Talking about dreams

–by Blog Dreamer Gaven Li
Does everyone dream? The answer is, Yes, even though some people claim that they don’t dream every night. According to the International Association for the Study of Dreams, laboratory studies show that all human beings have dreams during a type of sleep called Rapid Eye Movement (REM). People who say they don’t dream actually just have trouble remembering their dreams.
Personally, dreaming is one of my favorite things to do. I dream every night and remember many of my dreams. The most terrifying dream I’ve ever had was a long story: me and my friend were playing basketball in my elementary school when a huge monster showed up. We ran upstairs, but the monster was chasing us and getting closer and closer. Then, we saw two big trash cans in the corner, so I jumped into the left trash can, and my friend hid in the one on the right.

I was so scared. I started shaking and hoped that the monster would go to my friend (sorry, dude). However, the monster came straight at me and picked me up!!!

“Oh crap.” Then I got eaten.

When I woke up, my heart was beating fast, and I was soaked. That dream was so clear and so realistic that I remember so many details of it after years. It’s interesting because I sometimes forget the dreams I had last night but still remember dreams from years ago.
So, why do we dream? Unfortunately, the answer has not been found yet, but scientists did come up with a few interesting theories: one is that when human beings are dreaming, our brains are actually sorting the information we collect during the waking hours. During sleep, the brain is deciding whether to keep the information or not, which creates the dream. Was it important: the car we saw? the person we met? the commercial we watched? This theory makes sense; I find it questionable, however. In life, I never met a monster or hide from one in a trash can, and I never met Adolf Hitler in my life. Yet, there was one time I dreamed about Hitler–standing next to my bed and watching me sleep. Scary, isn’t it?
Another theory about why we dream is that dreams reflect our emotions. Our brains are not required to focus on anything during sleep, so all the emotions of the day occur in the dream cycle.
If something is weighing heavily on your mind during the day, chances are you might dream about it either specifically, or through obvious associated imagery. This theory sounds more reasonable to me because there were so many times I dreamed about failing my tests before taking them, and I kept dreaming about my grandpa after he passed away.
But, what does dreaming about Hitler mean? I found this “dream dictionary” on dreamscloud.com:

Someone who is controlling or tyrannical? I don’t know about that. While the “Dream Interpreter” makes dreams sound more intriguing and mysterious, it is also important to realize that everyone has different stories and the same thing might represent totally different meanings for different people in different dreams. Many times, dream dictionaries serve the purpose of amusement more than scientific research.
Anyways, we still have a long way to go on dream study. Don’t remember your dreams? Just put a pen and a piece of paper next to your bed, then write down your dreams as soon as you wake up! You’ll be amazed by how crazy your dreams are!!