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Are you dreaming a lot lately and pondering over what causes dreams, and are they real? Sometimes we see dreams that we can’t even recall. Other times we see dreams that seem so real that we wake up in the middle of the night. It is also not uncommon for us to dream of people we do not know or dream of places we know well as we do something familiar. I often dreamt of an unknown old house consecutively for several years. And one fine day these dreams stopped. So what is the truth behind dreams? Do they convey something, or are they just a figment of our minds? Was my dream real? Let us find out what your dreams are telling you!
As per some people, dreams contain pieces of experiences that we carry from our waking lives. Therefore, it may be possible to dream about isolated elements such as people, places and activities from your life. These fragments of dreams can also reflect our interests, passions and interests. For example, if you love travelling, you might dream about places, or if you are a painter, you might dream about painting. I used to dream a lot about giving engineering exams where I always failed to complete my tests on time. It represented my concerns as an engineering grad and how I despised the entire process of writing examinations.
Sometimes dreams replay our complete memories and recreate an entire episode. For instance, the last time you met your mother in your dreams, in the same place, doing the same thing, and with the same people around. These are episodic memories, and they recreate the entire episode instead of just fragments.
Why do I dream so much?
It is normal to dream, and dreaming is a healthy part of sleeping. It is common for people to dream three to six times a night. But some people dream more than others when they sleep. So, if you are dreaming too much, then the chances are that you are emotionally more active, have good imaginative powers or are overthinking a lot. Other reasons that you are dreaming excessively could be your anxiety, depression, or phobias like heights, water or ghosts, etc. When people have unresolved issues and conflicts, it may also cause excessive dreaming. Some people are very sensitive to external stimuli i.e. small things leave a big impact on their minds, and in such cases, they can dream a lot.
Your dreaming is normally not a cause of concern as long as it is not causing your sleep disorders and mental health troubles. You can also try these measures to relieve excessive dreaming:
- Shower with warm water before going to bed.
- Eat light dinner before bed.
- Try deep breathing exercises sometime before sleeping.
- Talk about your concerns, stress, depression and anxiety with someone you trust.
- Practice self-care by listening to calming music, limiting alcohol or caffeine consumption and avoiding distracting thoughts. The idea is to feed positive images to your brain and prioritize your sleep.
What causes dreams? What your dreams are telling you?
Why we dream and what causes dreams when we sleep is still a matter of debate! However, a few reasons could be as follows:
- Dreams are good for mental health and keep the brain functions healthy by stimulating the emotional motor system. As per many scientists, dreams also increases motor skills. When you visualize physical motions in your dreams, it increases the actual ability to do them. They also help your creativity to bloom.
- Dreams prepare us for real-life situations, traumas and challenges that may pose a threat.
- Dreams are our biological responses to our negative life experiences or life circumstances.
- Dreams help our brain to work, solve problems and make decisions.
- Dreams can also be a form of coping mechanism, in case of some trauma or PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
What do dreams mean?
There is no common understanding of what do dreams mean. While some sleep experts think dreams are real, others believe they are just figments of our minds and are only speculative in nature. However, as a general consensus, dreams represent a compilation of your thoughts, emotions, people, places, challenges, and events relevant to you as a dreamer.
It is common for us to dream. We all dream, some we remember, and some we forget. Some dreams are pleasant, fulfilling and calming, while others are strange, horrific, violent, frightening and frustrating. Some dreams wake us up and bring us back to reality. Sometimes we dream back to back and remember only a few of them, while at other times, we dream only once during our sleep.
So you may wonder what causes dreams and what do they mean? Unfortunately, scientists are yet to decode dreams and attach a particular meaning to them. But you can always decipher some of your dreams and attach some meaning to them. And to do so, you need to first analyse and determine what your subconscious is concerned about and correlated the same to your frequent dreams. Doing so may give answers to some of your questions. However, some dreams may make no sense, and hence there are no logical or scientific explanations for them.
In many religions like Islam, some dreams have a specific meaning, and you can refer to various religious books on dream interpretations and find your answers. Also, different cultures have ascribed meaning and sanctity to dreams and believe that dreams convey some meaning. The scientific community, however, is divided into two schools of thought. One school believes that dreams have a specific meaning attached to them, and the other believes that they are spontaneous, mean nothing, help keep the brain healthy and let your creativity bloom. The foremost proponent of the first school of thought was Sigmund Freud. He was the first person to assign definitive meanings to dreams, such as if you are dreaming about king and queen, you are dreaming about your father and mother, respectively.
Can dreams come true in real life?
Sometimes dreams come true in real life as they foretell a future event. These are called prophetic dreams. But at other times, they may mean nothing, and therefore such dreams may not come true. Also, dreams are your current state of mind, emotions and circumstances and hence dreams may not come true they are true! Some people believe that dreams come true and some do not believe in this. The latter proposes that dreams are nothing but your subconscious mind reaching out to you and therefore dreams are a figment of your imagination.
Do early morning dreams come true?
Dreams often occur during the deep sleep phase, and they relax the body and recharge your brain. And during this phase, your brain is most imaginative and resourceful. But early morning dreams occur when you are out of your deep sleep and can relate to your present. So they are felt as if they are true.
Some people, however, strongly believe that early morning dreams come true. They believe that the dreams we see between the third phase and fourth phase, viz. 3 AM to 6 AM has a high probability of coming true. This is especially true in certain cultures and regions like India. In my culture, people believe that early morning dreams have significance. As I was growing up, I heard elders telling us that early morning dreams often come true. But how true they are, does not hold any scientific validation. So early morning dreams come true or not, no one knows, and it totally depends on what you believe in. Some people call it superstition, and some people call them your current state of mind. You can choose your side.
Do early morning bad dreams come true?
Some people believe that early morning bad dreams come true, while others believe that early morning bad dreams are nothing but your present state of mind and represent your insecurities, concerns or loneliness. So if you are getting recurrent early morning bad dreams, you must correlate them with your present life and interpret them in the light of your current state of mind. Early morning bad dreams may seem bizarre, but they might have some purpose to serve. In the morning we are half asleep and half awake, which means our mind is thinking. As a result, our thoughts and memories circulate and manifest in the form of dreams. So dreams are your subconscious thoughts. If your subconscious is troubled and worried, bad dreams may come. So most of your dreams are already true. Hence, bad dreams are nothing but a manifestation of your stressed and troubled life.
Do bad dreams come true?
Bad dreams are common, and sometimes they can be really disturbing. But bad dreams may not necessarily come true. Sometimes things take the shape of premonition and may manifest in your dreams. These are called prophetic dreams as they foretell a future event. Many people have reported seeing such dreams only to validate a future course of the event. So you may like to believe that bad dreams come true. But many times, dreams are manifestations of our subconscious minds and maybe a concoction of things from our past, present and future. So these bad dreams that you are seeing are your subconscious thought and state of mind. Hence, in this case, bad dreams may not come true as they are a manifestation of our thoughts, emotions and circumstances.
Do dreams come true if you remember them?
Most of the dreams that we remember are the early morning dreams. It is because, most of the dreams that we have during the deep sleep phase, we forget. So, most of the dreams we remember are morning dreams. And most likely, the dreams we see in the early morning are manifestations of our current state of mind. And therefore, from this point of view, the dreams we remember are already true.
So what your dreams are telling you?
It is obvious that you want to know what your dreams are telling you? Dreams often tell you something about your state of mind. The most common dream people experience is cheating on their partners. Other common dreams are being chased by someone (person or animal or shadow), teeth falling out, doing embarrassing things, etc. And all of these dreams denote some form of negativity and insecurity. Therefore, dreams are the mental images that our subconscious minds recreate to represent our feelings and fears as humans.
Sometimes your dreams are telling you about where your attention lies. Dreams, therefore, are visual representations of what you have been thinking of lately. Some dreams tell you about your future possibilities. There are people who believe that dreams are supernatural and divine interventions. They indicate things that normal science can never predict. People who are religious and belong to certain cultures believe in this school of thought.
Some researchers, on the other hand, believe that dreams do not mean anything. They attribute dreaming to our overactive brains trying to keep themselves healthy. They hypothesize that, perhaps, all it is, is our ever-active brains making some noise while we’re in a deep slumber.
Regardless of what research says, dreams are a window to our deep-rooted fears and insecurities. Episodes of happiness and joy are not very common themes during dreaming, but fear, shame, anger, anxiety and uncertainty are the most common emotions experienced during dreaming. Therefore, the dreams you have are a representation of your subconscious mind. So when you ask what causes dreams, you have now the answers.
What does it mean to have a dream set in the night or daytime?
There is no actual scientific proof that dreams set in the dark or light have a definite meaning. However, some believe that dreams set in the dark may represent uncertainty in your life. For example, there can be a situation when you are unsure about something and need more clarity. Darkness in your dreams can also represent loneliness, depression or sadness.
Dreams set in the daytime may not really indicate anything definite but sometimes it may signify that a pending issue was resolved or is about to get resolved. It may also indicate that you are likely to come out of sadness or a problem.
What do dreams mean when someone dies?
What your dreams are telling you when someone dies? Dreaming of death is upsetting, but it may represent some kind of change in your life or an end of something you are dealing with in life. Your subconscious will show you this transformation or change in the form of demise so that you can let go of the past that you no longer need and embrace your future.
What does it mean when you dream about someone?
So what do dreams are telling you when you dream about someone? When you dream about someone you know or even strangers, it speaks about your current state of mind. Some people think that when you dream of someone you know, it means the other person is remembering you, and it is called dream telepathy. But how far it is true is yet to be established. When you often dream of other people, it may speak of your current state of mind to bond or form associations. Also, sometimes we may dream of people from our past. It may indicate that our subconscious has retained some memories and that we need to work through them and let them go.
What does it mean when you dream of someone who is no more?
I often get a lot of dreams of my deceased mother. It has been almost ten years since I lost her, yet I see her in my dreams from time to time. I believe that everyone has their own interpretation of why they dream of people who have passed away. I believe, whenever I am stressed and conscious about life events, I see my mother, who imparts me the strength to keep going. I feel blessed whenever I see my family members who have passed away. Whenever I dream of my mother, I gain back the right perspective. So, when you see someone very close to you and who has passed away, it means a form of guidance and support.
What does it mean when you dream about cheating?
A lot of people report cheating on their partners in their dreams, and cheating is one of the most common dream themes. But when you dream about cheating, it can be a sign of your insecurities in life, relationship and fear of abandonment. Cheating in your dream indicates a current rift between you and your partner or a sign you do not trust your partner. When we sleep, our concerns and worries often come through. And when you are worried about something in your relationship, anxiety may develop, and you may experience dreams where you or your partner is cheating.
But there is no reason for you to feel guilty about cheating in your dreams when you wake up. Instead, you should confront yourself and find out what these cheating dreams symbolise. In all probability, these dreams are manifestations of your brain trying to tell you to become strong, to grow and to find a solution by reflecting inwards to resolve any underlying relationship issues.
Decoding your dreams
So if your dreams are telling you something, it is up to you to decode your dreams and listen proactively to your subconscious mind. There are deep-rooted fears, apprehensions and insecurities lying dormant in an unfrequented corner of your mind. So, if you are dreaming of your partner cheating on you, it means you have trust issues that you need to sort out. These trust issues you carry are the manifestation of your past. For example, if you were neglected or abandoned as a child or were not treated well in your past relationship, it leads to trust issues. And before these underlying issues become apparent in your present life and poison your current relationship, you need to free yourself from such insecurities and move on.
Also, it is impossible to hide from the truth that can manifest in your emotions. Even if you choose to ignore the truth, and refuse to face them, it will find you in your dreams. And these emotions, if not sorted, can ruin your present life and limit your potential to be successful in the present.
I dreamt of being lost in an old house many times. The same dream appeared again and again. So I visited the unfrequented corner of my mind to discover the truth. After a lot of contemplation, I realized, it was a manifestation of my insecurities and my present state of being. I faced my fears and confronted the cause of my trouble, and the dream of being lost in an old house became rare, and now it has completely vanished.
Another dream that was common to me was, seeing my family members who are no more. And those dreams became more frequent during the time of pandemic when I was struggling with my profession. So I turned to my religion and sought my answers. I sent them my prayers, sought their blessings and confronted my situation. Now, I am free of those dreams.
Dreams have some purpose to serve, and sometimes they may be more valuable than our conscious thoughts. Dreams let our subconscious reach out to us, reveal hidden truths and ultimately guide us to solutions. My dreams had meaning in my life that I interpreted in the light of underlying emotions and religion. Similarly, you have to relate your dreams to your own life and make necessary inferences thereof.
Yet pessimists play down the importance of dreams and pass them off merely as illusions. However, to me, dreams lead to meaningful introspection and invite us to a journey to self-awareness and exploration. Some of my dreams were telling me something, and I found my answers. So, I believe in dreams. How about you? What your dreams are telling you? Perhaps they are, and it is time to listen to them. I know many of you may not believe in them, but you surely cannot afford to ignore them.
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