Dreams are mysterious things that happen to everyone. Dreams have been around for centuries, and many theorists have tried to understand exactly what dreams mean. From ancient times to today people still wonder what goes on in their minds that drives them to produce these extraordinary things called dreams. Dreams have been interpreted into various meanings over the years, and almost everyone has a different take on what they mean and why people dream. Different types of sleep affect certain types of dreams. There are many different experiments that people can do to find out why they dream and what they dream about. Most of these experiments are quite easy to do and don't cost much. Dreams happen while people sleep, but most people don't realize that it's slightly more complicated than that. In 1952 a psychologist named Eugene Aserinsky discovered that there are two different types of sleep called REM and NREM sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement, while NREM stands for non-rapid eye movement. Most dreams occur during REM sleep. Margaret Hyde even states that: “You can observe REM sleep if you carefully observe the eyelids of a sleeping person, as movement can be seen when the eyes are closed” (Hyde 9). People react differently when awakened during REM sleep compared to NREM sleep. Many experiments have been conducted waking people in both types of sleep. When people were awakened during REM sleep, they remembered many vivid and highly detailed dreams. When awakened from NREM sleep, they could not remember most of their dreams and…half of paper…and probably responded to hearing their name while awake. They are seen as the alpha in certain types of brain activity. Although, most of these “non-dreamers” who swear they have never dreamed before, most likely simply do not remember any of their dreams. Overall, there are various interpretations of dreams and no one, yet, has understood the exact meaning of them. From ancient times to today, psychologists have conducted numerous studies and experiments on how the mind works and why people produce dreams. From analyzing sleep types to looking at ancient times, many theories have been put forward. Some of these famous theories are accepted, but many people have their own interpretation on what the meaning of dreams is. Dreams may have lost value over the years, but that doesn't mean research will stop coming up with new theories.