Dreaming is a nearly ubiquitous human experience. As we drift each night, images fill our sleepy minds; sometimes vivid and realistic, sometimes silly or nightmarish. While some dreams remain in memory to be shared, laughed at, or even Googled, others are quickly forgotten. Despite their universality, there are many unanswered questions about dreams. Perhaps the most relevant of these for anyone who has a particularly intriguing question is “What does this mean?” is the question.

Today we know a fair bit about what’s going on in our brains when we sleep—we even have an idea of ​​what other types of dreams might look like—but there’s still a lot to be done about why we dream and what those dreams might mean. Secrets In light of this, we decided to delve into the science of dream interpretation and ask: Is it really any use?

If you’ve ever dreamed of snakes or fangs falling out (as many of you probably have) and wondered what this might tell you about the inner workings of your brain, this is for you. David Billington, psychotherapist and director of the Dream Research Institute, spoke to IFLScience about the sensory experiences we have while sleeping.

“These can range from sensations or subtle colors to complex narratives and consciously voluntary lucid dreams, where you realize you are dreaming even though you are physiologically asleep.” In dreams, anything is possible, added professor emeritus Joseph De Koninck. Psychology expert Dr. from the University of Ottawa, who has been working on dreams for 50 years. Billington explained.

“We find that during dreaming the brain has almost the same activity as when awake, but slightly different. The visual, memory and motor areas of the brain are active (although sleep hormones prevent most people from realizing their dreams), but the logical areas of the cortex are less active, which “Dreaming can occur at any time while we’re asleep, but our most vivid dreams occur during a phase of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM), in which our eyes move rapidly in unexpected ways. We get two hours of sleep each night.” for hours, but why this is the case is debated.

“There is no scientific evidence of this so far. [сни] It serves a biological function,” De Koenink told IFLScience. It has been suggested that dreaming may help us process emotions and memories and solve problems in waking life. Other theories suggest that dreams may contribute to our perception of reality, or, as psychologist Sigmund Freud suggested, that dreams prevent sleep from being interrupted. He suggests that it serves protection or represents the fulfillment of unfulfilled desires. Francis Crick, who worked on the theory of dreams after his work on determining the structure of DNA, put forward an explanation called “reverse learning” that “we dream in order to forget.” More than others Despite these dreams having so much evidence, there is still no clear answer to the question of why we dream.

Do they really matter?

Our old friend Freud used to say that these represented repressed, often sexual, desires—perhaps unsurprisingly, given that this was Freud.

If you think the question of why we have dreams is confusing, the question of what they mean gets even more complicated because it depends largely on who you ask. If you had the ability to travel through time and asked the ancient Greeks or Romans, they would probably tell you that yes, dreams do have meaning and that they are signs or predictions of future events.

Our old friend Freud, as mentioned above, said that these represented repressed, often sexual, desires—perhaps not surprising, considering that this was Freud. Meanwhile, Carl Jung, the founder of the field of analytical psychology, observed that “dreams are messages sent from the unconscious” and therefore can help us understand our inner psyche.

So what do modern psychologists and psychotherapists say about this issue? Are dreams really important?

“Meaning is a slippery term in the medical context,” Billington told us. There is no scientific consensus on what specific dreams mean, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t useful.

“In a very broad sense, it could also be said that dreaming about certain things means that those things are consciously, semi-consciously, or subconsciously connected to your waking problems,” Billington says. he added.

“But the meaning of a particular dream experience or image for a particular person is highly subjective, just as what we make of a waking experience is highly subjective: a momentary conflict with a stranger may be devastating to a librarian, but it may just be a nightclub doorman.” It’s a part of every day for you.”

De Koenink agrees: “Seeing a train in a dream does not always mean death, but it can have different meanings depending on the situation. [] “Whether you travel by train frequently, are a train driver, are afraid of traveling by train, or have never been on a train.”

“In other words, meaning depends on the waking experience of the dream. [і] What does the dream’s meaning resonate with you?”

De Koninck believes that dreams can be a very useful source of personal information and can be used in psychotherapy in a variety of ways.

“They are important in this sense […] “Your brain, your memory bank, and your emotions are being expressed, they’re just expressed in a different way.”

What can we learn from our dreams?

We may not understand that dreaming of spiders means fear of the unknown, as a quick Google search might convince you, but we, especially professional psychotherapists, can learn a lot from them.

“Our dreams are part of our general consciousness, but they occur in the absence of external stimuli, so in some ways they are a clearer representation of our ‘inner’ psychological self,” Billington said.

As mentioned earlier, dreams often reflect our waking life, but they are not a copy of waking life, but only adjacent to it. In this way, they can detect what we are thinking, whether we know it or not.

“[Сни, як правило] It reflects your existing problems and makes them worse. And here, in psychotherapy, it’s very interesting,” De Koninck said.

This fits with dream continuity theory, Billington explained. “Related theories are threat simulation theory and social threat simulation theory, which posit an evolutionary use of dreams: allowing us to respond to threatening situations (physical or social) without actually putting ourselves at risk.”

In this sense, they can help us adapt. “Being able to ‘test’ responses to situations before they happen can be a survival advantage,” Billington continued.

Dreams, or more specifically nightmares, may be related to trauma we experience while awake and “may be symptoms of broader disorders,” Billington said.

“Repeated dream memories of fearful, hurtful, or harmful memories that lead to sleep disturbance and physiological symptoms of stress (rapid heart rate, high cortisol levels) are a sign of unresolved trauma.” Billington added that recurrent or idiopathic nightmares may be normal, but “when they are frequent and distressing, they may be a sign of another non-traumatic psychological disorder, including nightmare disorder.”

Dreams are probably allegorical stories or myths about ourselves.

De Konink said persistent nightmares could be a sign of other illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or schizophrenia. They can also be a risk factor for suicide. “It means something to us when someone has a lot of nightmares. Meaning, “Oh, you should pay attention, there’s something wrong.”

It is also possible for repressed thoughts and feelings that we may not be aware of to reappear in our dreams. “So it might be helpful to spend some time thinking about what’s going on in our dreams,” Billington suggested, either alone, with someone close to you, or ideally with a therapist.

“Could this dream about a colleague turning into a werewolf be a dramatization of the side of him that we only superficially know? Perhaps the unstable, changeable, aggressive side? Or maybe you just watched it? “American Werewolf” in London last weekend?”

We’re not the only ones who can learn from our dreams. When we share these with others, we tell them things about ourselves that we don’t even realize, “because our vulnerability is shared not directly but through metaphors and symbols,” Billington explained. “So perhaps dreams are allegorical stories or myths about ourselves.”

All things considered, perhaps we could pay a little more attention to our night visions, but it’s best not to get lost in sorting them out, especially if you don’t remember them, De Koninck stressed.

“It may be important to note [сни]. But if not, no problem. Sleep well; Just get a good night’s sleep.”