Shamans use them to diagnose illness. Others use them to predict the future. Some believe they are a way of allowing us to receive messages from those long departed. Still others believe they have no purpose at all. However, everyone sleeps - and everyone dreams. The interpretation of your dreams is up to you.

Let us first understand the mechanisms of dreams. We know from sleep researchers that the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) phase is the mentally active period when dreaming occurs. REM, first discovered in 1953, is an active period of sleep marked by intense brain activity and rapid bursts of eye movement. Prior to the 1950s, most researchers thought of sleep as the body's dormant period, with little physiological activity. Later, studies came to show that sleep was a state of constant change, with blood pressure, heart rate and other bodily functions rising and falling in a pattern during the sleep episode. Scientists came to discover that there are regular periods of REM accompanied by rapidly changing brain waves, alternating with periods of deep, quiet, sleep marked by large, slow brain waves. The sleep state is fundamentally different from waking, but just as active. Researchers found that brain activity during REM sleep begins in the Pons Varolii, a structure in the brainstem, and neighboring midbrain regions. The Pons sends signals to the thalamus and cerebral cortex, which is responsible for most thought processes. It also sends signals to turn off motor neurons in the spinal cord, causing a temporary paralysis that prevents movement. These discoveries compelled researchers to further examine the physiology of sleep - and dreams.

The first period of REM sleep occurs approximately 80-90 minutes after falling asleep. This time is often shortened in states of depression and in those with narcolepsy, a neurological disease where the patient may fall asleep suddenly and at any time, dropping straight into REM sleep. REM sleep episodes occur, on average, 5 times during the sleep episode.

The American Psychoanalytic Association indicates that REM sleep and dreams are synonymous. In APA studies, of people who were awakened during REM sleep, as many as 70-95% of them reported dreams, in contrast to 5-10% of those who were awoken from non-REM sleep. There are also dream triggers other than REM sleep, such as those which are drug-induced (i.e. stimulant drugs) and some seizures which occur during sleep.

Studies have shown that the brain is very active in REM sleep, but the activity is kept "inside" by strong inhibition of the motor system. In a few, usually elderly persons, this inhibition does not work, and the patient lives out the dreams physically, with great danger of damage to the patient or bed partner.

Do dreams have a purpose? Famous theorists have claimed over the years that dreams do have one or another purpose, but current evidence would suggest otherwise. Sigmund Freud, the most notable theorist, said in the 1900s that the function of dreams was to preserve sleep. However, that antiquated theory is contradicted by the fact that dreams happen at least five or six times per night in an active stage of REM sleep. Carl Jung later claimed that the function of dreams is to compensate for those parts of the personality that are underdeveloped in waking life. These claims were contradicted by Calvin Hall's studies of dream series and dream journals, which strongly suggested that dream content is continuous with waking thought and behavior. Still others believe that dreams have a problem-solving function, offering solutions to troubles we can't solve in our waking life. The fact that many of us barely remember our dreams would, however, contradict this belief.

When a dream becomes a nightmare: nightmares are unsettling dreams that usually force the person awake. The dreamer may feel disturbing emotions in a nightmare, such as anger, guilt or sadness, but the most common feeling is fear. The majority of children have nightmares between the ages of three and four, but they appear to be a part of normal development. Nightmares are less common in adults and are usually caused by drugs, illness, trauma and/or stress. Depending on the source and frequency of the nightmare, a consultation with a therapist may be warranted. However, in most cases, the nightmare will cease recurring when the cause is alleviated (i.e., medication).

Whether your dreams are happy or sad, predictive or whimsical, remember that your dream was created by your mind. Others can help you explore it and suggest interpretations, but you are the ultimate expert on what your dreams mean.
 

References:
Society for Neuroscience, "Brain Briefings," REM Sleep.
The American Psychoanalytic Association, "Current Ideas about REM Sleep, Dreams and Dreaming: Confirmations of Psychoanalytic Ideas about Dreams."
Områdeskansliet för Medicin Och Farmaci, Uppsala, Sweden
"The Purpose of Dreams," by G. William Domhoff.
Dream Dictionary.

© 2001 by HCGuidone.