What are dreams?

I never really understand why we dream some nights and not others. Or, rather, why we remember our dreams some nights and not others...

I even watched Nova's "What Are Dreams?" which I loved.

You know, you go through different cycles while you sleep....

But I guess it baffles me how each night can be completely different depending on how tired you are, your eating and sleeping habits, how stressed you are, and probably even your before-bed routine.

I think the biggest thing is how much you dream/remember your dream when you're exhausted.

And, also, do you think you dream every night or just certain nights? It's hard to know if you can't remember it, but surely you dream anyway...?

Once on a family vacation, my mom told me I was talking in my sleep and I said, "Um, I'll have....," like I was ordering food (ha!). But had no recollection of dreaming anything.

So, what makes certain dreams stand out?

I think the answer must be the stage during which you dream. I feel like I often remember the dreams as Im waking up. Or is it all just an illusion? Did I dream it before and am now just remembering and recreating it?

It fascinates me to no end! I should have been a dream researcher (?) because I love it! and also love interpreting dreams.

I feel like I dream more often than others, or at least remember them more often, and they are always pretty crazy.... which makes sense because I have a pretty vivid imagination.

But I love remembering them and it's almost like a puzzle trying to make sense of it and remembering all the little pieces.

Also, I wonder, when you can't remember bits of your dream, if you really dream in broken "scenes" or if you can only remember bits and pieces that are remembered in splices?

Anyone have any thoughts? I would love to hear other people's thoughts and theories about it all.

And what about the claim that you can "steer" your dreams? - that you can sort of will yourself to dream about something specific. Do you believe it? or have you had any experience with that?

So, here's what I dreamt last night (which is obviously what spurred this train of thought):

I was in a coffee shop (which was actually very reminiscent of a community center: very open, lots of couches, several long tables, microwave, etc. but still had a pastry/espresso bar) with a girl from my dragonboat racing team, who has been in Canada the past several weeks (a month?) but who was always, from the very start, very friendly and welcoming. (We're not that great of friends but I really enjoy her and always love when she's at practice (we often share a bench on the boat))

Anyway, I don't remember much, but I remember we were hanging out in that coffee shop at a corner table and I feel like we were laughing and having a good time, but I kept checking my phone and for some reason was supposed to be at work at 24hour Fitness (I haven't worked there in months!) at 3:25. It became 3:15 so I started getting all my things together (Im late, even in my dreams!). This invented coffee shop was in NW (Old Town) - though Im not exactly sure where, but I was envisioning the walk to 24 and part of that was crossing Burnside - and so I decided I would just run there.

But I had to go to the bathroom first (before putting on my running shoes -gross- for some reason) and I went to the bathroom and the stalls had doors with circular "windows" on them like portholes, like you would see in a cruise-ship room -random!- and while I was going to the bathroom, I leaned over (for some reason) to look out the porthole and two guys (!) were in walking in the bathroom....

And then I woke up. And really, really, had to go to the bathroom.