What Causes Dreams

From LoveToKnow Sleep

Little is definitively known about what causes dreams. Most of the theories about dream causes revolve around the dream as a way to experience fears, anxieties and conflicts which the dreamer may, or may not, be aware of when they are awake.

Understanding What Causes Dreams

Dreams are caused by a combination of thoughts, images and impressions passed through the mind during REM sleep. In some ways dreams are repressed thoughts that are released during the dream cycle as a way to relax and see things from a different perspective than we might when we are awake.

Creative people often use their dreams as the basis for their artistic creations. Art, music, writing and poetry can be inspired by the memory retained after a dream. A thought "born" in a dream can become the basis for additional thinking while awake – thinking that can be the beginning of a painting, song, book, poem or the solution to a difficult problem.

Processing Creates the Type of Dream

Little is know about the technical causes of a dream. Generally the theory is that the relaxed mind during REM sleep has the opportunity to process memories and feelings about experiences from when the dreamer was awake. This processing can end up producing many different types of dreams in different people. One person may take the information and have a recurring dream while another person might process the information differently and have a nightmare.

Lucid Dreams

In a lucid dream, dreamers realize they are dreaming while they are asleep. Some dreamers choose to wake themselves up while others choose to stay in the dream state.

The mind is not in a deep sleep stage during a lucid dream. Instead, the brain activity during a lucid dream is the same as when awake – so what a dreamer "learns" in their dream can be remembered and repeated when they are awake. The ability to remember gives the dreamer the opportunity to use the dream in a productive way to rehearse a task or solve a problem. For example, an athlete might use a lucid dream to practice their swing or an employee might practice a speech in their dream.

Recurring Dreams

Some people find that they have the same dream over and over, with very little variation in the theme or details. The dream might repeat daily, once a week or once a month. This recurring dream is usually startling, often to the point of being frightening or nightmarish.

One theory of what causes dreams to recur is that the dream is caused by a certain life situation (either in the past or a current situation) which is unresolved for the dreamer. This lack of resolution disturbs the dreamer to the point of dreaming about the situation repeatedly. The dream might point to a specific fear or weakness that the dreamer has not been able to cope with. The dream will continue to recur as long as the dreamer has not resolved the situation represented in the dream.

Naked Dreams

Nudity, or being partly naked, is thought to symbolize the dreamer's feelings of vulnerability or fear that others might see what the dreamer is hiding. A person who is having thoughts of being unprepared or who is afraid of being thought of as a less than truthful personality might find themselves living that feeling in their dreams by being nude.

Nightmares

By definition, a nightmare is a dream that is particularly upsetting or frightening. A nightmare upsets the dreamer who frequently wakes up during the nightmare and remembers the details of this very fearful dream. A nightmare is caused by an unsolved issue that is troubling the dreamer. Often the nightmare will no recur if the dreamer has the opportunity to analyze, solve or deal with the issue which might be causing the nightmare.

Other Resources on Dreams
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