The question, why we dream has intrigued thinkers and researchers for millennia. In spite of a logical investigation of dreams, we don’t have a clear answer to the question why we do it. While much-remaining parts questionable about dreaming, numerous researchers have created speculations about the reason for dreams, with new experimental examination giving more noteworthy lucidity.
Dreams:
Anything that we experience during sleep — like images, thoughts, or sentiments, is considered a dream. Dreams can be entertaining or disturbing. Even if we don’t remember, we all dream every day. But why do we dream? Do they mean something? These have been the points of argument for many years.
“The interpretation of dreams,” Written by Sigmund Freud, describes that dreams are “disguised fulfilments of repressed wishes.” This book also says that a dream has two main components- manifest content(the actual image) and latent content (hidden meaning).
While working on this topic, researchers have come up with many theories to account for why we dream. Research suggests that, there are mainly four theories for the same.
- Activation synthesis theory:
This theory suggests that dreams result from brainstem activation during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and stimulation of the emotional motor system.
2. Threat simulation theory:
According to this theory, dreams are caused to prepare for real-life threat situations by experiencing scenarios like falling over clips, running from a pursuer, or forgetting to study for the final exam.
3. Biological response to life circumstances:
It is believed that people having negative dreams that mainly involve attackers or enemies are based on the evolutionary and biological response to different life experiences.
4. The organization of knowledge and memories:
According to this theory, dreams aim to clean up the clutter in one’s mind, organize knowledge, and help with memory recall.
In the view of Jeffrey Sumber a clinical psychotherapist, ‘Dreaming is non-essential to survival,’ but it is essential for our development and evolution. According to him, dreaming is the communication between our conscious mind and unconscious mind, helping people create completeness. He says, “Dreams are the bridge that allows movement back and forth between what we think we know and what we really know.” These and many other theories have been proposed elucidating the purpose of dreaming.
We often observe that we remember our dreams some nights but not others. Why does this happen?
We don’t know for sure why dreams are easily forgotten. Some researchers believe that we are intended to forget our dreams since we might not be able to tell dreams from real memories in such a case.
Studies indicate that we have two types of sleep cycles-
- Non REM sleep — Relatively light form of sleep which lasts around 5 to 10 minutes. This phase is characterized by slow eye movements and slow heart and breathing rates. The brain is relatively inactive.
- REM sleep — Occurs after every 90 minutes or so after falling asleep. Characterized by rapid eye movements and fast heart and breathing rates. The brain is relatively active during this phase.
You are more likely to remember your dream if you wake up during REM sleep since our brain is more active in this phase. According to some studies, we also tend to remember dreams with more negative content rather than pleasant ones.
Have you ever wondered how dreams are being studied?
There are two ways to do the same-
- Measure the dream content by subjective recollections of the dreamer upon waking.
- Observation is done through objective evaluation in a lab.
Researchers even created a rudimentary dream content map to track what exactly people dreamed about in real-time using MRI(Magnetic resonance imaging) patterns. The dreamers’ reports upon waking then validated this map.
Benefits of dreaming -
Processing of information and emotions.
Aid in memory.
Spurs creativity.
Reflects real life.
Some researchers believe that dreaming is essential for mental, emotional, and physical well-being. At the same time, some suggest that dreams serve no purpose in our life.
Did you know that some people can control their dreams? How do they do that?
Lucid Dreams:
A rare type of dream wherein dreamers are aware of being in their dream and often have some control over the dream content known as a Lucid Dream. Many people enjoy lucid dreaming and want to experience it more often. It has been compared to virtual reality and hyper-realistic video games, giving dreamers the self-directed dreamscape experience. Lucid dreaming, like most dreams, usually happens during REM sleep.
The level of consciousness is similar when one is awake or dreaming. So to check if you are dreaming, widespread reality testing is used. It includes-
- Finger through palm — Pushing fingers against opposite palm, if they pass, then you are dreaming.
- Mirrors — Your reflection won’t look normal while dreaming.
- Nose pinch — Pinch nose. If you’re able to breathe even after pinching your nose, then you’re dreaming.
- Reading — Look away from the text, then look back again; if it changes, you are dreaming.
Few techniques can be used to induce lucid dreams if one wants to control their dream. Potential preparing strategies for lucid dreaming incorporate cognitive training(brain training), external stimulation during sleep, and medications. While these strategies may show some guarantee, none have been thoroughly tried or demonstrated to be viable.
Benefits of lucid dreaming:
- Decreased nightmares
- Relieved anxiety
- Increased motor skills
- Enhanced creativity
Analyzing dreams :
When one thinks about analyzing their dreams, they usually imagine psychics with crystal balls, dream dictionaries, or lying on a couch simultaneously; psychologists tell them precisely what their dreams imply. But everyone is unique, so there are no formulas or prescriptions to follow for dream analysis.
The best way to analyze your dream is to write it down. Keep a journal by your bed while sleeping. Record your dream every morning. Write even if you remember it in fragments. Don’t worry if you are unable to recall anything at all; just write “No dreams to record” that morning. Within two weeks of this procedure, you will be able to remember your dream. Observe the pattern, connect the dots and analyze it. You can also link it to your daily life.
“There is no expert other than yourself when it comes to your own psyche, so don’t stop trusting your own inner guide to your unconscious.”- Sumber.
Even if there are many theories, more research is needed to understand dreams and their purpose entirely. Science has allowed us to learn much more about our brains. We have not discovered an a foolproof way to study dreams. Memories of dreams fade out soon after you wake up, and it is strenuous to correlate them with brain scans. But with advancing technology, that day is not far when we will begin to understand fully the mechanism of dreaming.
