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Do you remember what you dreamt about last night?
Whether you had a blissful 8-hour sleep where nothing happened, or you experienced an evening of confusing and incoherent randomness that you struggled to wrap your head around upon waking, literally every single one of us dreams each and every night.
So, it might come as a surprise to learn that, despite this common and age-old phenomenon, scientists today still know very little about the science of dreams and how they work.
But that’s not to say we don’t know anything about why we have dreams. Sleep science has come a long way in the last century, and we now have plenty of theories about what causes dreams and their purpose during sleep.
Take a look below to learn more about why we dream and the benefits of doing so for your body!
What are dreams?
In order to understand why we have dreams; we first have to understand what dreams are. However, if we’re being honest, no one has a concrete explanation for what dreams are, though there is at least a general idea.
Generally speaking, dreams are defined as a collection of incoherent and unconnected images, scenes, thoughts, and feelings that occur whilst we sleep. They most often take the form of visual imagery in our minds, though it’s possible for all senses to become involved, depending on the intensity of the dream being had.
Think of it a bit like daydreaming, only you’re not in control of where your thoughts go (unless you’re lucid dreaming). Instead, whatever is occurring, from your direct perspective, is going to happen on autopilot – so you’re essentially being taken along for the ride.
Why do we dream?
So, we sort of know what dreams are, but that doesn’t exactly explain why we dream in the first place. And, again, much like truly understanding what dreams are, no one is quite sure why dreaming has become such a fundamental part of the sleep process, though there many theories behind it, for example:
- Memory consolidation: Many scientists now believe that dreams are used as a way for your brain to properly process and store all the information you take in over the course of a day, helping to keep your brain tidy when awake.
- Emotional processing: Alongside memory consolidation, several other scientists also suggest that dreaming is a way for the brain to understand, analyse, and then process the feelings being experienced by your body, and it may explain why dreams can be more intense and upsetting when we’re stressed.
- Event review: While everybody has different dreams, a large body of those studying sleep suggest that the jumbled and confusing nature of dreams could be because the brain is conducting an ‘event review’ of your daily experiences, assessing different perspectives of a scenario to understand different outcomes and help you be better prepared should such an event happen again.
- A sleep by-product: Finally, as much as many of us would love for our dreams to have a function and mean something, there is also a substantial amount of evidence out there to suggest that dreams are merely a by-product of how we sleep. Essentially, they’re formed as a result of a certain part of the sleep process, albeit, one that we don’t fully understand yet, hence their confused and odd nature in most cases.
How do dreams work?
At this point, you might be wondering if we have any concrete understanding of why we dream, and the answer to that is yes, we absolutely do. Because while we don’t know the exact purpose of dreams, we do know how they work in a physical sense.
To diverge briefly from dreams, when we sleep, our bodies and minds enter what’s known as the sleep cycle. This cycle consists of several stages of sleep, each of which varies in their degree of intensity and depth.
For example, the deep sleep stage (stage 3) is where, unsurprisingly, your sleep is at its deepest, and you’re harder to wake up. Meanwhile, stage 4, or REM (Rapid-Eye Movement) sleep puts your body into a lighter sleep and sees a greater degree of brain activity. But more importantly than that, REM sleep is also where we experience our most vivid dreams.
Essentially, once your body enters the later stages of sleep, the areas of your brain responsible for dreams activate, alongside the processes for whatever mental and physical benefits these experiences provide for your body. Then, when the sleep cycle resets or we wake up, these areas of the brain slow once again and our dreams cease.
Why do I dream every night?
As we’ve already highlighted, dreaming is something that all of us experience. It’s a natural part of the sleep cycle and you can’t do anything to stop it. However, while we all dream every night, some of us are more prone to having more intense dreams or remembering our dreams more than others.
This dream recall or intensity is typically thought to be down to environmental factors rather than genetic predisposition, such as diet. For example, you’ve almost certainly heard of the long-standing rumour that eating cheese before bed will give you bad dreams, but the cheese itself is unlikely to be the cause for this increase in dream intensity.
Instead, research suggests that eating later or digesting more dense and hard-to-break-down foods can increase dream intensity due to the digestive processes of the body, while many other studies have shown that you’re more likely to remember your dreams or have more vivid dreams if you’ve experienced poor sleep for several nights in a row.
This is because the areas of your brain responsible for REM sleep become more active after sleep deprivation, likely as a way to compensate for missed time, and hence why your dreams may be more intense on some nights but not others.
Why can’t I remember my dreams?
Although we all dream each and every night, it is true that most of us tend to forget our dreams not long after waking up. This is because we’re not really focusing on them first thing in the morning.
And let’s face it, most of us are probably more concerned with brushing our teeth and getting ready for the day ahead than processing why every room in our house had snakes in it. However, if you are interested in remembering more of your dreams then there are a few things you can try to promote their recall, such as:
- Concentrate on them as you wake up and go about your morning routine
- Writing them down upon waking in a dream journal
- Waking up peacefully without an alarm
- Getting enough sleep to ensure you’re well-rested
- Prioritise dream recall as a habit
What are the benefits of dreaming?
Last, but not least, it’s worth touching on the benefits of dreams. Sadly, and as much as we’re sure you’re tired of hearing it, scientists are still not entirely sure of the main benefit of dreams.
But, with that being said, assuming the main sleep theories currently being proposed are accurate, then dreams themselves could come with a whole host of benefits for your body and mind, such as:
- Improving memory recall and cognition
- Promoting emotional well-being
- Granting new perspectives on past experiences for future encounters
- Indicating underlying stressors in your life
But perhaps most importantly of all, having consistent dreams is likely an excellent indicator that you’re getting good sleep on a regular basis. After all, if you’re not dreaming, you’re probably not getting enough REM sleep, meaning you won’t be properly rested upon waking.
Improve your sleep set-up to encourage relaxing dreams
So, now you know a little bit more about what dreams are and why we have them. But regardless of whether or not you remember your dreams each morning or not, having regular dreams means getting enough sleep – and for that, you need a good mattress.
A cooling gel mattress will prevent overheating in the summer, which could cause distressing dreams, while soft, cosy bedding will keep you feeling snug and safe all night long - the perfect environment for a relaxing dream.
For more informative guides like this one, head to our Snooze News section, where you can read about the most common nightmares across the nation, how to deal with night terrors, or even how sleeping with your dog will help you sleep better... which could ultimately prevent nightmares!
