Have you ever wondered why we silently dream up all those bizarre stories, eccentric adventures, and strange plotlines every night? Why do sword-bearing goblins chase us around the Eiffel Tower and why do we find ourselves falling from skyscrapers?
Dreams are fascinating phenomena that take place every night. Many renowned psychologists have come up with various theories of their own about why we dream:
Sigmund Freud’s Theory, one of the earliest, suggests that dreams reflect a person’s unconscious cravings and wishes. Some of these wishes are simply impossible in reality (such as riding a dragon) while society requires us to restrain from acting on certain others (whims, aggression and so on). These impulses still need to be fulfilled for humans to remain mentally healthy, though. Thus, they show up in dreams.
Freud further explained that it is not obvious that most dreams satisfy desires (of love or anger for example), as the unconscious mind disguises the true meaning of a dream because of how disturbing it might be.
The Activation-Synthesis Theory, however, suggests that certain circuits in the brain start operating during the REM (Rapid eye movement) stage and fire meaningless patterns of waves. Dreams take place when other parts of the brain try to make sense of these random, nonsensical signals. These patterns don’t mean anything but nevertheless, the brain tries to find meaning in them.
About 1 in every 40 dreams is a nightmare. Why does our brain replay our worst fears and embarrassing memories while we are asleep?
The Threat-Simulation Theory suggests that dreams let us ‘practice’ threatening situations. A nightmare is simply the brain’s way of conditioning us to survive dangerous experiences by ‘rehearsing’ in a safe environment - our brain. That’s why people undergo traumatic experiences or come face to face with their fears while dreaming.
The Social-Simulation Theory is along the same lines. Scientists noticed that a majority of our dreams involved social situations. Talking to a loved one, an argument with a close friend or joking with classmates. Being social is so important to humans. That's why ‘practicing’ them provides us with a huge advantage.
There are many, many widely held beliefs and plausible theories about why we dream. For example: Dreaming is also thought to be the process of transferring experiences and information from short-term to long-term memory, an incentive to sleep as it is crucial for the human body, or even a medium for problem-solving using unconventional and creative methods. Scientists and researchers still don’t know which theory/ theories are accurate. Maybe after following their dreams, they’ll soon figure out why this phenomenon takes place!
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