Throughout the years many great people have studied and developed theories on why we dream, but the truth behind those theories are questionable. The fact is that even to this day, scientists really have no answer to why we dream. Even after countless hours studying sleep and dream behavior the best they can offer is another theory and some information about a persons state of mind while they are dreaming which to be honest, only leaves us wanting to know more.

So to better understand why we dream, we first have to understand what happens when we dream. According to Brady Riedner, a researcher with the UW-Madison Center for Sleep and Consciousness, “What we do know is that during dreaming sleep, the brain is just as active as it is during waking, but in a different way.” The University of Wisconsin-Madison followed up on Brady Riedner's research by saying,

He explains that because the sleeping brain is mostly disconnected from the rest of the world, its activity can be more spontaneous, bouncing around to any number and combination of thoughts, in no apparent logical order. That’s why dreams – though seemingly very real – tend to progress in weird and unpredictable ways.

At the same time, dreams aren’t totally random. They often relate to events and thoughts from waking life. Why? Scientists know the brain’s structure is shaped by the stimuli it takes in while awake; for example, thoughts and experiences are known to strengthen the connections between certain neurons. Dreams, therefore, might merely be echoes of these daytime changes.

In reality, all of this makes sense. Dreams may simply be a reflection of the thoughts and activities we experience throughout the day, although many people would disagree with this completely. Consider the people that believe in spirituality and higher powers, may argue that dreams are a method of transporting our minds outside of our bodies or even a window into the past and/or future, which would also make sense from their prospective.

The problem with what I say above, is that it again brings us back to theory, nothing more. There is no evidence that would back up or coincide with what was said, they are only peoples thoughts on the subject. Which leads to me to the next portion of this article, theories on why we dream. Read over the theories below and decide which one you may be inclined to believe and let me know.

Theories on Why We Dream

Alfred Adler believed: "Dreams attempt to solve problems according to the individual style of life and they are not to be interpreted as common sense. It has been shown that the ancients always considered dreams in connection with a problem of life. That they were right in doing this is shown by the fact that the more satisfied a person becomes, that is, the less his problem disturbs him, the less he will dream. It has also been shown by Individual Psychology that in dreams we attempt to 'fool' ourselves. The two ideas are not contradictory. We fool ourselves into an inadequate solution of a problem, inadequate from the standpoint of common sense but adequate from the standpoint of the style of life. We do this by dismissing important facts and leaving only a small part of the problem which can, if everything is put into figurative form, be solved easily."

Ernest Hartman believes: "Activation patterns are shifting and connections are being made and unmade constantly in our brains, forming the physical basis for our minds. There is a whole continuum in the making of connections that we subsequently experience as mental functioning. At one end of the continuum is focused waking activity, such as when we are doing an arithmetic problem or chasing down a fly ball in the outfield. Here our mental functioning is focused, linear and well-bounded. When we move from focused waking to looser waking thought--reverie, daydreaming and finally dreaming--mental activity becomes less focused, looser, more global and more imagistic. Dreaming is the far end of this continuum: the state in which we make connections most loosely."

Sigmund Freud wrote in his book, "The Interpretation of Dreams" that: "Dreams are disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes." "He also described two different components of dreams: manifest content and latent content. Manifest content is the actual images, thoughts and content contained within the dream, while the latent content is the hidden psychological meaning of the dream."

Jung: "believed that archetypes such as the animus, the anima, the shadow and others manifested themselves in dreams, as dream symbols or figures. Such figures could take the form of an old man, a young maiden or a giant spider as the case may be. Each represents an unconscious attitude that is largely hidden to the conscious mind. Although an integral part of the dreamers psyche, these manifestations were largely autonomous and were perceived by the dreamer to be external personages. Acquaintance with the archetypes as manifested by these symbols serve to increase one's awareness of unconscious attitudes, integrating seemingly disparate parts of the psyche and contributing to the process of holistic self understanding he considered paramount."

"Jung also believed that material repressed by the conscious mind, postulated by Freud to comprise the unconscious, was similar to his own concept of the shadow, which in itself is only a small part of the unconscious."

By now you should be able to see just how widely these dream theories tend to vary from expert to expert, which makes sense as to why no single person has the ability to point to a direct cause for dreaming. So what are your theories on why we dream, or which one of these theories do you lean more towards believing?

After a recent article I published about disorders that may be causing some of you to be having trouble sleeping, I wanted to follow-up with a list of natural sleeping aids that may help you get a better nights sleep.

Anyone who has flipped through a newspaper or caught a few minutes of the local news has surely heard the ridiculous amount of side effects associated with all of these sleeping medications on the market. Aside from the long list of side effects, many of them are also very addictive, which only leads to further complications. So my question to you is, why put your health in jeopardy(not the game show) to get a good nights sleep, when you can use safe and natural sleeping aids to do the same thing?

Your answer to my question might be that you don't believe in natural remedies, but I will tell you that it is in your best interest to at least give them a try before you rule them out. So without further ado, here is my list the top 7 natural sleep aids, hopefully they help:

A Warm Glass of Milk: Often thought to be an old wives tale, many of us remember back to childhood when our mom would give us a warm glass of milk to help us get to sleep. Well guess what, it really does work. Milk, along with most other dairy foods contain an amino acid called Tryptophan, which your body converts to Melatonin and Serotonin, both of which are believed to induce sleep. One word of advice here, this works best on an empty stomach, protein for instance will counteract the Tryptophan and not work.

Turkey Sandwich: Turkey is again, a great source of Tryptophan as mentioned above. Tryptophan is one of the most common sleep inducers and surprisingly, has been proved to work very well in various sleep studies conducted around the world.

Chamomile Tea: The dried flowers of the Chamomile plant are often used to make a hot tea that is believed to have many healing properties. One of those properties is Chamomile's unique ability to serve as a relaxant and sleep inducer. Chamomile was used by Ancient Egyptians and early European civilizations as a cure for insomnia among other health problems. Chamomile tea can be purchased at virtually every grocery store in the country as well as online. Fresh chamomile is the most potent and thus seems to work the best, but tea bags should work also, if that is what is available to you at the time.

Valerian Root: The use of Valerian root has been traced back as far ancient Greece. Hippocrates wrote about its therapeutic uses and at one point in the 2nd century, Galen prescribed Valerian root for insomnia. With such a distinct past, it is not surprising that several different studies suggest that Valerian root one of the best natural sleeping aids on the market today. You can buy Valerian root online through several retailers, and you can also find it in your local health food and supplement stores.

Melotonin: Melatonin is produced naturally within our bodies by what is called the Pineal gland. The pineal gland is a small pea sized gland in the center of the brain. At night, Melatonin is produced to help our bodies regulate our sleep and wake cycles. Melatonin supplements, however, are manufactured herbal supplements that are designed to avoid the side effects that are associated with many non natural sleep aids. Modern research shows that when taken at night, Melatonin supplements battle insomnia, by making it easier to sleep through the night.

Sleep Fix: Sleep Fix contains homeopathic ingredients designed to relieve the occasional symptoms of difficulty falling asleep, waking during the night, sleeplessness, and poor sleep quality. The homeopathic ingredients are formulated in strict compliance with the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States. Sleep Fix also contains a base of relaxing botanicals and 1 mg of Melatonin per dose.

Reading without enough light: While this method is not recommended to cure your insomnia all of the time, it will help you get to sleep in a pinch. When you read a book or magazine without the proper amount of light, you cause your eyes and brain to work much harder at trying to focus in on the text in front of you. This extra workload serves very well as a means to wear down your brain and help you get to sleep. This is why so many people read before bed, they might not realize it, but it usually isn't the book itself that makes them sleepy, but rather the lack of good lighting as they are reading. Overtime, this method can cause problems with your vision due to the increased strain on your eyes, but as I said before it does work as a last resort.

Hopefully after reading this article, you will be able to put your new found knowledge of natural sleeping aids to work and get a good nights sleep. Sweet Dreams!

If you are having trouble sleeping, it can be the result of many different things or conditions. Sometimes stress is the reason for not sleeping. Worrying about a problem in ones life can cause a person to have trouble sleeping. These are minor forms of sleepless nights, but other reasons may cause some concern. Sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome and uncontrolled limb movement can cause sleepless nights. Any problem that is causing you to have trouble sleeping, needs to be addressed. Sleep deprivation can jeopardize ones health.

Sleep apnea is one reason as to why you might be having trouble sleeping. Sleep apnea is an issue that you need to discuss with your doctor and can be considered serious. Basically, it is a form of sleep deprivation caused when the airflow is disturbed during sleep. This causes the person to wake up and gasp for air. It can be a scary situation if you do not understand why it is happening. Snoring plays a part in sleep apnea as well as being tired during the day. This sleep disorder can increase the risk of stroke, heart attack and high blood pressure. If you are having trouble sleeping due to sleep apnea, you need to seek medical attention.

People having trouble sleeping might also be experiencing insomnia. Those of you suffering from insomnia usually cannot fall asleep or cannot stay asleep during the night. Waking up and not being able to fall back to sleep can cause other health related issues. The body needs rest in order to properly function and replenish its precious energy supplies. If you suffer from insomnia, you need to talk with a doctor to see what you can do to correct the problem. You might also look into any direct causes of waking up through the night, such as noise in the room, spouse moving etc., are all common disturbances. There may be another sleep disorder or health problem causing it to happen. Continue Reading »