Dreams Essay

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Understanding Dreams
Dreams can be bizarre, one moment the dreamer is being chased by a killer in the jungle, when suddenly the dreamer is in Paris sitting with friends having a cup of coffee. Most people dream every night while they are sleeping, yet they have no idea why they are dreaming what they dream. Dreams are a fascinating and puzzling topic, since the ancient times people have analyzed and researched dreams. Although an extensive amount of research has been collected, no one has found enough concrete evidence for a definite reason people dream what they dream and in fact why people dream at all. A major reason being that only the dreamer can experience and retell the dream. There are many theories, most scientists agree with. Dreams are visual images that occur usually during sleep, moreover; there are many theories on why people dream and types of dreams, ranging from thoughts of the day, to fear, to the desires and emotions of a person mixed without rational thoughts.
The word dream has many meanings most people know dreams as events that play in people's minds that occur during sleep. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary describes it as, “A series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.” In the ancient times, many civilizations thought of dreams as omens of the future, while others believed that their soul would travel (Rathus 158). Dreams are like movies they range in characters, the impossible can happen, and sometimes they are in black and white or seem to be in slow motion. Dreams occur mostly during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. During this stag...

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...rized that dreams were unconscious wishes and urges, he also thought that dreams were a way of preserving sleep, however it was debunked later on. The next theory, is that people dream of thoughts and activities of the day. This theory seems to be the most prominent theory of why people dream. The last theory is that dreaming is a biological process, and nothing more than emotions combined without physical stimulation or rational thought. The last theory states that there is no reason and no real meaning of what the person dreams of; however, many dream researchers disagree and believe dreams reflect one's personality and true desires. None of theses theories are definite though, only more research can tell. Although dreams are not fully understood, there are many types of dreams that people commonly share like: nightmares, lucid dreams, normal dreams, and daydreams.

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