Dream ONSleep Science 101 for Dreamers

Written by: Ellen Yabut Edited by: Rachel Chen 

Image by Brenda Chan

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night because of a horrifying dream? Or perhaps woken up in the morning feeling like your dream was the realest thing that could have happened? Even today, experts are continuing to unravel why people dream. Thanks to the knowledge discovered by our sleep scientists, here’s what we know!

Most of our dreams occur during the REM (rapid eye movement) cycle of our sleep. During this stage, our brain is as active as it is when we are awake—almost as if our brain cells were dancing wavelike movements! The only difference is that our body is motionless as we sleep soundly in our bed. While we’re in the REM cycle, our brain collects and recounts the events and memories that we had during the day to replay it like a movie tape at night.

Experts believe that a part of our brain called the brainstem activates this REM cycle during our sleep while another part of the brain called the forebrain generates these dreams. However, other scientists reckon that dreams stem more from your imagination than reality. This means that your brain’s secret stories—favorite memories, hopeful wishes, made-up stories, or wild ideas—are like buttons that turn your dreams on.

But why are some dreams super strange at times? This may be caused by the imbalance in our brain chemicals! During REM sleep, a surge of dopamine, sometimes called the “happy hormone,” gives the dreams their surreal quality. 

Despite all these exploration that results from our fascination with dreams, science has not yet completely unearthed all the explanations for them. For example, scientists still don’t know how long our dreams last as our sense of time and space gets completely mixed up when we dream. A few minutes in a dream can feel like hours, or an entire night might seem to pass in just seconds into the dream. 

Have you also wondered why you could only remember a small fraction of your dreams? Studies have found that during REM sleep, the short-term memory areas of our brain only hold our dreams for about 30 seconds. To remember them, you have to physically wake up from your sleep. Otherwise, there is a likely chance that you will never be able to recall them again.

Dreams are indeed an inevitable part of human life. Think of it like keeping our lived experiences in a memory box as the brain tries to process our thoughts and disregard the unimportant ones. Let’s cherish these wacky night adventures as science seeks to uncover more of its mystery!

References

1. Cleveland Clinic. (2022, June 15). Dreams: What They Are and What They Mean. Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/dreams-and-dreaming

2. Cleveland Clinic. (2022, August 18). Why Do We Dream? Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-do-we-dream

3. Pappas, S. (2023, September 30). Why Do We Forget So Many of Our Dreams? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-we-forget-so-many-of-our-dreams1/

4. ‌Suni, E., & Dimitriu, A. (2024, May 2). Dreams: Why We Dream & How They Affect Sleep. Sleep Foundation; Sleep Doctor Holdings. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams