different strategies to reveal direction or signs to His children, dreaming is just another avenue He can use to show something. In the Bible there were several stories explaining how God gave prophets or disciples dreams to advise them to do or not to do something that may be approaching them in their future. The prophets that were open to God and His knowledge were those who most often had dreams to lead them, so much of history was provided and threaded through dreams to prophecy. Dreams can relate quite a bit to what and how Christians are meant to listen and hear from God. The dream "realm" or life can be a way of learning from God and His plan for us. Interpreting or explaining dreams are very similar to not being able to explain or express our ideas or feelings. It is and always

By definition dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occurs involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. When we dream many there are many different events, people and even animals involved. Although this may seem that we are dreaming we are actually in REM sleep. REM sleep is “a kind of sleep that occurs at intervals during the night and is characterized by rapid eye movements, more dreaming and bodily movement, and faster pulse and breathing.” This is why all these extraordinary events happen to us when we are dreaming because we are in a REM sleep.

Neurologically, dreaming is the proto conscious state that occurs during Slow Wave Sleep and REM sleep. Dreams are related to reorganizing and recoding memories in connection to emotional drives as well as transferring memories between brain regions. Episodic memories are stored in the hippocampus which is specialized for long-term memory that learns quickly. At night, memories from the hippocampus are transferred into the cerebral cortex, the region of the brain specialized for information processing, cognition, and knowledge. There are numerous studies done on why we dream and different theories conducted by psychologists.

Everyone dreams even if they don’t remember dreaming the next day. Dreams can be disturbing, delightful or bizarre. According to Merriam Webster dreams are a series of thoughts, images or emotions occurring during sleep. A simpler definition of dreams is stories and images our mind creates while we sleep. Dreams can make you feel different types of emotions like happy, sad, angry, or scared. They can also be vivid. The brain is more active during REM(rapid eye movement) sleep, that is when most vivid dreams occur. No one has figured out why we dream but, there are many theories. Researchers say many things about dreams some saya that they have no purpose or meaning while, others say they are necessary for mental , emotional and physical health.

Dreams have been around as long as the first civilization came to be and have been a normal part of human existence. One third of your life is spent sleeping, and of that third, on average you will have spent a total of about six years of it dreaming. Most people dream on average two hours every night, but you can have anywhere from four to seven dreams in one night. According to research, the most common setting for a dream is in your own house. In our dreams we can do anything we want and be whoever we want to be. Our dreams are an escape from reality. While we dream we are unable to control our actions and choose our surroundings. We let our minds take over. Sometimes dreams can be understood in the context of repressed thoughts. Dreaming serves as an outlet for those thoughts and impulses we repress during the day. When we go to sleep at night and slip into our dream state, we feel liberated and behave in a manner that we do not allow ourselves to in our everyday life. Visions and ides can come from your dreams. Often, authors, screenwriters, and even poets turn to their dreams for inspiration. The think quest oracle library goes on to tell about the most well-known of the modern dream

Many psychologists have developed theories as to why we dream. Sigmund Freud, neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis, believed dreams were the manifestation of repressed desires. During the time, it was being widely accepted that dreams helped “illustrate the relationship of the dynamic unconscious to consciousness” (Blum, n.p.). Other psychologists also believed in the relationship between the unconscious and conscious mind. For example, Carl Jung believed “dreams were a way to gain knowledge into the subconscious mind” (Smith, n.p.). Jung developed the theory of collective unconscious. This theory was based on the idea that the collective unconscious was shared between all humans, and therefore also the source of all