You’re about to give a presentation in class when your teeth suddenly start falling out and clattering to the ground. You’re running from a pack of wolves that talk with your little sister’s voice. You’re sitting at your local coffee shop when Harry Styles walks in and asks to marry you. Dreams can take many forms, but at their root, they are simply mental images people experience while they are asleep. Dreams are so unusual that even experts struggle to understand the science and the root cause behind them. While their true purpose is yet to be discovered, experts believe that dreams occur to help store important memories, reflect on recent activities, or even prepare for challenges one might face in the future. So, though dreams might feel unexplainable at times, each one holds a unique purpose.

The most intense dreams tend to happen during the REM (rapid eye movement) cycle, which is the last stage of the sleep cycle. During the REM cycle, brain activity increases and your eyes tend to move quickly while closed. If you’ve ever experienced a really emotional, unforgettable dream, you likely have the REM cycle to blame. It can lead one to recall vivid emotions and images, making it a prime time for nightmares.

Many people believe that dreams of certain scenarios portend specific futures. For example, dreaming of your teeth falling out means that you will deal with a sudden loss in life. But is this true? Are dreams premonitions? The short answer is no. There really is no scientific evidence to prove whether or not dreams have any meaning at all. While every dream does hold some truth in it since they are generated from your subconscious, one cannot interpret their dreams with any accuracy. Dr. Diedre Barret, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, claims that “Not all dreams are meaningful. Though, in fact, much of their content can be trivial or circular or repetitive.” In other words, if a source says that your dream about falling means you’re suddenly going to lose control of your life, it’s not necessarily true!

Dreams can be a mix of good and bad; one minute you might be stargazing while the next you may be falling off a cliff! These are nightmares, dreams that tend to be frightening. They are often triggered by stress or anxiety. Nightmares are common, especially ones about falling and being chased. Like dreams, nightmares don’t necessarily mean anything about your future. But excessive nightmares can be a sign that your emotions and anxieties are running high and consuming your subconscious.

Dreams are a natural part of life, even if they can be a little unnerving from time to time. We should reflect on our dreams and take notice when they seem to mirror our real-life anxieties, but nothing more than that. As soon as you open your eyes from a bad dream, there is a real-world to live and love.