There are many theories about what dreams are, what they mean, and why we have them. While science attempts to understand the nature of dreams, the public continues to believe that dreams contain important, hidden truths.
But do they?
Dreams comprise mental images and events that occur throughout the dreamer’s day or week in a form similar to that of a movie. The most vivid dreams tend to occur during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep, when brain activity is most active. The dreamer usually recollects their dreams after waking up the next morning, and this helps them process memories, alter emotions, and simulate events. In addition to recollection, dreams can impact everyday people, like those in Edison High School, in aspects like memory, stress, and anxiety.
While dreaming can be beneficial in terms of enhancing memory, it can also have negative effects on one’s daily life. To explore this idea, researchers from the American Psychological Society conducted a survey involving commuters at a Boston train station. They asked participants to imagine four different situations that could happen the night before a scheduled airline trip: a raise in the national threat level due to potential terrorist attack; thinking about the plane crashing; dreaming about a plane crash; or experiencing a real plane crash on the route they planned to take. Many responded that a dream about a plane crash was more likely to affect their travel plans and flight experience through increased levels of anxiety.

“I had a dream about being at the airport, but a bunch of things happened and I missed my flight. When I woke up and went to the airport, I was constantly worried about missing a flight,” said Adithi Suresh ‘28.
This not only applies to this airport scenario, as many others have also had dreams puppet their actions. However, this airport scenario is not the only method to determine the effect of dreams on the thoughts and actions of humans. In fact, there are a diverse number of situations in which dreams can puppet the actions of high school students.
“There was one dream when I felt like I was falling from a building… we had to go to the Empire State Building that day… so I stayed away from the edge,” said Dinesh Kumar Madasamy ‘25.
In addition to controlling one’s behavior, dreams serve as a reflection of one’s current mental state. Our mental well-being plays a vital role in our overall health, yet it can easily suffer due to common pressures like stress. Whether it is short-term or long-term, toxic stress negatively affects our sleep quality and reduces the amount of time we spend in REM sleep. This reduction in REM can hinder our ability to process memories, process emotions, and simulate events. Dr. Heidi Mowawad, a physician and writer of “Why Don’t I Dream,” notes that unresolved stress can lead to burnout, depression, increased substance use, anxiety, and PTSD, all of which can significantly disrupt our ability to fall and stay asleep at night.

In our own school, many students struggle with anxiety, which greatly impacts their ability to enter REM sleep and reflect on the day. Without this regular REM sleep, students can experience issues with memory recall, heightened emotions, and increased anxiety during the day. This can significantly affect a student’s performance in school, as these elements are essential for navigating the school day. It is important to address anxiety and encourage healthy sleep habits to support ourselves and those around us.
“Usually, I don’t have dreams because I sleep really late. And I think because I don’t get a lot of sleep, it makes me feel anxious… It’s mainly because of school,” said Sohil Parekh ‘28.
Dreams reveal a complex relationship between our subconscious and mental well-being. They reflect our emotional states and impact our daily functioning, especially when factors such as stress and anxiety persist. Understanding our dreams can enhance mental health, improve memory, and help us navigate challenges. In other words, dreams can act as the puppeteer of human behavior, influencing our thoughts and actions in various ways.