Dreams

By: Madeline Brandley

What are dreams?
● A state of mind that occurs during sleep - most
frequently when in R.E.M.
● A combination of images, sounds, people, events,
thoughts, and interactions
● Theories about dreams are based on the
subconscious mind, making sense of events and life
experiences, playing out fears and fantasies, hidden
messages, and possible predictions
● A storage of memories being resurfaced
 Lucid Dreaming
● A state of dreaming where you are aware
you're dreaming and can control the content,
setting, and events occuring
● It can be naturally experienced during R.E.M.
or self induced
● Lucid dreaming can be used for therapy
purposes
● There are multiple ways to induce this -
reality testing, waking back to bed, and
mnemonic induction
● Dream Journaling can help recap and recall
dreams better - also increasing awareness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYSX51xBkos
Parasomnia
● A collection of abnormal sleep state occurrences
including night terrors, night mares, sleep
walking, sleep paralysis, and more
● Parasomnia affects around 40% of children and
10% of American adults
● Night terrors vs. nightmares
● Sleep paralysis is being conscious and awake
but unable to move the body

Henry, Fuceli - The Nightmare

Common meanings of dreams
● Teeth falling out: Anxiety, loss, or ending of
something, insecurity
● Butterflies: Transformation, rebirth, craving
freedom, new beginnings, new changes and growth
● Needing to pee but no bathroom: Basic needs are not
being met
● Falling: Stressed, major tension in some area of life
● Public Nudity: Feeling vulnerable, trying to hide
something
● Being chased: Avoiding something, running from
something
Conclusion
Sometimes dreams are entirely out of our control and other times they
can be malleable as well, allowing us to amuse and entertain ourselves
during sleep. Dreaming is questioned and studied constantly to try to
grasp and make any sense of it all. We can choose if we want to dive
deeper into this fantasy realm or disregard it and let it be singular and
without meaning. If you’d like to know exactly what your dreams
might be indicating check out dreammoods.com!
Work Cited
Baur, Drake “5 of Humanity’s Best Ideas of What Dreams Actually Are” (Oct 10, 2016)

https://www.thecut.com/2016/10/what-are-dreams.html

Bennett, Brittany “10 Common Dreams Caused By Anxiety and What They Actually Mean” (Sept, 2019)

https://www.bustle.com/p/10-common-dreams-caused-by-anxiety-what-they-actually-mean-9070650

Brown, Gregory & Moffit, Mitchell “The Science of Lucid Dreaming” (Oct, 2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYSX51xBkos

Bryant, Charles "What are dreams?" (August 2, 2010)

https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/what-are-dreams.htm

Cohut, Maria “Lucid dreaming: Controlling the stories of sleep” (Sept, 2018)

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323077.php#1
Cleveland Clinic “Parasomnias & Disruptive Sleep Disorders” (July, 2017)
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12133-parasomnias--disruptive-sleep-disorders

Orrange, Sharon 7 Medications That Cause Nightmares and Disturbing Dreams (June, 2018)

https://www.goodrx.com/blog/7-medications-that-cause-nightmares-and-disturbing-dreams/

Schenck, Carlos “Sleep and Parasomnia”

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/sleep-and-parasomnias

Weaver, E. “25 Most Common Dreams And Their Meanings” (Oct, 2017)

https://list25.com/25-most-common-dreams-and-their-meanings/4/