You've probably seen more than once dogs whining, jerking their paws, wagging their tails or trying to run somewhere in their sleep? Are they really dreaming something? And if so, what exactly? Also, does it make sense for dogs to dream?
Let's find out with the help of science, as well as numerous videos filmed by the owners of the dogs while they were sleeping.
Unfortunately, the language barrier problem with dogs means we can't just lay them down on the psychoanalyst's leather couch and ask them to bare their souls in front of us. However, there are several clues that allow us to make comparisons between the sleep of dogs and other mammals.
When a person dreams
A person dreams mainly during the rapid eye movement (REM) phase. While you may be dreaming during phases other than REM, your dreaming story will tend to be much more boring. The REM phase is less than a quarter of the total sleep period and occurs in several cycles lasting about 20-90 minutes. This phase is usually associated with more vivid dreams, rapid eye movement, muscle atony, rapid heart rate, and increased respiratory rate.
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Dogs sleep much more than humans, but they also experience REM and have a similar pattern of sleep cycles to humans. On the other hand, scientists believe that reptiles and fish do not have REM sleep cycles, so they probably don't dream (which can probably also be judged by their cold, dead eyes).
Rat study
In a 2001 study published in the journal Neuron, researchers at the Neurology Research Center recorded brain activity in rats as they slept and while the animals walked through the maze. Essentially, they found that the rats exhibited similar brain activity while sleeping and while performing previously assigned tasks. This suggests that in the dream they were simply “replaying” memories of the task they had previously performed.
In a way, this is similar to what we are doing. Although we are able to think much more abstractly and creatively than rats, our dreams are in many cases simply paraphrased memories, often with an emphasis on very recent experiences, thoughts or feelings. If a rat - a creature, in particular, less intelligent than a dog, can dream, then it is fair to assume that our four-legged friends are also capable of this.
What do dogs dream about
People dream about the things they are interested in during the day, says Dr. Deirdre Barrett, a clinical and evolutionary psychologist at Harvard Medical School. There is no reason to assume that things are different in animals. Since a dog tends to be very attached to its owner, it is likely that it dreams about its face, smell, and time together.
Since owners are a central part of a dog's daily experience (and a major trigger of the reward system), it is likely that they are a central part of their dreaming experience.
Causes of dreams
Perhaps the most difficult question is why dogs can dream. In truth, scientists aren't too sure they know why humans see them, so it's even harder to talk about some kind of evolutionary benefit for dogs.
A 2000 study suggests that sleep is likely to help our brains consolidate memories and process them. Most likely, for dogs or any other mammal, dreams play the same role in helping to condense or realize everyday thoughts or experiences.
Anna Pismenna