Dreams are hallucinations that occur during different phases of sleep. Sometimes we
experience pleasant dreams, but sometimes we experience nightmares. In this essay, I will
explain the oldest philosophical question I can recall, why do we experience dreams during
sleep?
I was only six years old when I began to wonder why we dream. The dream that
triggered this question was a nightmare. I recall with vivid memories sitting on the edge of my
bed in the wee hours of the night. I had just woken up to a terrible nightmare where a strong,
scar-faced, hairy man was throwing me into a sugar mill. I was going down the conveyer about
to get to the crusher when my coat got stuck. It was at this point when I woke up. I was
trembling and panting heavily.
This dream terrified and I kept wondering what this dream meant to me. Every night
while trying to catch some sleep, I would hear strange sounds like that of a busy sugar industry
Worse, I began to fear to sleep alone and shifted to my brother’s room. This fear would
eventually disappear as I grew into a teenage. However, although the fear would eventually end
and nightmare become rare, there has always been a big question, why do we dream?
This nightmare is just one of the numerous bizarre instances that individuals perceive to
occur to them while they are sleeping. Numerous research try to understand the purpose of
dreams. Some people try to connect some specific elements of their dreams to some experiences
in real life. Others attribute dreams to psychological issues such as anxiety and tension.
However, despite the numerous attempts to demystify the dream phenomenon, humans have not
found the precise answer to the question, “why do we dream?”
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Despite the numerous research trying to identify why we experience dreams, there is still
no exact answer about it. Consequently, we recognize the actual function of dreaming of
supporting the argument why humans spend a third of their lifetime sleeping. Otherwise, we will
have to be content with enjoying the shows that appear