Everybody dreams, but certain dreams linger in our minds more than others, making us wonder if perhaps they have a meaning and we can learn something from their content.

Dreams and their possible interpretations are a rather complex subject. Not everything we remember from the previous night’s sleep has a message that we should take to heart.

There are different types of dreams and we don’t always remember exactly what we dreamt, but for many people, analysis can be a way of reaching better self-understanding.

Different types of dreams

It is important to pay attention to the fact that there are different types of dreams, all of which are important to research. The various types include:

  • Daydreams – Yes! Daydreams do matter when it comes to dreaming research and understanding our mind and psyche.
  • Regular dreams – When we are experiencing regular dreams we aren’t aware of actually dreaming.
  • False awakenings – False awakenings occur when we think we are awake, getting up and going about our day, but we are actually still dreaming.
  • Nightmares – We all know what nightmares are and many of us dread them.
  • Lucid dreams – These are the dreams where we are actually lucid and even in control of what we are dreaming.

Research on Dreams

When looking at the different types of dreaming it is also important to note that there is a difference between the dreams which occur during REM periods (rapid eye movement) and those during NREM periods (non-rapid eye movement).

Research has shown that REM dreams have a more emotional and perceptual character than NREM dreams. The NREM type tends to be recreations of events that are psychologically important to us. Freud described REM dreams as being unrealistic and emotional and NREM dreams as being more realistic.

There is plenty of scientific research on dreams and many times the results show that dreams can tell a lot about our concerns and how we view the world.

Research doesn’t look only at physiological aspects but also at subjects such as how the dream content differs between men and women, how the dreams compare to what happens in real life, the differences between different cultures, and also, of course, how the dreaming can be a useful tool when working on emotional healing and understanding of self.

Finding Meaning in Dreams

Scientific research is important when we want to try and find some meaning in our nighttime experiences. By understanding more about how our brains work during sleep, we can better explain and analyze things like bizarre dreams and weird experiences.

Not every nightmare or strange dream will have significance to our mental health, though. In fact, a lot of what we are dreaming about is thought to be a process of brain cleaning and sorting out signals.

Yet, when we suddenly seem to dream every night about an empty house or see tigers leaping through our minds it could be interesting to have a look at a dream dictionary to find out what these things symbolize and what they may say about us as people.

During stressful periods, it might be hard to be in touch with underlying feelings and these might come out at nighttime as symbols or recurring themes.

Scientific research is very significant and those who work with dream analysis must be well aware of how dreaming works and what causes it.

There is a huge difference between lucid dreaming and dreaming without being aware that the dream is not reality since lucid dreams can be affected by active thought processes while regular dreams might bring forward deep unconscious thoughts.

The Broader Picture

It is not important only to determine in detail the type of dream, when it was dreamt and what might have caused it. In order to find the meaning of dreams, we must also have a look at the person’s current life experiences.

In fact, good dream interpreters aren’t only interested in hearing about the actual dream and the details of it; they will also want to know what has been on your mind lately and if you have problems with depression or other mental illness.

The more you can describe your life and what you are thinking about when you are awake, the better the analysis can be. This might seem very simple.

However, the truth is that we seldom have the ability to see our own broader picture and therefore dream analysis can be a great eye-opener to what goes on inside us. You might even want to call it a form of therapy where we map out our troubles, fears and hopes and reach a state of clarity which is very helpful to our daily lives.

Keeping a Dream Journal

How to Find out the Meaning of Dreams

When you wake up, you remember your dreams, but soon they fade away. Then, when you want to discuss them with a professional interpreter or just share with a friend, you may get annoyed when you realize that the details are already gone.

If you are interested in learning a bit more about yourself and your mind, you might want to start keeping a dream journal. Keep this journal close to your bed and record the dreams you have. This can even be done when you wake up in the middle of the night and realize you just had a weird or interesting dream.

Collecting many dreams in a journal can also be a way of seeing a pattern and find themes that recur. This is indeed how many dream researchers proceed when they want to learn more about our world of dreams and their cause and effect on our daily lives.

With a journal, you might find it easier to see a deeper meaning to your dreams but sometimes one powerful dream can be all that it takes to understand something important about your unconscious mind.


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This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. George E Moss

    Whilst scientific study of dreams is most laudable and yields much interesting data, the spiritual aspects of dreams are also highly significant. Firstly, it is necessary that we all return to spirit during sleep state in order to rejuvinate. Secondly, it is my understanding that lucid dreams are usually meaningful spirit connection/message. My own lucid dreams are always in colour. Repetative dreams can result from a bad experience that needs healing … and I have my own example of that, which I’ll not detail now! But dreams are certainly a most interesting subject for us to think about.

    1. Amy

      Yes, I agree that dreams have *much* more validity than science currently understands or acknowledges.

      When you learn to understand what your dreams are telling you and then act on the information, you start down th he path to your true calling in life and begin to co-create a beautiful life.

      Working with nightmares and integrating your shadow aspects helps to remove any barriers you have within yourself that block your full expression of yourself.

      Your dreams show you your Soul’s calling, but you need to take action to truly benefit from them. I can personally attest to this as I’ve been working with my dreams for years 🙂

  2. Mary

    I just learned that many of my dreams are “lucid”. I can return to them. Fascinating!

  3. Elizabeth

    I recently had a dream where my husband’s left eye was frosted over and he was looking at me like nothing was wrong. Then I found out that he has been turning a blind eye to certain things in order to make me happy. Nothing can make you understand your dreams better than your own life!

  4. Brian Quinton

    People often share their dreams with me because I seem to have a knack for helping them understand the hidden meanings. The images are allegorical and sometimes amusing ways the non-verbal subconscious mind “speaks” to the conscious mind. I probe the person with questions and usually the meaning dawns on them first; though sometimes I do have to point out the obvious. For example, an orange glowing stove element could mean anger to one person, a feeling of being “in the frying pan” to another, or sadness of being “burned” by a co-worker. It is important to understand the dreamer’s feelings that go along with the images.

  5. dana wills

    Will dream interpretation ever progress beyond metaphor mongering? I believe the prospects are good that we will one day crack the dream code. I have reported on developments in the efforts to crack the dream code in this blog several times in the past and will continue to do so.

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