Why do we dream? 5 facts about dreams

Dream facts

1. REM Sleep

REM sleep, short for Rapid Eye Movement sleep, is one of the deepest stages of the sleep cycle. This is when your brain waves are buzzing almost like you’re awake, and your eyes dart back and forth behind closed lids—hence the name!

It’s the prime time for dreaming, and it’s super important for processing emotions and memories. Even though your brain’s fully awake, your muscles are paralysed to prevent you from physically acting out those dreams.

2. Dream Amnesia

Ever noticed how quickly dreams fade from memory once you wake up? Why do we forget dreams? Within minutes, we tend to forget about half of our dream content, and within five minutes, up to 90%!

Why do we forget dreams?

It’s a bit of a bummer when we forget our dreams. Scientists say it’s because of how our brains are wired. That’s why dream amnesia is super common.

Our brains are busy sorting through memories during REM sleep, which is prime time for dreams. When we’re dreaming, especially during REM sleep, our brains aren’t really in ‘save mode,’ so the memories of our dreams can slip away super easily. Plus, the chemicals and hormones that are active when we’re asleep are different from when we’re awake, which makes it harder to hold onto those dreamy thoughts.

This means when we wake up, the transition from that dreamy brain state to being awake makes it tricky to hold onto those dream details. So, even if you had the most epic dream, poof, it’s gone before you can tell anyone about it.

3. Recurring Dreams

Why do recurring dreams happen? Many people experience recurring themes or scenarios in their dreams, which may reflect unresolved issues or anxieties in their waking life.

These dreams can be about anything, but they often show up when your brain’s trying to work through something, maybe a challenge or a big emotion. It’s like your mind’s way of hitting replay on a scene, hoping you’ll catch something new each time.

Sometimes the themes or symbols in these dreams can be clues about what’s going on with you. So, if you’re having the same dream over and over, it might be worth exploring what it could be telling you. It’s almost like your subconscious is nudging you to pay attention to something.

4. Animals Dream

Does your pet dream? Studies suggest that many animals, including mammals and birds, experience REM sleep and likely dream.

Dogs, for example, often show signs of movement along with making gentle noises during sleep, suggestive of dreaming. Scientists believe that many animals actually do dream. Just like us, their brains go through similar stages of sleep, including REM, which is where the dream magic happens.

So, when you see your doggo twitching or making soft barks while they’re snoozing, there’s a good chance they’re deep in a dream. They could be dreaming about chasing squirrels or their favourite game of fetch.

It’s pretty adorable to think about, isn’t it? Makes you wonder what kind of stories they’d tell if they could share their dream diaries with us!

5. Premonition Dreams

Some people claim to have dreams that seem to predict future events, although scientific evidence for this theory is lacking, and such dreams are often connected to coincidence or selective memory.

However some people do believe these dreams can give us a sneak peek into possible future events. It’s a bit controversial, but there are loads of stories out there where someone dreamt something and then, whoa, it happened. Is this just our brain being super good at picking up on subtle cues and then making a story out of them, or if it’s something more, like a sixth sense?

What do your dreams mean?

Dreams are like the ultimate mystery novels written by our own minds. They can be super vivid and memorable or just brief images that we forget as soon as we wake up.

Do dreams mean anything? Throughout history, various cultures and civilizations have developed different theories about our dreams meaning, ranging from spiritual messages to reflections of unconscious desires or fears.

There’s this classic theory by Freud, where he thought dreams are all about our deep desires and anxieties, a kind of a window to our unconscious mind. Then there’s Carl Jung, who believed dreams are more about our personal growth, like they’re trying to balance out our psyche.

Experts suggest that our dreams might be our brain’s way of sorting through our daily experiences, thoughts, and emotions. It’s like overnight therapy, where our minds try to make sense of all the stuff we’ve been dealing with.

Get ready to dream

Do you love to dream? If you’re looking for the perfect way to wind down and get your bed ready for a dreamy sleep, you need to make your bed super comfy.

Try the Silentnight Wellbeing Rebalance Pillow Pair. The pillows have a carbon thread. This thread conducts electrostatic charges away from your body. This helps stress and tension flow away as you drift into a deep sleep.

Team with the Silentnight Airmax 1000 Mattress Topper. This thick mattress topper adds an extra 10cm of cushioned comfort on top of your mattress. This Silentnight mattress topper features air mesh walls that help to circulate airflow to prevent overheating. This pairing is guaranteed to give you a comfy relaxing night’s sleep, ready to dream away.

Spray your pillows with the Made by coopers pillow spray to really up the game and help you relax and drift off into an undisturbed sleep.

For more ways to relax and wind down before dreaming, check out our blog 6 ways to relax and wind down before bed.

It’s clear that our dreams and sleep are way more than just downtime for our brains. though we might not have all the answers yet on what dreams mean, one thing’s for sure: getting good sleep and embracing our dreamworld can make a huge difference in how we feel and function during the day.

So, let’s cosy up and catch some Z’s. Sweet dreams everyone!

shop Bedding