I had been given the chance to experience inoperable lung cancer without having it. I stopped smoking right then and have never lit another cigarette. To some, it may seem amazing that people will take drastic action as a result of something that didn't even happen. But the emotional impact of dreams can be so powerful that they might as well have really occurred. The logical part of the awake brain knows that the dream was not real, but to the emotional part of the brain, what we dream really happens to us.
Many people consider dreams the most important part of sleep.
It was dreams that first attracted me to the science of sleep, and decades later I remain fascinated by their power and mystery. However, there is a controversy raging among sleep researchers. Recent research by prominent neuroscientists purports to show that dreams are nothing more than random nerve activity in the brain, with no real purpose or meaning. I think they can signify much more. The idea that dreams hold a personal message for the dreamer has a long history.