Dreams can occur anytime during sleep. But most vivid dreams occur during deep, REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, when the brain is most active. Some experts say we dream at least four to six times per night.
Everyone dreams, and there are many types of dreams, some of which are not remembered after awakening. Dreams represent images and stories we create in our mind during sleep, and can be very vivid and make you feel afraid, sad, or happy. They may seem rational or be extremely confusing. You may ask: why do I dream so much? It may be that you have lots of REM sleep, which is the time when dreaming is most prevalent.
Scientists do not know why some people dream a lot and others do not. However, it is true that there are those who have dreams that last for a longer time during the night and are more vivid than others’. It could mean that there is a great emotional burden some people are experiencing so that they actually have nightmares. It is not considered dangerous to dream excessively or to have really vivid dreams.
You may be dreaming a lot because you have a lot to think about. According to Freud, dreams happen because we have inner conflicts that need working out in our subconscious. Other scientists believe that dreams are a way to organize or categorize our thoughts and memories. It is suspected that we have about four or more dreams per night but many people don’t remember them.