Dream: Noun 1. A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep.
Have you ever wondered about the things you see and hear while you are asleep? Or what they even mean and how they occur? Then you clicked on the right source! This website gives details on numerous aspects of your dreams with information coming from multiple different credible sources.
Why Dream?:
There are multiple theories as to why we dream. Some include: dreams act as therapy, help us get creative, help you practice dealing with threats, and declutters the brain.
Dreams can act as a therapy because they force you to deal with emotional circumstances in a safe environment. "When you face an emotional issue in a dream, your brain makes connections that it most likely would not otherwise make, and that may help you look at a situation in a different light or understand something new about yourself. It may also help you get to the root of whatever may be causing you to feel anger, fear, or envy," states Sleep.org.
Dreams can also help you think in imaginative ways which can help you think of a creative idea or amazing play/move for a sport. This is why some athletes or musicians give credit to their dreams, because their dreams literally gave them the idea.
Your "fight-or-flight" reflex is also practiced when you're dreaming. According to Sleep.org, this reflex "fires at a more rapid pace during REM sleep (the stage of sleep where most dreams occur) than it does during waking hours. And it fires in a way that replicates what would happen if your life were threatened."
Lastly, dreaming helps to declutter the brain. Sleep.org explains, "Dreaming allows your brain to reshuffle everything that it's remembered, keep the important connections that it has made, and get rid of the useless ones."
Citations: Stephanie. “Dreams.” Counselling In Hamilton, 26 Feb. 2016. “Why Do We Dream?” Sleep.org, National Sleep Foundation, sleep.org/articles/dream/.