Almost everyone dreams of watching TV shows while drunk, but no one knows why. Dreams do not occur every time we sleep, but when we sleep, usually this is a random scenario that does not make any sense. Sometimes we wake up with a vague memory of a dream, but usually we cannot remember anything specific. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to study dreams - they are inconsistent, random and easily forgotten (except for those annoying nightmares that you dreamed at an early age). Psychologists tend to believe that dreams have no direct physiological function. But some scientists believe there is a reason for our dreams, emotional or otherwise.
Psychologists of this kind study not only the causes of dreams, but also their meanings. They try to understand what dreams do to our bodies and brains, what they say about how we see the world or process information. Others are exploring dream history, trying to understand what dreams only our evolutionary ancestors could have, giving them an advantage over those who never dreamed at all.
Let's look at ten reasons that might explain why we dream.
Dreams consolidate memories
Numerous studies have shown that dreams help us store information. When we sleep, we allow our brain to transfer information into long-term memory. During the day, neuroscientists have found that memories accumulate in the hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with long-term memory. When we sleep, memories are transmitted from the hippocampus to the cerebral cortex, which processes new information and is responsible for cognition and knowledge.
Sleep gives our brains time to move memories to different parts of the brain so that they can be recorded and even retrieved. Research has also shown that before memories are transferred to the cerebral cortex, the hippocampus reproduces our day, sometimes in the opposite order.
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Dreams heal
We all had a dream that seems all too familiar, and we all went to bed after a horror movie and watched nightmares all night, which featured a dark, mysterious figure, eerily reminiscent of the monster from the movie. Dreams help us cope with strong emotions like fear, sadness, and love. Psychologists believe that dreams help separate emotions from events. By separating emotions from events, we process them better because the brain can make a connection between feelings and experiences. Scientists have found that these connections are different from those that build a waking brain.
Various connections allow you to build new perspectives, consider situations in different ways and, possibly, help in a difficult situation, help to look at it from a different point of view. Some scholars believe that this allows you to get to the root of anger, sadness, fear, or happiness, while others believe that it is a safe space in which people can solve their deepest problems and explore burning issues.
Dreams soothe
A 2009 study of patients with anxiety and depression found an interesting link between dreams and cognitive distortion. Five researchers studied two groups of college students: the first group had 35 healthy students and the second group had 20 students with depression and anxiety. These students were awakened 10 minutes later in the rapid eye movement (REM) phase and then 10 minutes later in the non-REM phase. After these sleep episodes, the students took tests on memory, mood, and self-esteem.
Scientists found that students with depression and anxiety were more likely to have dreams with themes of aggression and self-torture than in healthy patients. REM sleep can help depressed and anxious patients cope with emotions such as self-esteem, sadness, and anger.
Dreams make you feel better
The study found that patients who were not allowed to sleep faced serious problems. Like the students we talked about above, these patients woke up immediately after entering REM sleep. The researchers found that when the participants were not allowed to dream, tension increased, difficulty concentrating, lack of coordination, and slight weight gain. They also saw hallucinations.
Of course, some of these side effects can be caused by a general lack of sleep. However, numerous studies have shown that most of these side effects are due to a lack of REM sleep, and we only dream during REM sleep.
Lack of dreams may indicate mental health problems
Chronic sleep problems occur in 50-80% of patients who complain of mental disorders. About 10% of the population regularly suffers from sleep problems. Scientists at Harvard University conducted a study in 2009 that found a link between dreams and common mental disorders such as bipolar disorder. They found that in children and adults, sleep problems can increase the risk of developing a mental disorder.
Interrupted REM sleep affects levels of neurotransmitters and stress hormones. This disrupts emotional regulation and affects the way we think. Ongoing hormonal imbalances and impaired neurotransmitters can lead to mental health problems. While these findings may sound daunting, the study has practical implications as treating sleep disorders can alleviate or cure the mental disorder.
Information processing theory
One study showed that during REM sleep, we process new concepts and link them to existing knowledge, or distant but related ideas. Scientists have shown that dreams occur when we become aware of these connections, which are usually fragmented sounds or images combined with physical activity. Our brain interprets these fragments and tries to create a narrative that connects them. Scientists have found that this may explain why our dreams are so strange, confusing and unusual.
All this creative splendor that occurs in dreams is associated with information that was previously stored in our brains. When we try to connect new information with existing knowledge, we interpret it in new ways, which allows us to understand how the world works. Dreaming also makes us more aware of our place in the world.
Psychoanalytic theory of dreams
You can't just come up with a list of dream theories without mentioning Uncle Freud. Although many of the claims of the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud have been rejected over the years, they remain an interesting topic of discussion and make their way into popular literature and music. Freud specialized in dream interpretation, paving the way from dreams to unconscious thoughts and desires. He believed that we are subject to aggressive and sexual instincts, which are suppressed by our conscious and revealed to the unconscious during dreams.
Freud also believed that our dreams express unacceptable feelings, such as sexual attraction to our parents. He defined dreams as having a clear and hidden content. It was in the hidden content that Freud sought the meaning of dreams.
Activation-synthesis model
The Activation-Synthesis Model, first presented in 1977, explores how our brains create dreams from signals. But instead of using our experiences and memories as a trigger, dreams are born out of biological responses to activation of certain parts of the limbic system, like the amygdala.
When these areas “ignite” during our sleep, our brain synthesizes and interprets information in the form of dreams. Thus, dreams are simply a consequence of basic biological functioning. The authors of this theory, however, do not believe that dreams have no meaning. They believe that this interpretation of biological signals (that is, dreams) leads to something more substantial: new ideas.
Adaptive theory
This theory has two parts: one is related to threats, and the other is related to lack of sleep. Psychologists believe that sleep allows animals to stay away from sources of harm. For example, when an animal is sleeping, it goes to a safe place. Scientists believe that the rest period prevents the animal from getting injured due to its own mistakes, thereby keeping it alive. This behavioral strategy, perpetuated by natural selection, is the basis of sleep.
The dreaming part of this theory describes what happens when you don't have REM sleep. Scientists have found that when a person is prevented from entering the REM sleep stage for one night, they spend more time than usual at that stage the next night. Such a biological response can only indicate that REM is essential for proper functioning and that animals that did not do it (or did it too little) were slowly selected through evolution. Natural selection has programmed us to sleep and dream as a way of adapting to our environment.
Threat stimulation theory
Threat stimulation theory states that dreams enable us to prepare for threats or dangers. Finnish researchers from the University of Turku have found that stimulation of threat during sleep allows a person to rehearse the necessary cognitive mechanisms to better perceive and avoid threats, which leads to success in reproduction.
Scientists have found that children who live in environments where their physical well-being is constantly threatened have more vivid dreams and their threat stimulation system works better than children who live in calm conditions and have sweet dreams.
When researchers conducted studies on traumatized and non-traumatized children, the results were repeated. Traumatized children have more dreams of violence and abuse. On the other hand, mentally healthy children have dreams that are less violent in nature, and dreams are rare for them.
ILYA KHEL