I remember the exact night when I questioned myself: Why do we actually sleep and how? It was one day before the beginning of my new autumn semester, and probably some additional hours of sleep would not have hurt me, but I became painfully aware of the mysteriousness of something that seems so natural.

Indeed, why do we sleep? It is fascinating that in all the time that science exists, this question has not been answered properly and in detail. The broader explanation attributes the necessity of sleep to important maintenance processes of our brains as well as the basic need to heal the body and restore all necessary energy.

This dry explanation did not satisfy my curiosity of 11 p.m. research, and I dove deeper into the question of the dreams and why do we need to see them when our brains are supposed to take rest. Somnology, the study of dreams, has even more questions on this matter. There is no clear theory that could justify this strange behavior of hallucinating while sleeping, even despite all the extensive research. Some of the most possible hypotheses refer to the dreams as assistance with memory storage, an instrument for emotional healing, or preparation for possible threats. If we take a look back at the Middle Ages and even earlier, the dreams were always interpreted as true prophecies to be deciphered.

I personally believe that dreams are the most accessible and, probably, also the only possible way for humans to interact with their subconsciousness. Sometimes it feels almost like prophecy or a sign from above exactly because, on the subconscious level, a thought or idea has already existed for a long time, only now materializing as a direct message. But there are more of the dreams - those that try to erase or revive the moments from our past; those that speak out loud our fears and worries (like that dream when I missed the alarm clock in the early morning); and those that are simply too cryptic and puzzling for our brains to process, so they just remain as confusing blank spots in our memories.

In any way, be it a scientific instrument of our bodies or something more spiritual, coming from our mind and soul, the dreams play an utterly important part in our perception of reality.