Uncovering the Purpose of Dreams: Offline Memory Reprocessing & More - Essay Sample

A dream is a continuous flow of images and ideas of a particular activity in an unconscious mind. Dreams are involuntary and come along during certain stages when one is asleep. For a long time, researchers and scientists have engaged in discourse to find the purpose of dreams and have never concluded but have speculated that dreaming serves several functions (Hannah Nichols on June 28. 2018, medicalnewstoday.com). These include; offline memory reprocessing where the brain consolidates learning, memory tasks as well as recording the waking consciousness, prepares one for future; reflections unconscious mental function in a psychoanalytic way, a different state of consciousness that incorporates experiences of the present, processing the past and prepares one for the future.

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Dreams occur at different times of the day and night, but most vivid and often remembered dreams happen during rapid eye movement sleep. When dreams occur at night, it is because the brain is at rest, and the consciousness of the individual is unavailable (Hannah Nichols on June 28. 2018, medicalnewstoday.com). Human beings cannot react to the environment because their nerves are at rest, and the activity uses the unconscious mind for dreaming activities. This paper explores different dreams, times of occurrence, characteristics, and the factors that cause these dreams to occur; while trying to understand if dreaming is a model of consciousness, perception, or both.

There are different forms of dreams, and they are classified depending on the type and their nature. Dreams occur at other times of the day and night, but most vivid and often remembered dreams happen during rapid eye movement sleep. They also vary from individual to another as to where they have different features. Most dreams are predominantly visual, unlike others that are of smell and touch. Most dreamers have color in their dreams while the least see their dreams in black and white. Dreams also have different consequences, as some are positive, while others are negative (Franklin and Zyphur 1). Dreams Researchers have several types of dreams regularly experienced by human beings worldwide (Jamie np). They include standard dreams, daydreams, lucid dreams, recurring dreams, false awakenings, healing dreams, and nightmares.

First, standard dreams happen when people have the least idea they are into until a time when they wake up. Every human experience a standard dream, and researchers indicate that people should not fear them because they are essential. Standard dreams come from people's unconscious mind while asleep, and they give insights into thoughts and experiences that can either be positive or negative. Some standard dreams can be interpreted, while others are too complex to follow (Bates 33). Understanding the dream, in this case, relates to the power of remembering past activities. In many cases, when one dreams, the sensory organs tend to be awake and give people a chance to track down the dream activities.

Secondly, we have daydreams, which are dreams experienced by several people in the world. Daydreams mostly occur during the day when the body is semi-awake, which leads to compelling thoughts of fantasy. Daydreams can easily be interpreted because it is a reflection of an activity that is about to happen. During daydreaming, the mind gets dominant and reflects on the real issues affecting people. It is during this time when people reflect on the negative beliefs they have come across. While in this unfortunate situation, people try to find a positive way to go out of the case (2014). Daydreaming is also linked to thinking about positive things that are about to happen in people's life. It is estimated that people daydream for 70-120 minutes.

Moreover, daydreaming is a common occurrence in individuals’ lives. Daydreaming can be classified into many distinct classes depending on the extent. Nonetheless, in the typical types of daydreaming different impacts are encountered. Some of the implications of daydreaming may be beneficial while others are not. A kind of daydreaming known as spontaneous daydreaming is commonly associated with individuals with a condition known as an attention-deficit hyperactive disorder. Significant adverse impacts of daydreaming are a negative mood and a subtle effect on memory.

Nevertheless, daydreaming is beneficial to an individual's psychology. Daydreaming mostly helps to refresh an individual's thinking; thus, they become rejuvenated to handle tasks (2014). Dreaming has also been found to have similarities with social abilities. Daydreaming could also be a relief mechanism by the brain from tedious activities.

Thirdly are the lucid dreams that researchers have classified as the best dreams human beings could ever have because the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming and can recognize their thoughts and emotions as the dream is happening. These dreams occur during REM sleep. These dreams can be interpreted and have a particular pattern that keeps the individual glued to it. It happens like a debate with comparison and direction of plans to make the dream a real fantasy. Lucid dreams have several potential benefits; it is believed that they help decrease nightmares as one can control their dreams, and with this, there is a relief of anxiety (Brandon np). Lucid dreams boost or enhance creativity as one can recall their dreams and visualize the events, therefor machining it easy to interpret these dreams.

Fourthly are recurring dreams. According to The Academy of Sleep and Wellness, having recurring dreams are assumed to reveal unresolved conflict or stress in the dreamer's life. They have harmful content in the dream, which is believed to be associated with lower psychological wellbeing (Carr and Michelle np). Dreamers are urged to keep records of their dreams and get to the root of their traumas to stop these recurring dreams.

Fifth, we have false awakenings. Despite their name "awakenings," they are dreams that happen when the dreamer believes they have finally awakened, but yet they continue to sleep only to awaken falsely again could be multiple times. It is thought that these dreams are and can be associated with anxiety and confusion of whether one is, in fact, sleeping or awake. They are also associated with an out-of-body experience called dissociation (Brandon np). They happen because of a fragmentation of the dreams and sleep caused by several reasons like sleep apnea, insomnia, or periodic limb movement. There are two types of these: one is composed of activities of waking up, getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, having breakfast, and leaving for work, then the person recognizes or realizes it was just a dream (Brandon np). The other type is where someone describes it as less pleasant and very tense, which may be associated with hallucinations and are likely considered nightmares.

Lastly, are the nightmares whereby they are dreams that leave a person terrified. In the beginning, one does not realize the dream until when the sensory system becomes aroused and reacts to the awful feeling by forcing one to wake up, thus ending the dream (Scarpelli et al., np). These dreams can be related to horror movies, where when the dreamer is asleep, a series of fierce activities occur (Dodge np). During the nightmare, one does not realize they are dreaming until danger arises, and the dreamer wakes up in need to flee and realizes they were dreaming.

Moreover, nightmares happen during REM sleep, later in the night or early morning hours. It is well to note that there is a difference between nightmares and night terrors. As mentioned earlier, nightmares happen during the REM sleep, affect any age and, recalled vividly (Dodge np). On the other hand, night terrors are not dreams but a sleep disorder during the NON-REM sleep. They occur more in children and quickly forgotten.

Based on the findings of the different types of dreams and their characteristics, we can conclude that dreams are a model of both consciousness and perception. As discussed, we have seen that all dreams include thoughts and images of different forms that occur during REM sleep (www.plato.stanford.edu). REM sleep (characterized by rapid eye movement and a near-complete loss of muscle tone) may suggest that dreams or dreaming is both consciously and unconsciously happening.

Works Cited

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Bates, Jane. "To Sleep, Perchance to Dream..." Nursing Standard 31.30 (2017): 33. Print.

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Scarpelli, Serena, et al. “The Functional Role of Dreaming in Emotional Processes.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 10, 15 Mar. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6428732/, 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00459. Accessed July 2020.

www.healthline.com "Different types of Dreams and What They May Mean About You."Written by Jamie Elmer on May 20, 2020.

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