Our brains are complex and can do anything

When you dream you think you’ve been dreaming all night because they seem so long and complicated, almost like watching a movie. But in reality, dreams only happen in the last few moments before you wake up. It’s extraordinary how our brains can have what seem like long drawn-out movies in such short periods of time. No one can say they never dream because everybody does, including babies. Those who say they never do most likely never remember them. And what people dream about, and how vivid those dreams are, is a reflection of their state of mind and, in some cases, the state of their health. Dreams can be triggered by a health scare or a newly diagnosed health condition. When I was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation, the cardiologist sent me home wired to a 48-hour heart monitor and a blood pressure monitor. That first night’s dream was very ‘hospitally’ involving invasive surgical procedures.

A much discussed topic during the day can also trigger a dream about that topic. For example, if those around you are talking about your upcoming driving test, it could trigger a dream where you’re taking your test but you fail. Or you miss it altogether. Some dreams are of past incidences that your subconscious has recalled for no apparent reason. For example, even if you did well in your exams, out of the blue you might suddenly dream about being back at school or university and revising for your exams. You seem fearful in your dream and wake up relieved that that’s just what it was.

Some people’s dreams are recurring and these dreams may point towards unresolved issues in the person’s life or mind.

For example, for years I kept dreaming I was looking for an opportunity to make a phone call to my best friend in London. This was in the days when there were no mobile phones. It was always a different scenario but with the same running theme. I’d find a phone and dial but never get through. Once I was able to make contact with her, the dreams stopped.

Some dreams, although not recurring in the literal sense, often have variations of them appear. In fact, losing someone, like a parent, can have that effect. In 2013, when my father passed away, my siblings and I kept seeing him in our dreams. I’m sure this is common for all children who lose a parent. Sometimes he was alive, young and well whereas in others he was quite unwell and back at the hospital. Or, to our surprise and happiness, he wasn’t young but suddenly walked through the front door, as though nothing had happened to him.

Dreams are weird. They often distort images and they tend to distort reality. For example, out of the blue, a celebrity you’ve never met or even thought about, or whose films you haven’t seen in months, might suddenly appear in your dream as your best friend and, weirdly enough, you wake up with fond feelings for that celebrity even though you’ve never met them.

Some dreams are a bit like nightmares. In them you can’t scream, even though you’re trying very hard to, and in others you can’t run but you feel you need to. In some dreams you’re doing nothing but running and then find yourself waking up exhausted. These dreams are not restful.

In some dreams you know you are dreaming and want to make the most of a happy situation because you know you might wake up and never see it again. But sometimes you need to tell yourself that you’re dreaming but for exactly the opposite reason. If a situation you’re seeing in a dream is particularly scary to you, or you have a phobia of some sort, you need to stop yourself from being scared by telling yourself ‘it’s not real’.

Some people think that dreams are our ways of letting our souls travel into a parallel universe to where our opposite selves experience different events. Of course there’s no proof that it could happen. In my view our brains are complex and can do anything.