The science of deciphering dreams: Do dreams really have any meaning?

This article first appeared in issue 16 of our free digital magazine. Full of curiosity.

Dreaming is an almost ubiquitous human experience. Every night when we go to sleep, images fill our sleeping minds. Sometimes it’s vivid and realistic, and sometimes it’s nonsense and nightmarish. Some dreams are remembered to be shared, laughed at, or Googled, while others are quickly forgotten. Despite its ubiquity, there are still many unanswered questions about dreams. Perhaps the most pressing question for anyone who has experienced a particularly intriguing event is: What does it mean?

These days we know quite a bit about what happens in the brain during sleep, and we’re even able to gain some insight into what dreams are like in other species. Masu. However, it is still unclear why we dream and what they mean. Lots of mysteries.

With this in mind, we decided to take a deep dive into the science of deciphering dreams and ask, “Is there really any benefit to it?”

If you’ve ever had a dream about snakes or teeth falling out (as many people probably do), you might be wondering if it might tell you something about the inner workings of your brain. If so, this is for you.

What is a dream?

“Dreams are sensory experiences we have while we sleep,” David Billington, a psychotherapist and director of the Dream Institute, told IFLScience. “They range from impressions and subtle colors, to complex narratives, to consciously intended lucid dream experiences in which you realize you are dreaming even though you are physiologically asleep.”

Joseph de Koninck, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Ottawa who has studied dreams for 50 years, added that anything is possible in dreams, which has led him to think of dreams as “open season for the mind.” Ta.

Billington explained that while we still haven’t learned what happens in the brain during dreaming, we have some idea.

“We find that there is about the same amount of brain activity during dreaming as when we are awake, but the type of activity is slightly different. The visual, memory, and motor areas of the brain are active. (although most people’s sleep hormones prevent their dreams from coming true), but the logical area of ​​the cortex is less active, which may contribute to the strangeness of many dreams. .”

Although dreams can occur at any time during a nap, the most vivid dreams occur during a sleep stage known as rapid eye movement (REM). Meanwhile, our eyes move surprisingly quickly.

It’s thought that we dream for about two hours each night, but the reasons for this are debated.

“So far, there is no scientific proof. [dreams] It fulfills a biological function,” de Koninck told IFLScience.

It has been suggested that dreaming helps us process emotions and memories, and may help us solve problems in our waking lives. Other theories suggest that dreams may benefit our perception of reality, such as psychologist Sigmund Freud, that dreams may protect against interrupted sleep or represent the fulfillment of unrealized desires. It claims to be useful for After research that identified the structure of DNA, Francis Crick, who dabbled in dream theory, came up with an explanation known as “reverse learning”: “We dream to forget.”

Even with these numerous theories, some more powerful than others, there is still no clear answer to the question of why we dream.

Does it really make sense?

Our old friend Freud would say, perhaps unsurprisingly considering this is Freud, that they represent repressed, often sexual desires.

If you think the question of why we dream is complicated, the question of what it means is even more complicated, and it’s compounded by the fact that it largely depends on the person you ask.

If you happened to have the ability to time travel, and you asked the ancient Greeks or Romans, they would probably say that yes, dreams have meaning and that they function as omens or predictions of future events. Sho.

As mentioned above, our old friend Freud, perhaps unsurprising given that this is Freud, said that they represent repressed, often sexual desires. I did.

On the other hand, Carl Jung, who founded the field of analytical psychology, may have said that dreams are “messages sent from the unconscious” that help us understand our inner psychology.

But what do modern psychologists and psychotherapists say about this matter? Do dreams really have a meaning?

“The word ‘meaning’ is a tricky term in a medical context,” Billington said. There is no scientific consensus on what a particular dream means, but that doesn’t mean it’s not helpful.

“In a very broad sense, dreaming about specific things means that those things are related, consciously, semi-consciously, or unconsciously, to your waking concerns.” I can say that,” Billington added.

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“But what a particular dream experience or image means to a particular person is highly subjective, just as what we judge from our waking experience is highly subjective.” Moments of conflict with strangers can be extremely disruptive for librarians, but they’re just a part of every day for a nightclub doorman. ”

De Koninck agrees: “A dream about a train does not necessarily mean death, it can have different meanings depending on the situation.” [on] If you often travel by train, are a train driver, are afraid of riding trains, or have never ridden a train before. ”

“In other words, its meaning is determined by the dreamer’s waking experience.” [and] What does the content of the dream resonate with you? ”

De Koninck believes that dreams are a very useful source of self-awareness and can be used in a variety of ways in psychotherapy.

“They have meaning in the following sense. […] It’s your brain that’s expressed, it’s your memory bank, it’s your emotions that are expressed, it’s just expressed in different ways. ”

What can we learn from dreams?

While we may not be able to glean that dreams of spiders universally signify fear of the unknown, as a quick Google will lead you to believe, there are things we, especially professional psychotherapists, can learn from spiders. There are still many things to do.

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

As mentioned earlier, dreams often reflect our waking lives, but they are not a reenactment of our waking lives, they are simply continuous with them. Therefore, they can reveal things that we have been ruminating in our heads, with or without our knowledge.

“[Dreams tend] Reflects and amplifies current concerns. That’s what’s interesting about psychotherapy,” said de Koninck.

Billington explained that this is consistent with dream continuity theory. “Related theories include threat simulation theory and social threat simulation theory, which posit an evolutionary use of dreams, where dreams can be used to create threats without actually putting oneself in danger. They can practice responding to situations (physical or social).

In this sense, they can help us adapt. “Being able to ‘test out’ your response to a situation before it happens can give you a survival advantage,” Billington continued.

Dreams, and more specifically nightmares, can also be linked to trauma we face in our waking lives and “could be a symptom of a broader disorder,” says Billington. .

“Repeatedly recalling frightening, harmful, or harmful memories in dreams that cause sleep disturbances and physiological symptoms of stress (increased heart rate, increased cortisol levels) are signs of unresolved trauma. ” Occasional or idiopathic nightmares can be normal, but “if they are frequent and disruptive, they can be a sign of a non-traumatic psychological disorder, such as nightmare disorder,” Billington says. added.

Dreams are probably fables and myths about ourselves.

Persistent nightmares can indicate other symptoms, such as PTSD or schizophrenia, de Koninck said. They may also be a risk factor for suicide. “When someone has a lot of nightmares, it means something to us. It means, ‘Oh, you have to be careful, there’s something wrong.’ ”

It is also possible that repressed thoughts and emotions that we are unaware of come back to us in our dreams. “Therefore, it’s helpful to take some time to think about what came up in your dreams,” says Billington, either in person, with someone close to you, or ideally with a therapist. I recommend it.

“Maybe that dream about a co-worker turning into a werewolf is a dramatization of a side of them that we are only superficially aware of? A fickle, changeable, aggressive side of them? ? Or were you just looking? American Werewolf in London last weekend? “

We are not the only ones who can learn from our dreams. When we share it with others, we tell them things about ourselves that we don’t even realize. “Because our vulnerability is not shared directly, but through metaphors and symbols,” Billington explained. “In this way, dreams are perhaps fables and myths about ourselves.”

All things considered, maybe we could all be a little more careful with our nightly fantasies, but it’s best not to get too carried away with getting rid of them, especially if you can’t remember them. Koeninck emphasized.

“It may be important to pay attention.” [dreams]. But if not, no big deal. Please sleep well. Just get a good night’s sleep. ”

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