Arvin Ash

What do dreams mean? Why do we dream? What are Dreams? (2019x41)

Udgivelsesdato: Sep 27, 2019

Why do we dream? What do dreams mean? What are dreams? We know that we dream while we are asleep. Sleep can be divided into two categories rapid eye movement or REM sleep, and non-REM sleep. When you fall asleep, non-REM occurs first, then you fall into an REM sleep. Deep sleep actually occurs in non-REM sleep. During this time, you body temperature and heart rate fall, and the brain uses less energy. About 90 minutes later, however, we go into REM sleep where our brain activity picks up again, and is very similar to when we are awake. Although this is a smaller portion of total sleep, only about 20-25%, this is when dreams happen. During REM sleep, the brain is telling the body to move, just as if you were awake, but a tiny area of the brain called the pons, causes the body to be paralyzed. The only thing that is not paralyzed is your eyes. That’s why you have rapid eye movement during this period. But what is the purpose of sleeping? One purpose appears to be to restore the brain’s energy. But what is the meaning of dreams? Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, explained dreams as manifestations of a person’s innermost desires. He believed that almost all dreams held some kind of sexual meaning. But the theory that symbols in dreams have meaning is rejected by most scientists today, and much of Freud’s theory has been discredited. So if Freud was wrong, then what do dreams mean? There are a few characteristics that all dreams seem to have in common. 1) We usually cannot remember them 2) When we do remember them, they do not seem to make sense 3) They seem to trigger some of our deepest emotions 4) They seem profound Can these characteristics of dreams be explained by science? Yes. During REM sleep, the part of brain involved in logic and reason, called the prefrontal cortex is turned off, but the emotional part of the brain, located in the hippocampus and amygdala are very active. Since our reasoning ability is not really working,