First Draft (Drown Draft)-
Your Imagination of the Night
It is late at night, you have brushed your teeth, put your pajamas on, and slid into your bed, so happily and ready for a good nights rest. As it grows later into the night you lay sound asleep in your warm bed, but all of a sudden you are awakened by your own screams in the middle of the night. To only find out your were having a bad dream. You toss and turn for several long minutes becoming restless. Then you lay awake, scared and wondering, why you have such terrifying dreams so often. Since you can no longer continue your peaceful sleep after being so rudely awakened, you begin to research your horrid dreams. You type, “Why do people dream about death and what do dreams mean?” Only to come into a pool full of answers and to spend the rest of your sleepless night researching dreams.
Why do people even dream?
Although there is not a complete answer for why people dream, there are several things researches know about dreams. Dreaming occurs in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. One well-known theory of dreaming is presented by professor Rosalind Cartwright of the University Medical Center of Chicago. She theorizes that dreams are the mechanisms where the brain incorporates memories, solves problems, and deals with emotions. (“In Your Dreams”) Well-known psychologist Carl Jung believed dreams were messages about our lost/neglected parts of us. (“Dream Psychology” 2004) Psychologist Sigmund Freud thought dreams were expressions of what you repress when awake. (Wright, 2010) Even though different psychologists theorize different ideas of why people dream, all researches agree dreams of the night are related to your daily activities a person is involved in.
Dreams can change; underlying meaning doesn’t.
The underlying meaning or reason for a persons dreams usually stem from daily activities. For example, if one person plays sports a lot during the day, they are often found to have dreams that have some relation to sports at night. This is seen with almost all daily activities, not just sports. In studies that have been conducted, researchers have found that dreams do not exactly copy events from the day, but they do seem to replay this event while either adding or subtracting something new to the storyline. (“Dream Psychology” 2004)
So what do death dreams mean and what is the significance?
Death dreams can mean a variety of different things. Studies have found death dreams to represent ending or new beginnings. (Turner, 2013) For example, someone who is going through a phase in their live of ending a job or starting a new relationship may have a dream that consist of certain people from those environments pertaining to death. Death dreams have also been found to represent judgment or guilt of a person, or the fear of waking life. (Dream Dictionary 2013)
Often there are certain cases where an individual may dream about friends, family, or a loved one dying; these dreams too often have significant meanings. If you have a dream of a friend or loved one dying, it represents a change that is coming in the future, good or bad. (Turner 2013) If you have a dream of a family member dying, this often means that you will soon be receiving bad news from this family member. (Miller, 1991)
Childhood fears make unwanted adult nightmares.
Often in your nightmares, you dream about death or something that nearly scares you to death. These common scary “deathly” topics come from childhood fears. If you hated clowns when you were little, even if you do not now, you probably have had a dream about a clown trying to kill you or scaring you to death. Dreams of fear often come from your childhood even in forgotten. (Hartmann, 1984) Common childhood fears often refer to the mother or body, like losing a mother, losing a body part, abandonment, or mutilation. Psychologist and author, Earnest Hartmann found that all children have such fears and may be activated later in adult dreaming. He says,
“However, the most frightening nightmares in adults are found to relate to the same basic childhood fears. Even when adult nightmares appear to express the hostile impulses of adults and frightened reactions to them, there is a link to common childhood fears.” (Hartmann, 1984)
As I think about it and ask myself, how many times have I have death dreams that related to losing a body part or my mother? Almost always, and now it makes sense why.
Why do people have dreams and nightmares about death?
Many different things can act as triggers for individuals to have nightmares or death dreams. The first very well known stimulant of death dreams is a traumatic event. It is very common for people to have post-traumatic death dreams after encountered a life-changing event. This could be a death of a family member or friend and dreams could start to reoccur of the situation or simulate it in some way. (Hartmann, 1984) Another reason people have death dreams is that it is a part of the grieving process. It has been found that after someone loses a person very dear to them, they will have death dreams to help them cope and deal with that loss. (Turner, 2014)
Are dreams predictions of the future?
Many people believe that what they dream at night predicts the future in some way. But in fact, that is not the case at all. It is often that if someone has a dream about a friend or family member being injured, hurt, or dying a certain way that they believe this will happen in real life later on. For example, I have a friend who had a dream of her mother dying in a plane crash. The next day the mother was supposed to fly to Jamaica for a vacation on the plane; but the mother did not take her seat on that flight. After learning about her daughter’s dream, she was too scared to fly thinking that the dream was a prediction. It turned out the plane ride went smoothly and everyone landed safely, and the dream of a plane crash happened to be coincidental on the night before. In reality, psychologist and researchers have proved dreams to not be ant sort of predictions of the future. In fact, they are opposites in a way. As stated before, topics of peoples dream usually come from activities of their past, or daily activities. The most logical and scientifically reason for the daughter’s dream of a plane crash, was likely because she knew and had talked with the mother about flying to Jamaica the day before. There is actually a term used to describe dreams that seem to predict the future, precognitive dreams. Precognitive dreams are defined as dreams that appear to be a prediction through a sixth sense; a way of accessing future information that is unrelated to any existing information gained through normal means. It is a proven fact that everyone has coincidental dreams like precognitive dreams, expressing our repressed fears, emotions, or wants. (Turner, 2014)
Why do I feel like I do not dream much?
In reality, a normal person on average spends one to two hours dreaming a night, one-third of a life dreaming, and an average of six years dreaming in a lifetime. That’s a lot of dreams! But if you dreams so much why do you feel like you don’t? That is because within the first minute of awakening, ninety-five percent of dreams are forgotten. A person usually only remembers the “scary dreams or nightmares” that either wakens them in the night or scares the half to death. The reason that most people forget dreams is due to a factor of a missing hormone while in REM sleep. This hormone is known as norepinephrine and is the key role of memory. During REM sleep, which is when dreaming occurs, this hormone is not present making peoples memories of dreams very vague. (Hartmann, 2015)
Interesting Dreaming Facts
There is many things people do not know about dreams that I find interesting. Like, dreaming can help a person learn and retain information. If you have a big test, getting a good nights sleep and study right before sleep can help a person dream about the topic to study and either learn or retain new data. Also, the most common dream for all humans is that either your spouse or partner is cheating. Remember, dreams are not predictions of the future! This does not mean your partner is actually cheating on you. (Jio, 2012) One of the most shocking facts I learned about dreaming is that you can never dream of a face you have not seen before. So all those nightmares with strangers, you think, trying to kill you are actually faces you have seen before. Finally, many people do not know that you cannot read or tell the time while dreaming. It is impossible for the brain to do while asleep. Think about it, can you recall a dream where you did tell the time? If you are like me, then that’s a negative.
Conclusion
Overall I find dreaming to be a very interesting topic. I now know more about why I dream at night, what my dreams may mean, or why weird things always seem to happen in my dreams. I know scary nightmares about death dreams can mean changes, endings or beginnings, bad news, or be part of a grieving process. I am now less concerned with my freaky dreams since I know it is very common to all people. Finally, I am still unsure on how the testing and researching process of dreams work and how they come up with what dreams mean. Psychologist study dreams and people to find varied sources of meanings. But how does this work? How do they know dreams mean the same thing for people worldwide?
Works Cited
Dream Dictionary. “What do dreams about death mean?” N.p., 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
"Dream Psychology." Psychology Campus, n.d. 2004. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Hartmann, Ernest. The Nightmare: The Psychology and Biology of Terrifying Dreams. New York: Basic, 1984. 2-50. Print.
Hartmann, Ernest. “Why do Memories of Vivid Dreams Disappear Soon After Waking Up?” Scientific American, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2015
“In Your Dreams.” Dreams: Why Do We Dream. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Jio, Sarah. “9 Things You Didn’t Know About Dreams.” WebMD, 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Miller, Gustavus Hindman. Dictionary of Dreams. S.l.: Blaketon Hall, n.d. 1991. 186-210. Print.
Turner, Rebecca. "30 Common Dream Symbols and Their Mysterious Meanings." World of Lucid Dreaming, n.d. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
Turner, Rebecca. “Precognitive Dreams.” Dreaming of the Future. World of Lucid Dreaming, n.d. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2015
Wright, Suzanne. "What's Causing Those Freaky Dreams?" WebMD, n.d. 22 July. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Your Imagination of the Night
It is late at night, you have brushed your teeth, put your pajamas on, and slid into your bed, so happily and ready for a good nights rest. As it grows later into the night you lay sound asleep in your warm bed, but all of a sudden you are awakened by your own screams in the middle of the night. To only find out your were having a bad dream. You toss and turn for several long minutes becoming restless. Then you lay awake, scared and wondering, why you have such terrifying dreams so often. Since you can no longer continue your peaceful sleep after being so rudely awakened, you begin to research your horrid dreams. You type, “Why do people dream about death and what do dreams mean?” Only to come into a pool full of answers and to spend the rest of your sleepless night researching dreams.
Why do people even dream?
Although there is not a complete answer for why people dream, there are several things researches know about dreams. Dreaming occurs in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. One well-known theory of dreaming is presented by professor Rosalind Cartwright of the University Medical Center of Chicago. She theorizes that dreams are the mechanisms where the brain incorporates memories, solves problems, and deals with emotions. (“In Your Dreams”) Well-known psychologist Carl Jung believed dreams were messages about our lost/neglected parts of us. (“Dream Psychology” 2004) Psychologist Sigmund Freud thought dreams were expressions of what you repress when awake. (Wright, 2010) Even though different psychologists theorize different ideas of why people dream, all researches agree dreams of the night are related to your daily activities a person is involved in.
Dreams can change; underlying meaning doesn’t.
The underlying meaning or reason for a persons dreams usually stem from daily activities. For example, if one person plays sports a lot during the day, they are often found to have dreams that have some relation to sports at night. This is seen with almost all daily activities, not just sports. In studies that have been conducted, researchers have found that dreams do not exactly copy events from the day, but they do seem to replay this event while either adding or subtracting something new to the storyline. (“Dream Psychology” 2004)
So what do death dreams mean and what is the significance?
Death dreams can mean a variety of different things. Studies have found death dreams to represent ending or new beginnings. (Turner, 2013) For example, someone who is going through a phase in their live of ending a job or starting a new relationship may have a dream that consist of certain people from those environments pertaining to death. Death dreams have also been found to represent judgment or guilt of a person, or the fear of waking life. (Dream Dictionary 2013)
Often there are certain cases where an individual may dream about friends, family, or a loved one dying; these dreams too often have significant meanings. If you have a dream of a friend or loved one dying, it represents a change that is coming in the future, good or bad. (Turner 2013) If you have a dream of a family member dying, this often means that you will soon be receiving bad news from this family member. (Miller, 1991)
Childhood fears make unwanted adult nightmares.
Often in your nightmares, you dream about death or something that nearly scares you to death. These common scary “deathly” topics come from childhood fears. If you hated clowns when you were little, even if you do not now, you probably have had a dream about a clown trying to kill you or scaring you to death. Dreams of fear often come from your childhood even in forgotten. (Hartmann, 1984) Common childhood fears often refer to the mother or body, like losing a mother, losing a body part, abandonment, or mutilation. Psychologist and author, Earnest Hartmann found that all children have such fears and may be activated later in adult dreaming. He says,
“However, the most frightening nightmares in adults are found to relate to the same basic childhood fears. Even when adult nightmares appear to express the hostile impulses of adults and frightened reactions to them, there is a link to common childhood fears.” (Hartmann, 1984)
As I think about it and ask myself, how many times have I have death dreams that related to losing a body part or my mother? Almost always, and now it makes sense why.
Why do people have dreams and nightmares about death?
Many different things can act as triggers for individuals to have nightmares or death dreams. The first very well known stimulant of death dreams is a traumatic event. It is very common for people to have post-traumatic death dreams after encountered a life-changing event. This could be a death of a family member or friend and dreams could start to reoccur of the situation or simulate it in some way. (Hartmann, 1984) Another reason people have death dreams is that it is a part of the grieving process. It has been found that after someone loses a person very dear to them, they will have death dreams to help them cope and deal with that loss. (Turner, 2014)
Are dreams predictions of the future?
Many people believe that what they dream at night predicts the future in some way. But in fact, that is not the case at all. It is often that if someone has a dream about a friend or family member being injured, hurt, or dying a certain way that they believe this will happen in real life later on. For example, I have a friend who had a dream of her mother dying in a plane crash. The next day the mother was supposed to fly to Jamaica for a vacation on the plane; but the mother did not take her seat on that flight. After learning about her daughter’s dream, she was too scared to fly thinking that the dream was a prediction. It turned out the plane ride went smoothly and everyone landed safely, and the dream of a plane crash happened to be coincidental on the night before. In reality, psychologist and researchers have proved dreams to not be ant sort of predictions of the future. In fact, they are opposites in a way. As stated before, topics of peoples dream usually come from activities of their past, or daily activities. The most logical and scientifically reason for the daughter’s dream of a plane crash, was likely because she knew and had talked with the mother about flying to Jamaica the day before. There is actually a term used to describe dreams that seem to predict the future, precognitive dreams. Precognitive dreams are defined as dreams that appear to be a prediction through a sixth sense; a way of accessing future information that is unrelated to any existing information gained through normal means. It is a proven fact that everyone has coincidental dreams like precognitive dreams, expressing our repressed fears, emotions, or wants. (Turner, 2014)
Why do I feel like I do not dream much?
In reality, a normal person on average spends one to two hours dreaming a night, one-third of a life dreaming, and an average of six years dreaming in a lifetime. That’s a lot of dreams! But if you dreams so much why do you feel like you don’t? That is because within the first minute of awakening, ninety-five percent of dreams are forgotten. A person usually only remembers the “scary dreams or nightmares” that either wakens them in the night or scares the half to death. The reason that most people forget dreams is due to a factor of a missing hormone while in REM sleep. This hormone is known as norepinephrine and is the key role of memory. During REM sleep, which is when dreaming occurs, this hormone is not present making peoples memories of dreams very vague. (Hartmann, 2015)
Interesting Dreaming Facts
There is many things people do not know about dreams that I find interesting. Like, dreaming can help a person learn and retain information. If you have a big test, getting a good nights sleep and study right before sleep can help a person dream about the topic to study and either learn or retain new data. Also, the most common dream for all humans is that either your spouse or partner is cheating. Remember, dreams are not predictions of the future! This does not mean your partner is actually cheating on you. (Jio, 2012) One of the most shocking facts I learned about dreaming is that you can never dream of a face you have not seen before. So all those nightmares with strangers, you think, trying to kill you are actually faces you have seen before. Finally, many people do not know that you cannot read or tell the time while dreaming. It is impossible for the brain to do while asleep. Think about it, can you recall a dream where you did tell the time? If you are like me, then that’s a negative.
Conclusion
Overall I find dreaming to be a very interesting topic. I now know more about why I dream at night, what my dreams may mean, or why weird things always seem to happen in my dreams. I know scary nightmares about death dreams can mean changes, endings or beginnings, bad news, or be part of a grieving process. I am now less concerned with my freaky dreams since I know it is very common to all people. Finally, I am still unsure on how the testing and researching process of dreams work and how they come up with what dreams mean. Psychologist study dreams and people to find varied sources of meanings. But how does this work? How do they know dreams mean the same thing for people worldwide?
Works Cited
Dream Dictionary. “What do dreams about death mean?” N.p., 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
"Dream Psychology." Psychology Campus, n.d. 2004. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Hartmann, Ernest. The Nightmare: The Psychology and Biology of Terrifying Dreams. New York: Basic, 1984. 2-50. Print.
Hartmann, Ernest. “Why do Memories of Vivid Dreams Disappear Soon After Waking Up?” Scientific American, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2015
“In Your Dreams.” Dreams: Why Do We Dream. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Jio, Sarah. “9 Things You Didn’t Know About Dreams.” WebMD, 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Miller, Gustavus Hindman. Dictionary of Dreams. S.l.: Blaketon Hall, n.d. 1991. 186-210. Print.
Turner, Rebecca. "30 Common Dream Symbols and Their Mysterious Meanings." World of Lucid Dreaming, n.d. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
Turner, Rebecca. “Precognitive Dreams.” Dreaming of the Future. World of Lucid Dreaming, n.d. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2015
Wright, Suzanne. "What's Causing Those Freaky Dreams?" WebMD, n.d. 22 July. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Final Draft-
Brianna Joyce
Mrs. Pratt
English 1102
Your Imagination of the Night
It is late at night; I have brushed my teeth, put on my pajamas, and slid into my bed, so happily and ready for a good nights rest. As it grows later into the night I lay sound asleep in my warm bed, but all of a sudden I am awakened by my own screams in the middle of the night. To only find out I was having a bad dream. I toss and turn for several long minutes becoming restless. Then I lay awake, scared and wondering, why I have such terrifying dreams so often. Since I can no longer continue my peaceful sleep after being so rudely awakened, I begin to research my horrid dreams. I type, “Why do people dream about death and what do dreams mean?” Only to come into a pool full of answers and to spend the rest of my sleepless night researching dreams.
Why do people even dream?
Although there is not a complete answer for why people dream, there are several things researches know about dreams. Dreaming occurs in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. One well-known theory of dreaming is presented by professor Rosalind Cartwright of the University Medical Center of Chicago. She theorizes that dreams are the mechanisms where the brain incorporates memories, solves problems, and deals with emotions (“In Your Dreams”). Well-known psychologist Carl Jung believed dreams were messages about our lost/neglected parts of us (“Dream Psychology” 2004). Psychologist Sigmund Freud thought dreams were expressions of what you repress when awake (Wright, 2010). Even though different psychologists theorize different ideas of why people dream, all researches agree dreams of the night are related to your daily activities a person is involved in.
Dreams can change; underlying meaning doesn’t.
The underlying meaning or reason for a persons dreams usually stem from daily activities. For example, if one person plays sports a lot during the day, they are often found to have dreams that have some relation to sports at night. This is seen with almost all daily activities, not just sports. In studies that have been conducted, researchers have found that dreams do not exactly copy events from the day, but they do seem to replay this event while either adding or subtracting something new to the storyline (“Dream Psychology” 2004).
So what do death dreams mean and what is the significance?
Death dreams can mean a variety of different things. Studies have found death dreams to represent ending or new beginnings (Turner, 2013). For example, someone who is going through a phase in their live of ending a job or starting a new relationship may have a dream that consist of certain people from those environments pertaining to death. Death dreams have also been found to represent judgment or guilt of a person, or the fear of waking life (Dream Dictionary 2013).
Often there are certain cases where an individual may dream about friends, family, or a loved one dying; these dreams too often have significant meanings. If you have a dream of a friend or loved one dying, it represents a change that is coming in the future, good or bad (Turner 2013). If you have a dream of a family member dying, this often means that you will soon be receiving bad news from this family member (Miller, 1991).
My Dreams Explained
Many times during the night I will find myself awakened by a horrible dream. I now know the meaning of these dreams and the purpose behind them. One common dream I often have goes like this:
I am in a parking deck. No one else is around, just a million cars and me. All of a sudden I hear this loud screeching noise, only to turn around and see a car rushing at me. But there is no driver, a car driving very fast at me with no driver. I start to run, but no matter how fast or how far I run the car always catches me. Soon as I am about to slam right into the car, I wake up. Never knowing how the dream ends.
From conducting my research, I understand where this dream stems from. While at college, one of my daily activities is getting in my car in the parking deck. As previously stated dreams can come from daily activities. Not to mention, I have always had a fear of parking decks. I no longer wonder why I often have the dream of a car chasing me.
Childhood fears make unwanted adult nightmares.
Often in your nightmares, you dream about death or something that nearly scares you to death. These common scary “deathly” topics come from childhood fears. If you hated clowns when you were little, even if you do not now, you probably have had a dream about a clown trying to kill you or scaring you to death. Dreams of fear often come from your childhood even in forgotten (Hartmann, 1984). Common childhood fears often refer to the mother or body, like losing a mother, losing a body part, abandonment, or mutilation. Psychologist and author, Earnest Hartmann found that all children have such fears and may be activated later in adult dreaming. He says,
“However, the most frightening nightmares in adults are found to relate to the same basic childhood fears. Even when adult nightmares appear to express the hostile impulses of adults and frightened reactions to them, there is a link to common childhood fears” (Hartmann, 1984).
As I think about it and ask myself, how many times have I have death dreams that related to losing a body part or my mother or of a childhood fear? Almost always. Often I have a dream of being attacked and killed by scary clowns. This relates back to my childhood because at my fifth birthday party, a clown came to my party as a surprise. Surprised enough, I was scared to death of the make-up wearing, happy and excited, colorful clown. To this day, I am still terrified. My reoccurring dreams of killing clowns now makes sense, as it relates back to a childhood fear.
Why do people have dreams and nightmares about death?
Many different things can act as triggers for individuals to have nightmares or death dreams. The first very well known stimulant of death dreams is a traumatic event. It is very common for people to have post-traumatic death dreams after encountered a life-changing event. This could be a death of a family member or friend and dreams could start to reoccur of the situation or simulate it in some way (Hartmann, 1984). Another reason people have death dreams is that it is a part of the grieving process. It has been found that after someone loses a person very dear to them, they will have death dreams to help them cope and deal with that loss (Turner, 2014).
Are dreams predictions of the future?
Many people believe that what they dream at night predicts the future in some way. But in fact, that is not the case at all. It is often that if someone has a dream about a friend or family member being injured, hurt, or dying a certain way that they believe this will happen in real life later on. For example, I have a friend who had a dream of her mother dying in a plane crash. The next day the mother was supposed to fly to Jamaica for a vacation on the plane; but the mother did not take her seat on that flight. After learning about her daughter’s dream, she was too scared to fly thinking that the dream was a prediction. It turned out the plane ride went smoothly and everyone landed safely, and the dream of a plane crash happened to be coincidental on the night before. In reality, psychologist and researchers have proved dreams to not be ant sort of predictions of the future. In fact, they are opposites in a way. As stated before, topics of peoples dream usually come from activities of their past, or daily activities. The most logical and scientifically reason for the daughter’s dream of a plane crash, was likely because she knew and had talked with the mother about flying to Jamaica the day before. There is actually a term used to describe dreams that seem to predict the future, precognitive dreams. Precognitive dreams are defined as dreams that appear to be a prediction through a sixth sense; a way of accessing future information that is unrelated to any existing information gained through normal means. It is a proven fact that everyone has coincidental dreams like precognitive dreams, expressing our repressed fears, emotions, or wants (Turner, 2014).
Why do I feel like I do not dream much?
In reality, a normal person on average spends one to two hours dreaming a night, one-third of a life dreaming, and an average of six years dreaming in a lifetime. That’s a lot of dreams! But if you dreams so much why do you feel like you don’t? That is because within the first minute of awakening, ninety-five percent of dreams are forgotten. A person usually only remembers the “scary dreams or nightmares” that either wakens them in the night or scares the half to death. The reason that most people forget dreams is due to a factor of a missing hormone while in REM sleep. This hormone is known as norepinephrine and is the key role of memory. During REM sleep, which is when dreaming occurs, this hormone is not present making peoples memories of dreams very vague (Hartmann, 2015).
Interesting Dreaming Facts
There is many things people do not know about dreams that I find interesting. Like, dreaming can help a person learn and retain information. If you have a big test, getting a good nights sleep and study right before sleep can help a person dream about the topic to study and either learn or retain new data. Also, the most common dream for all humans is that either your spouse or partner is cheating. Remember, dreams are not predictions of the future! This does not mean your partner is actually cheating on you (Jio, 2012). One of the most shocking facts I learned about dreaming is that you can never dream of a face you have not seen before. So all those nightmares with strangers, you think, trying to kill you are actually faces you have seen before. Finally, many people do not know that you cannot read or tell the time while dreaming. It is impossible for the brain to do while asleep. Think about it, can you recall a dream where you did tell the time? If you are like me, then that’s a negative.
Conclusion
Overall I find dreaming to be a very interesting topic. I now know more about why I dream at night, what my dreams may mean, or why weird things always seem to happen in my dreams. I know scary nightmares about death dreams can mean changes, endings or beginnings, bad news, or be part of a grieving process. I am now less concerned with my freaky dreams since I know it is very common to all people. Finally, I am still unsure on how the testing and researching process of dreams work and how they come up with what dreams mean. Psychologist study dreams and people to find varied sources of meanings. But how does this work? How do they know dreams mean the same thing for people worldwide?
Works Cited
Dream Dictionary. “What do dreams about death mean?” N.p., 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
"Dream Psychology." Psychology Campus, n.d. 2004. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Hartmann, Ernest. The Nightmare: The Psychology and Biology of Terrifying Dreams. New York: Basic, 1984. 2-50. Print.
Hartmann, Ernest. “Why do Memories of Vivid Dreams Disappear Soon After Waking Up?” Scientific American, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2015
“In Your Dreams.” Dreams: Why Do We Dream. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Jio, Sarah. “9 Things You Didn’t Know About Dreams.” WebMD, 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Miller, Gustavus Hindman. Dictionary of Dreams. S.l.: Blaketon Hall, n.d. 1991. 186-210. Print.
Turner, Rebecca. "30 Common Dream Symbols and Their Mysterious Meanings." World of Lucid Dreaming, n.d. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
Turner, Rebecca. “Precognitive Dreams.” Dreaming of the Future. World of Lucid Dreaming, n.d. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2015
Wright, Suzanne. "What's Causing Those Freaky Dreams?" WebMD, n.d. 22 July. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Brianna Joyce
Mrs. Pratt
English 1102
Your Imagination of the Night
It is late at night; I have brushed my teeth, put on my pajamas, and slid into my bed, so happily and ready for a good nights rest. As it grows later into the night I lay sound asleep in my warm bed, but all of a sudden I am awakened by my own screams in the middle of the night. To only find out I was having a bad dream. I toss and turn for several long minutes becoming restless. Then I lay awake, scared and wondering, why I have such terrifying dreams so often. Since I can no longer continue my peaceful sleep after being so rudely awakened, I begin to research my horrid dreams. I type, “Why do people dream about death and what do dreams mean?” Only to come into a pool full of answers and to spend the rest of my sleepless night researching dreams.
Why do people even dream?
Although there is not a complete answer for why people dream, there are several things researches know about dreams. Dreaming occurs in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. One well-known theory of dreaming is presented by professor Rosalind Cartwright of the University Medical Center of Chicago. She theorizes that dreams are the mechanisms where the brain incorporates memories, solves problems, and deals with emotions (“In Your Dreams”). Well-known psychologist Carl Jung believed dreams were messages about our lost/neglected parts of us (“Dream Psychology” 2004). Psychologist Sigmund Freud thought dreams were expressions of what you repress when awake (Wright, 2010). Even though different psychologists theorize different ideas of why people dream, all researches agree dreams of the night are related to your daily activities a person is involved in.
Dreams can change; underlying meaning doesn’t.
The underlying meaning or reason for a persons dreams usually stem from daily activities. For example, if one person plays sports a lot during the day, they are often found to have dreams that have some relation to sports at night. This is seen with almost all daily activities, not just sports. In studies that have been conducted, researchers have found that dreams do not exactly copy events from the day, but they do seem to replay this event while either adding or subtracting something new to the storyline (“Dream Psychology” 2004).
So what do death dreams mean and what is the significance?
Death dreams can mean a variety of different things. Studies have found death dreams to represent ending or new beginnings (Turner, 2013). For example, someone who is going through a phase in their live of ending a job or starting a new relationship may have a dream that consist of certain people from those environments pertaining to death. Death dreams have also been found to represent judgment or guilt of a person, or the fear of waking life (Dream Dictionary 2013).
Often there are certain cases where an individual may dream about friends, family, or a loved one dying; these dreams too often have significant meanings. If you have a dream of a friend or loved one dying, it represents a change that is coming in the future, good or bad (Turner 2013). If you have a dream of a family member dying, this often means that you will soon be receiving bad news from this family member (Miller, 1991).
My Dreams Explained
Many times during the night I will find myself awakened by a horrible dream. I now know the meaning of these dreams and the purpose behind them. One common dream I often have goes like this:
I am in a parking deck. No one else is around, just a million cars and me. All of a sudden I hear this loud screeching noise, only to turn around and see a car rushing at me. But there is no driver, a car driving very fast at me with no driver. I start to run, but no matter how fast or how far I run the car always catches me. Soon as I am about to slam right into the car, I wake up. Never knowing how the dream ends.
From conducting my research, I understand where this dream stems from. While at college, one of my daily activities is getting in my car in the parking deck. As previously stated dreams can come from daily activities. Not to mention, I have always had a fear of parking decks. I no longer wonder why I often have the dream of a car chasing me.
Childhood fears make unwanted adult nightmares.
Often in your nightmares, you dream about death or something that nearly scares you to death. These common scary “deathly” topics come from childhood fears. If you hated clowns when you were little, even if you do not now, you probably have had a dream about a clown trying to kill you or scaring you to death. Dreams of fear often come from your childhood even in forgotten (Hartmann, 1984). Common childhood fears often refer to the mother or body, like losing a mother, losing a body part, abandonment, or mutilation. Psychologist and author, Earnest Hartmann found that all children have such fears and may be activated later in adult dreaming. He says,
“However, the most frightening nightmares in adults are found to relate to the same basic childhood fears. Even when adult nightmares appear to express the hostile impulses of adults and frightened reactions to them, there is a link to common childhood fears” (Hartmann, 1984).
As I think about it and ask myself, how many times have I have death dreams that related to losing a body part or my mother or of a childhood fear? Almost always. Often I have a dream of being attacked and killed by scary clowns. This relates back to my childhood because at my fifth birthday party, a clown came to my party as a surprise. Surprised enough, I was scared to death of the make-up wearing, happy and excited, colorful clown. To this day, I am still terrified. My reoccurring dreams of killing clowns now makes sense, as it relates back to a childhood fear.
Why do people have dreams and nightmares about death?
Many different things can act as triggers for individuals to have nightmares or death dreams. The first very well known stimulant of death dreams is a traumatic event. It is very common for people to have post-traumatic death dreams after encountered a life-changing event. This could be a death of a family member or friend and dreams could start to reoccur of the situation or simulate it in some way (Hartmann, 1984). Another reason people have death dreams is that it is a part of the grieving process. It has been found that after someone loses a person very dear to them, they will have death dreams to help them cope and deal with that loss (Turner, 2014).
Are dreams predictions of the future?
Many people believe that what they dream at night predicts the future in some way. But in fact, that is not the case at all. It is often that if someone has a dream about a friend or family member being injured, hurt, or dying a certain way that they believe this will happen in real life later on. For example, I have a friend who had a dream of her mother dying in a plane crash. The next day the mother was supposed to fly to Jamaica for a vacation on the plane; but the mother did not take her seat on that flight. After learning about her daughter’s dream, she was too scared to fly thinking that the dream was a prediction. It turned out the plane ride went smoothly and everyone landed safely, and the dream of a plane crash happened to be coincidental on the night before. In reality, psychologist and researchers have proved dreams to not be ant sort of predictions of the future. In fact, they are opposites in a way. As stated before, topics of peoples dream usually come from activities of their past, or daily activities. The most logical and scientifically reason for the daughter’s dream of a plane crash, was likely because she knew and had talked with the mother about flying to Jamaica the day before. There is actually a term used to describe dreams that seem to predict the future, precognitive dreams. Precognitive dreams are defined as dreams that appear to be a prediction through a sixth sense; a way of accessing future information that is unrelated to any existing information gained through normal means. It is a proven fact that everyone has coincidental dreams like precognitive dreams, expressing our repressed fears, emotions, or wants (Turner, 2014).
Why do I feel like I do not dream much?
In reality, a normal person on average spends one to two hours dreaming a night, one-third of a life dreaming, and an average of six years dreaming in a lifetime. That’s a lot of dreams! But if you dreams so much why do you feel like you don’t? That is because within the first minute of awakening, ninety-five percent of dreams are forgotten. A person usually only remembers the “scary dreams or nightmares” that either wakens them in the night or scares the half to death. The reason that most people forget dreams is due to a factor of a missing hormone while in REM sleep. This hormone is known as norepinephrine and is the key role of memory. During REM sleep, which is when dreaming occurs, this hormone is not present making peoples memories of dreams very vague (Hartmann, 2015).
Interesting Dreaming Facts
There is many things people do not know about dreams that I find interesting. Like, dreaming can help a person learn and retain information. If you have a big test, getting a good nights sleep and study right before sleep can help a person dream about the topic to study and either learn or retain new data. Also, the most common dream for all humans is that either your spouse or partner is cheating. Remember, dreams are not predictions of the future! This does not mean your partner is actually cheating on you (Jio, 2012). One of the most shocking facts I learned about dreaming is that you can never dream of a face you have not seen before. So all those nightmares with strangers, you think, trying to kill you are actually faces you have seen before. Finally, many people do not know that you cannot read or tell the time while dreaming. It is impossible for the brain to do while asleep. Think about it, can you recall a dream where you did tell the time? If you are like me, then that’s a negative.
Conclusion
Overall I find dreaming to be a very interesting topic. I now know more about why I dream at night, what my dreams may mean, or why weird things always seem to happen in my dreams. I know scary nightmares about death dreams can mean changes, endings or beginnings, bad news, or be part of a grieving process. I am now less concerned with my freaky dreams since I know it is very common to all people. Finally, I am still unsure on how the testing and researching process of dreams work and how they come up with what dreams mean. Psychologist study dreams and people to find varied sources of meanings. But how does this work? How do they know dreams mean the same thing for people worldwide?
Works Cited
Dream Dictionary. “What do dreams about death mean?” N.p., 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
"Dream Psychology." Psychology Campus, n.d. 2004. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Hartmann, Ernest. The Nightmare: The Psychology and Biology of Terrifying Dreams. New York: Basic, 1984. 2-50. Print.
Hartmann, Ernest. “Why do Memories of Vivid Dreams Disappear Soon After Waking Up?” Scientific American, 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2015
“In Your Dreams.” Dreams: Why Do We Dream. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Jio, Sarah. “9 Things You Didn’t Know About Dreams.” WebMD, 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Miller, Gustavus Hindman. Dictionary of Dreams. S.l.: Blaketon Hall, n.d. 1991. 186-210. Print.
Turner, Rebecca. "30 Common Dream Symbols and Their Mysterious Meanings." World of Lucid Dreaming, n.d. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
Turner, Rebecca. “Precognitive Dreams.” Dreaming of the Future. World of Lucid Dreaming, n.d. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2015
Wright, Suzanne. "What's Causing Those Freaky Dreams?" WebMD, n.d. 22 July. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.