You may have wondered at least once if blind people dream. And if a blind person sees a dream, what is he about? Does such a person become sighted in a dream? How does his dream differ from the dream of a sighted person? In short, there are many questions. Let's try to figure out the answers to some of them.
Dreams of Blind People
First of all, blind people do dream. Sleep with dreams is associated with a certain stage of rest, accompanied by rapid eye movements. Dreams arise deep in the brain, this is a function of the brain, not the eyes, which is why the blind can see them in the same way as people with normal vision. No matter what the cause of blindness is, the situation remains the same. Interestingly, the cause of blindness can affect the content of dreams in some way.
Dream structure
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When people think about dreams, they imagine the rich visual plots that usually make up their dreams. For most people, dreams are like watching and participating in a movie that unfolds right in the imagination.
In addition, dreams are accompanied by sounds, touches, tastes, smells, movements, and even fears. One way or another, visual experiences play a key role. As a result, many are wondering how the blind can “see” dreams.
What do blind people dream about?
Research into the sensory experiences of blind people spans decades. Their goal was to interpret the dreams of the blind for people with normal vision. It is worth thinking about the content of dreams in order to understand how they differ between the sighted and the blind.
Most dreams combine visual and kinesthetic experiences associated with movements. Many of the dreams include sounds. Rarely are people able to describe other sensory experiences such as smell, taste, or pain. It is believed that the latter appear in only one percent of dreams. Interestingly, women are more likely to experience smells and tastes, while men experience sounds and pain.
Blind people describe having tactile sensations, smells and tastes in dreams. This happens more often than the sighted. This is most likely due to the fact that their experiences in life are more related to sensory information than visual information. They have no plot dreams, there is less aggression in dreams.
Can the blind become sighted in their sleep?
Despite all these differences in the content of dreams, can blind people become sighted during rest? Some people who are blind can indeed gain sight in their sleep, but this depends on when they lost their sight.
Those who were born blind or lost their sight at a very early age, before the age of four to five, usually do not have a visual component in their dreams. Scientists have studied this phenomenon and came to such conclusions based on the results of many years of research. Detailed studies have been carried out which have confirmed the absence of visual experiences. On the other hand, those who go blind after six years of age are able to see during dreams. Apparently, there is a certain stage in the development of the human brain that is responsible for visual dreams. If it is already present at the time of interaction with visual information, the data is saved and allows you to dream even when vision is already lost. Those who went blind early or at birth experience dreams differently, receiving information through other channels, for example, sensory, sound,and therefore focusing mainly on it. It is also worth noting separately people who are unable to perceive even light - their sleep may be accompanied by a certain disorder associated with a violation of circadian rhythms, which create the body's natural "clock" and are responsible for the desire to rest.
Marina Ilyushenko