Man has long been interested in exploring and understanding the depths of dreams, and doctors did not exclude this mysterious phenomenon of their research. Psychologists began early in studying the mechanisms that result from dreams, but they recently turned about that and started looking at the meanings and secrets that our dreams carry.
“What a strange and wonderful experience is to find ourselves in these virtual worlds where we meet people and interact with them, and we can try all kinds of feelings,” says Dr. Antonio Zadra, a sleep researcher at the University of Montreal, Canada, in an interview with the Washington Post.
What do these dreams carry in their folds?
Sleeping candle light
In the late nineteenth century, scientists began searching for the nervous origin of the emergence of dreams in our minds during sleep, where American psychologist Mary like a treasure in 1893 led a study on sleep on candlelight, and she was awakening the participants throughout the night to describe what they see in their dreams and write down That is the first to measure the elements and timing of dreams.
And I found like a treasure that dreams are generally occurring in the same time that the dreamer lives, even if he dreamed of his childhood or a person who has not seen him long ago, but his apparent life in the dream corresponds to his age in the present, and this indicates dreams related to the life of the truth.
Fast eye movement
The field of interest in dreams has later changed when the RAPID EYE MOVEMENT is detected, as it was noted that when people wake up during the fast eye movement sleeping, they often remember their dreams clearly.
And the sleep of rapid eye movement is the stage of sleep in which most dreams occur, where the activity of the brain, the speed of breathing, the rate of heartbeat and blood pressure increases, and the eyes move quickly while closing, and it is believed that the sleep of rapid eye movement plays an important role in memory and learning, according to the National Institutes of Health in the states United.
Research has also shown that dreams can occur during many stages of sleep, as patients with brain injuries eliminate the period of rapid eye movement or take medications that do so see dreams, and the presence of an electrical activity in the brain is measured related to the presence or absence of dreams, except He has not yet specified any accurate vital indication that this person dreams now.
Virtual mode network
In the past decade, scientists have taken care of studying the so -called “Defaut Mode Network” DMN), believing that this process may resemble what is happening during a dream. The virtual situation network is defined, according to the SICTE Todai magazine, as connected areas in the brain that shows an increasing activity when a person is not aware of what is happening around him, that is, at the time of mental comfort.
Research shows that the virtual situation network is especially active when a person engages in mental activities such as daydreaming, meditation in the past or future, or thinking about another person’s opinion.
Adaptation mechanism
An old hypothesis says that the dream works as a way to simulate the potential threats in real life, as it helps one to prepare to face some dangers. “But many dreams do not carry any physical or psychological threats,” says Dr. Zadra about this point. He sees that we dream of understanding vigilance experiences in the context of the past, and this is similar to the state of meditation that we can practice by the virtual situation network. “When you wake up after you dream, you have merged things in your understanding of yourself and the world, and your place in it in strange and unrelated ways, and this helps you to predict, or rather adapting to what awaits you.”
Emotional therapy
Another explanation says that dreams help us organize and address our emotions. Sarah Medina, a cognitive scientist at the University of California, Irvin, USA, says that she looks at dreams as “a safe space where we can during a dream to have severe and emotional experiences and try what may happen, and despite the increase in excitement in a dream, you see a calm of this excitement as well. “.
In one of her research, Dr. Sarah has found that dreams help people who have been subjected to a negative emotional event in calming their feelings associated with this event. “If you dreamed of an event, you will keep a detailed memory for this event for a longer period, but also over time you will feel less emotional, the more you think about this event,” she says. Dr. Sarah also believes that dreams are a kind of night therapy.
How do you remember your dreams?
The reality indicates that some people do not remember their dreams, although sleep studies in which the participants are wake up every 5 minutes overnight, their novel is recorded for dozens of visions during short periods, indicating that people who wake up a lot during sleep may remember more of what they dream of With it.
It is also believed that attention to a dream also affects his remembrance of a way that looks like a waking up without a stimulant.
“If you wake up automatically, there is a greater opportunity to wake up during the fast eye movement period,” says Jing Chang, a awareness scientist at Harvard Medical College and Massachusetts Hospital in the United States. This increases the possibility of remembering you. Dr. Zhang suggested writing the dreams that you remember as soon as you wake up, as studies have shown that doing so improves the process of remembering dreams.
Mental health
Another explanation that suggests that dreams offer an insight into the person’s psychological health, as Dr. Zadda says that people who suffer from pressure or more anxiety “have more negative dreams, and they have more aggressive interactions in dreams than friendly reactions, but with the improvement of mental health For the dreamer, corresponding changes occur in the dream content. “
“Many people who suffer from mood disorders -depression, anxiety and post -shock disorder -they tell different patterns of dreams, as they have excessive dreams,” says Dr. Zhang, who has begun to study the role of dreams in its influence on people with some mental illness.
Commenting on the condition of PTSD, Dr. Zhang adds, “Diagnosis of PTSD is worse in terms of symptoms, it is an indication that his psychological system does not adapt as it should.” This constitutes a sign that the patient needs more From help, “Dr. Zadra says,” This can be reformulated as an opportunity for a post -traumatic disorder to seek help, as this indicates that they need treatment, they need medications, and they need something. “