What Role Do Dreams Play?

I have always had a vivid dream life. Sometimes I have dreams that other folks have had like I'm in a class about to take a final exam, but for some reason, I haven't attended the class all semester, and I'm completely unprepared for the test. When I was in junior high school, I had a dream that I completely disrobed while on a field trip, and went from house to house trying to get someone to give me pot lids with which to cover myself. Pot lids? Yep . . . pot lids. Eventually, someone gave me a towel, but it was a hand towel and didn't fully cover me. If I had to analyze those dreams, it's clear that those dreams were about feeling unprepared and vulnerable.

Sidebar: When I was a little kid, my parents had a dream book in which you could look up dream topics that would connect to a number, and then you could play that number in the lottery. 

The other night, I had another in a series of dreams about traveling, and not being ready. This type of dream has manifested itself in a variety of ways . . . being at a train station, but not having my train ticket, needing to leave a hotel to catch a flight, but having my things spread out across multiple hotel rooms, and encountering random, challenges every time I tried to pack my things. 

This one was different. Dishon and I were in China, and I was actually packed and ready to return home. In order to get to the airport, we had to ride in a van that occasionally passed by where we were staying (it wasn't really a hotel), and while we were on our way to the airport, I realized that I had left my suitcase, wallet, and passport back where we were staying. I told Dishon to go to the airport without me, and that I'd figure out how to get back on my own. I got my things, but the van I thought would take me back to the airport wasn't coming, and I realized that my phone wasn't enabled for international calls . . . and then I just got stymied. I couldn't speak the language and communicate for help. I woke up before the dream ended, and I was so relieved. 

In my novel, I wonder what role dreams can play? Do my characters dream? Do they enjoy dreamless sleep? If they do dream, how do their dreams impact their lives and decisions, if at all? What role do dreams play in your life?