DoaPersons

DreamActually
MeanSomething

ByAshleyHernandez
 Hernandez 1

Abstract
My project revolves around the understanding of Dreams and how they work.

Dreams are images, thoughts, sounds, and voices experienced when a person is asleep. This is

a highly interesting topic to many especially researchers who scientifically study dreams. The

controversy in the study of dreams revolves around the countless of theories on why a person

experiences dreams. Scientists have numerous theories and truly believe that their discoveries

either support or go against Sigmund Freuds famous dream theory.

The primary objective of presenting this research is to enlighten other individuals with

more information on how dreams work and the activity occurring in ones brain. My research

examines a few commonly asked question regarding dreams such as why a person dreams or

why is that many can not recall their dreams. Through this research I hope to discover what

takes place in the brain that allows someone to dream or have nightmares. Another thing I

predict to find out is whether or not dreams actually have a meaning in a persons life.

My plan to approach this topic is by thoroughly analyzing articles on the theories

of dreams and uncovering the importance of interpreting a dream. Extending further into Freuds

theory and comparing it to theories obtained today by the advancement of technology will allow

people to choose the theory they relate more closely to. Informing people interested in the study

of dreams will hopefully open their minds to new discoveries regarding dreaming.
 Hernandez 2

Historical Context

Throughout history the importance of dreams has risen and then fallen and

risen again numerous times. Nowadays many approaches exist to explore and understand

dreams. According to Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena: Dreams and Astral

Travel the author explains how in ancient times dreams were considered a gift of the gods. She

reveals how ancient civilizations believed dreams could tell future, were important in healing,

and were used magically to influence the thoughts and actions of others (Guiley, 16). Back in

history people did not just have dreams, it was believed that they were sent or given. They

concluded that good dreams were sent by Gods and bad dreams were sent by demons

because they caused illness.

Dreams varied in each ancient civilization, for example Egyptians considered

dreams to be a revelation of truth. According to Guiley, Egyptians accepted the idea that if a

person was given instructions in a dream they had to follow them or that person would suffer

misfortune (Guiley, 17). Egyptian priests were consulted for dream interpretation and spells to

help solve peoples problems, they relied on meanings that were the opposite of the dream to

interpret it. Greek philosophers such as Plato (427-347 BCE) paid a lot of attention to dreams,

he profoundly believed dreams could be controlled in order to see the truth. However on the

other hand as Christianity continued to grow, dreams deliberately began declining. Primarily

dreams and visions shaped the early development of Christianity, numerous people claimed

Angels appeared to them in their dreams. Guiley discloses how in the thirteenth century a

scholar of the Christian church named St. Thomas Aquinas further declined dreams by stating

that knowledge of the world must come only through the senses and rational thought (Guiley).

Dreams however rapidly gained importance during the twentieth century, which

was the turn in the field of psychology introduced by Sigmund Freud. Freud published a book in
 Hernandez 3

the 1900s titled The Interpretation of Dreams where he explains dreams are the royal road to

the unconscious. He claimed that dreams are wish fulfillments of repressed infantile desires

meaning that the repression of our desires or fears leads a person to the unconscious. Freuds

pupil, Carl G. Jung on the other hand disagreed he introduced archetypes, which are symbols

having a meaning beyond their significance to the individual. Jung believed archetypes are

endless and created by the repetition of situations and experiences engraved upon collective

human experience (Jung). Jung strongly disagreed with Freud over dreams that it became a

major factor in the split of their professional relationship.

According to Guiley the scientific study of dreams began approximately around

1953 when researchers from the University of Chicago confirmed that a dream likely occurs

during rapid eye movement. Researchers explain that dreams originate in the brain stem and

are controlled by neurotransmitters than either turn the dream on or off. New technological

advancements now allow scientists to develop other theories. The Scientific American uncovers

that a neurobiological theory of dreaming is the activation-synthesis hypothesis, which states

that dreams dont actually mean anything. The article explains that humans construct dream

stories after they wake up, in a natural attempt to make sense of it all (Linden). Due to

technology rapidly improving over the years new theories continue to come to light to try and

figure out the mystery behind human dreams and they either support or contradict previous

discovered theories.
 Hernandez 4

Findings

When researching this topic two main theories about dreams were very

prominent. In Parkers Complete Book of Dreams written by Julia Parker, she emphasizes that

the two most important dream theories are those of Sigmund Freud and his associate Carl

Jung. Julia explains that according to Freud our dreams reflected our deepest desires, rooted

in our infancy, and always held a serious meaning (Parker 14). Julia provides the reader with

both theories in order to allow them to chose the theory they connect closely to. However on the

other hand Jung argued dreams revealed our deepest wishes and longings, enabling us to

realize our unconscious ambitions, and helping us to fulfill them (Parker 14). Saul McLeod, a

Psychology Tutor at The University of Manchester, wrote an article titled Sigmund Freuds

Theories in which he fully goes into detail on Freuds theory. Saul reveals how Freud was

worried about one of his current patients in 1895 who extremely ill which led him to feel guilty.

Freud later dreamt that he saw a chemical formula for a drug that another doctor had given his

patient flash before his eyes and realized that her condition was caused by a dirty syringe

(McLeod) which relieved his guilt. In the article Saul explains that Freud comprehended his

dream as wish-fulfillment, he wished that his patients sickness wasnt his fault and his dream

revealed to him that it was another doctor's fault.

Plenty of controversy exists over whether or not dreams actually have a meaning

or if they are just another image in a persons brain while they sleep, which is why one my

research questions is Do you believe dreams are meaningless. In an article titled You Are

What You Dream Price the author reveals that various scientists came to the assumption that

dreams do in fact influence a persons decision and attitude. Price mentions a study conducted

by psychologists from Carnegie Mellon and Harvard University to figure out how people respond

to their dreams. The psychologists asked 128 to consider which scenario would most likely
 Hernandez 5

make them cancel their trip: the government raising the national threat level, consciously

imagining a plane crash, learning an actual flight crashed along your route, or dreaming about a

plane crash (Price). The outcome of the study was that dreaming of a plane crashing was

equally as disturbing as a real crash which led numerous of people to cancel their flight. In Ellen

Guileys book Dreams and Astral Travel she profoundly discusses how dreams are very

significant to ancient civilizations because they were considered gifts from the gods that

signified a message. Guiley breaks down dreams into three layers of meanings, she compares

them to onions because they have layer after layer of meanings. Guiley reveals that the three

main levels are personal, archetypal, and transpersonal in which they all have their own

significance. On the Personal level dreams express a part of ones self, thoughts, and

emotions , on the Archetypal level dreams express a big meaning beyond daily life , on the

Transpersonal level the dreamer sees into other realms beyond the physical world and feels

deeply connected to the divine (Guiley 32,34). The results from question 2 on my research

survey demonstrated that seventy-four percent of males and females combined believe that

dreams are not meaningless (Graph #2).

However, on

the other hand

Mark Solms, a

South African

neuroscientist,

mentioned in
 Hernandez 6

Why We Dream claims dreaming may be what allows a person to sleep and not a byproduct of

sleep. To support his claim he explains how brain mechanisms involved in REM sleep can be

entirely different from those involved in dreaming and that dreaming is believed to recruit areas

of the brain involved in higher mental functions(Solms). Harvard University psychiatrists, John

Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley in the article Do People Actually Believe Dreams Mean

Something to Us ? state a theory that dreams actually do not have meaning. Both McCarley

and Hobson claim dreams are merely electrical brain impulses that pull random thoughts and

imagery from our memories (McCarley, Hobson). To support their theory the psychiatrists

suggest that people assemble stories after they awake, which is an attempt to understand these

images.

When researching this topic a frequently asked question is why is it that after

waking up numerous people do not remember their dreams, this led me to ask the question in

my survey because just like other people I was also curious to know why dreams are sometimes

forgotten. Sigmund Freud discusses this topic in his book The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)

here is where he talks about factors that cause a person to not remember their dreams. Freud

reveals that in the waking state we commonly very soon forget many great sensations and

perceptions because they are too slight to remember or people just do not take interest in their

dreams which makes them forget (Freud). Cristina Marzano, a researcher mentioned in The

Science Behind Dreaming by the Scientific American, reveals that her and her colleagues from

the University of Rome succeeded in explaining how humans remember their dreams. Marzano

predicted that successfully remembering a dream depended on on a signature brainwave,

there are four types of electrical brain waves: delta, theta, alpha, and beta each representing a

different speed of electrical voltages (Marzano). To support her claim she discusses how her

team had 65 students go to their research laboratory and measured the student's brain waves
 Hernandez 7

while they were sleeping the outcome was whoever experienced more low frequency theta

waves in the frontal lobe was most likely to remember their dreams(Marzano). According to

Maury Breecher in The Biology of Dreaming a Controversy that wont go to Sleep sleep

researchers have discovered that a person can remember dreams more frequently if they are

awaken when it is evident that their eyes are moving quickly beneath their eyelids. He discusses

there is no evidence to suggest that remembered dreams are anything more than an accidental

byproduct of this (REM) function" (Breecher). Michelle Carr a writer from Psychology Today also

associated dreams with REM characteristics, she found that 74.1% of participants remembered

their dreams from REM sleep. However, Carr mentions that there is an in increase in

percentage of NREM dream but, the data could be inconsistent. To support this claim she

explains how variations in methodology, time of night, and participant expectations can

influence or increase the frequency of dream recall from NREM sleep (Carr). In the research

survey when combining the choices of both females and males who answered yes when asked

if they wonder why they cant remember their dreams the result was 74% percent. Only 26% of

both males and females combined answered no, so it is clear from this survey that numerous

people wonder what is the reasoning behind forgetting their dreams (Graph #4).
 Hernandez 8

When a person visualizes dreams it is often accompanied by nightmares, but what is

the difference if they both occur while one is asleep. In the article How do we dream? What are

nightmares? written by Hannah Nichols, she claims that a nightmare is a distressing dream

that usually forces at least partial awakening(Nichols). Nichols advances further into details by

revealing that a dreamer can encounter many unsettling emotions during a nightmare such as

anger or sadness, but the most average emotion is fear. She introduces the threat simulation

theory of dreaming (TST) in order to demonstrate that dream consciousness is a defense

mechanism, that repeatedly simulates threatening events (Nichols). In the podcast, The

Science Behind Dreams and Nightmares, radio host Neal Conan interviews Natalie Angier (a

science columnist) who reveals that most of the dreams a person experiences are bad. Angier

asserts that you can have a bad dream that you just continue to sleep through or if it wakes you

up, that's called a nightmare (Angier). Through their discussion it is revealed that children are

usually the ones who frequently have nightmares. Angier explains that probably the fact they

are scared a lot in waking life can be a reason they usually have more nightmares. Borreli in the

article, A Bad Dream Is More Than Just A Dream: The Science Of Nightmares (2015), she

explains that nightmares usually occur during the last third of the night when REM sleep is the

strongest. She reveals that nightmares can be tied to childhood trauma as an example she talks

about a client who had nightmares of her husband leaving her even though they had a happy

marriage, it was revealed that the nightmares were due to the trauma of feeling unloved by her

parents. Another asked question in the survey was if people knew the difference between

nightmares and dreams and about 79% of males and females claimed they did, but about 8%

were uncertain about the difference between both (Graph #3).

 Hernandez 9

Another factor that connects with dreaming is lucid dreaming, in A History of Dream

Research Rebecca Turner explains that lucid dreaming is the awareness that one is dreaming

while the dream is occurring. Turner reveals that lucid dreaming has advanced our

understanding of the dreaming mind, revealing an extraordinary capacity for conscious thought

while asleep (Turner). Radio host Malcolm Lynn interviews Dr. Stephen La Berge who is a

world leader in the scientific study of lucid dreaming their discussion goes further into details

on lucid dreaming. La Berge explains that lucid dreaming is a meta consciousness which

basically means one can control lucid dreams because the person is aware that they are

dreaming. He also mentions how In a lucid dream everything is practically identical to your real

life, so that it is incredibly hard to tell whether it's reality or a lucid dream (Malcolm). Stephen La

Berge is also introduced in Guileys book in where she discusses La Berges studies from the

1970s. She reveals that his subjects were measured to show correlations between actions in

their lucid dreams and physiological changes in their bodies and in brain wave activity (Guiley
 Hernandez 10

45). LaBerge opened the door to new approaches for mind-body relationships by giving

dreamers tasks to perform during their dreaming sleep. In the survey I conducted another

question that was asked was if people believed they were able to control their own dreams and

about half said they did while the other said they were uncertain (Graph #5).

According to the World of Lucid Dreaming the more a person becomes aware of the dream

atmosphere the easier it is for the person to control it. In the article it explains different ways to

form a dream as it is happening, one being Say your desire out loud and let the dream present

it meaning that the power of the dreams lies within the words a person speaks (Turner). During

lucid dreaming one is able to experience anything they want whether it be flying, finding objects,

or changing the atmosphere.

 Hernandez 11

Epilogue

Till this day there are highly amounts of theories revolving around the process of

how dreams function in the human brain. There will obviously be multiple opinions developing

throughout the years as technology begins to alter. It is probably safe to say that Freuds and

Jungs theories will always be prominent in the research of dream because these two are

basically the ones who revived the interest in dreams in the twentieth century. The other topic in

which people establish different positions on is whether or not dreams actually signify something

of importance in a persons life. As mentioned previously in the historical context in ancient

civilizations interpreting dreams was very important. Nowadays websites and books exist that

help a person figure out the significance of their dream, however there are other people that do

not really care for the meaning of a dream.

Through this research I figured out the source behind nightmares and the

difference that exists between regular dreams and horrific dreams. It was revealed that

nightmares usually wake a person up and if not then it was just a bad dream. The other plan in

his research was to figure out if dreams have a meaning in a persons life, and when

researching this question there was various point of views. Whether or not a dreams have some

significance depends on the person experiencing them and if they chose to believe what they

dreamt has impact on their life. For many dreams are just images they experience in their sleep,

but to others these images relate to a situation in their current lives. In the research findings

there are positions in which people believe they do have meaning and positions were others do

not to allow the reader to understand both positions and decide for themselves which one they

agree with.

The conclusion that I drew from this research is that new theories are continuously

developing because of the advancement in technology. New discoveries either support

 Hernandez 12

previously found theories or contradicts them which makes it harder for people to comprehend

what causes a person to experience dreams. Having newly obtained information about dreams

could have immensely helped my research because it would of have been information obtained

through current technological resources. Overall dreams are seen as a controversial topic

because new findings are always coming to light that can completely change the understanding

of dreams.
 Hernandez 13

Work Cited

Borreli, Lizette. A Bad Dream Is More Than Just A Dream: The Science Of Nightmares, Mar.
2015. http://www.medicaldaily.com/bad-dream-more-just-dream-science-nightmares-327586.
Feb. 2016

Breecher, Maury. The Biology of Dreaming a Controversy that won't go to Sleep. Columbia
University. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/21stC/issue-3.4/breecher.html

Carr, Michelle. A Brief History of Dream Research. Psychology Today, June 2016.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dream-factory/201606/brief-history-dream-research

Conan, Neal. The Science Behind Dreams and Nightmares. Audio blog post. Southern
California Public Radio. October 30, 2007. Accessed March 1, 2017

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams, A. A. Brill, tr. Macmillan, New York, 1913.

Linden, der van Sander. The Science Behind Dreaming. Scientific American, July 2011.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-behind-dreaming

Malcolm, Lynn. Dreamsthe lucid experience. Audio blog post. Australian Broadcasting
Corporation. 2 November 2014. Accessed March 1, 2017.

Marano Estroff, Hara. Why We Dream. Psychology Today, March 2005. Accessed March 2017.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200503/why-we-dream

McLeod, Saul. Sigmund Freuds Theories. Simply Psychology, 2013. Accessed March 2017.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html

Nichols, Hannah. How do we dream? What are nightmares?. Medical News Today, October
2015. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/297625.php

Parker, Julia and Derek. Parkers Complete Book of Dreams. Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc:
New York, 1995. Print

Price, M. You Are What You Dream. American Psychological Association. April 2009. Accessed
March 2016. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/04/dream.aspx

Turner, Rebecca. A History of Dream Research. World of Lucid Dreaming.

http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/dream-research.html. Feb. 2016
Hernandez 14
Hernandez 15