To Dream, Perchance to Sleep

Humans spend approximately 30 to 40% of their lives sleeping. This is looked upon by some as a waste of time, a significant portion of their life lost. Thomas Edison even described sleep as a criminal waste of time. Not me. I’m a dreamer!

Sigmund Freud did some of the most important modern research on dreams and their meaning during the turn of the 20th Century (1900). He theorized that in dreams, our ego’s defenses are lowered, and repressed material emerges, albeit in a distorted form. He established the concept of the “manifest content” (what a dreamer remembers) and the “latent content” (the symbolic meaning, or wish). This can be summarized as saying “every dream is a wish.”

I don’t necessarily think this is true. In an admittedly informal survey of friends, a few trends emerged to refute this position. Maybe we can figure out what dreams are all about, especially since Sigmund has been dead a long time.

The first thing I asked people was whether they dreamed in color or black and white. Most said they experienced dreams in color, although a few said black and white. One (me) said he didn’t know, and I honestly don’t. It seems like they might be in color, but I’m not sure. I certainly have colorful dreams (more on this later), so it’s somewhat ironic this should be the case.

Then I asked if people remembered their dreams. Most said they remembered some dreams, but not all. Even if they remembered them, however, it was often for a relatively short time. Once again, I’m part of a distinct minority, since I remember my dreams virtually every night, often for a long time. At this point, many are wondering what’s wrong with me. As am I.

Then I investigated whether there were any recurring themes to people’s dreams. Most answered this question affirmatively, including me. However, the recurring themes tended to be more of a fear than a wish. For example, my best friend Tony’s wife Paula said she has a dream where she forgot a school assignment. I have experienced this type of dream, also, often losing my dogs, passport, etc., as well as forgetting an exam at school. This would never happen in real life, by the way, but I guess my subconscious thinks otherwise. I’m pretty sure Paula, who was an excellent student and became an R.N., never actually forgot an assignment, either. Go figure!

Amazingly enough, I can do fantastic things like flying at will in some dreams. Others said the same thing, so at least it’s not just me this time. Interestingly, while I’m flying or looking for dogs, etc., I’m aware at some level that I’m in a dream. I always know I didn’t actually fly or lose things or whatever. But flying is still fun while it lasts.

Again, unlike many others, I’m an incredibly restless sleeper. My mom, sleeping the sleep of the innocent, can go weeks without making her bed. I kick off comforters, separate pillows from their covers and generally make a mess of my bed. I like a lot of weight when I sleep, so I usually have two comforters and a bedspread on top of me. I’ll kick off something in a typical night, but the crazy thing is, it’s often the middle comforter on the floor, not the top or bottom layer like you’d guess. I’ll also often get the cover off a bottom pillow of the four I use, two for me and two for the little dog Peekaboo who sleeps beside me (if I haven’t lost her). The top ones will be inexplicably intact.

To summarize, I think sleep and dreams serve a definite purpose, despite what Mr. Edison thought. In fact, I’d call it our manifest destiny to sleep and dream. Every dream may not be a wish, but it is a dream, and probably has some meaning if you can figure it out. Often, it seems to be a subconscious fear we’re hiding from. If Thomas Edison had spent more time inventing something important like My Pillow and less with things like the light bulb or a stereo player, perhaps he’d understand. I sure don’t.

Rob is a retired Southern Illinois University instructor who lives on his family's farm in Union County. His mother Joan, who is a nice person, lives in Cape Girardeau.