Dreams can be highly ambiguous or extremely realistic, and full of pleasant emotion or horrifying images. A dream may consist of all of the emotions, images, and thoughts experienced during slumber. Even when we are in a deep sleep our perceptual window is open a crack. Sooner or later, sleep overtakes us. As consciousness fades, different parts of our brain's cortex stop communicating, yet the sleeping brain remains active. While asleep we cycle through specific sleep stages, after an hour of sleep we experience rapid eye movement and brain waves, which signals that we are in fact, dreaming.
Although there may not be one exact reason why we dream, there are several theories. To file away memories, develop and preserve neural pathways, make