Why we dream and what the science says about lucid dreams

Scientifically, dreams are hallucinations that occur during sleep: periodic bursts of unrelated images and emotional episodes. And even today, we know very little about them, although they have evoked the magic of mankind since ancient times.

Everyone has already covered the subject, whether they are psychologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, fortune tellers or religious people. We now know that dreams they are autobiographical echoes of our last life. But the question is: In the end, why do we dream?

dream functions

Dreams are made up of a series of images, emotions, and perceptions that we feel while we sleep. While the most common is visual, this is not a limitation. For example, it is known that blind people dream through different tastes or smells.

Freud, father of psychoanalysis It is loaded with symbolic meanings as a form of subconscious manifestation of our desires. By understanding these messages, it will be possible to detect and solve psychological problems.

We know through experimentation that dream attacks are closely linked to areas of the brain that contain memory processes. Many studies have shown that our dreams are tools that promote the storage of information.

On the other hand, they can also help us forget. Only the brain has a limited capacity, and choosing what to keep is just as important as the memories to be discarded.

Another line sees our nighttime hallucinations as a rehearsal space. According to this logic, the brain uses the night to process emotions or review the events of the last few days.

That would also explain the nightmares. if our dreams If they are simulations of different probabilities, we would be expected to design even worst-case scenarios to pre-analyze the best decisions.

But still, the dream may not have such noble functions. According to the theory of continuous activation, our dream experiences are images that the brain processes randomly because it cannot turn it off, it is nothing more than a mind screensaver.

On the other hand, they can simply be the result of an evolutionary event. Whoever believes this calls it a dream they are a by-product of the need for sleep that has no specific function.

What are lucid dreams?

If we are aware that we are dreaming during an event, it is called a dream. lucid dream. More common than it seems, some studies claim that half of adults experience them at least once in their lifetime.

Even more mysterious, little is known about them. The latest research shows that high activity in the prefrontal cerebral cortex, just behind our foreheads, is linked to these events and nothing more.

For example, it is unknown why some people have control over these dream experiences and others do not. Without much evidence, this is assumed to be a natural disposition of each.

Research shows that lucid dreams these occur almost exclusively during the REM stage of sleep, which is the deepest and most difficult to reach. Therefore, it is very important to take care of sleep health for anyone who wants to achieve the experience. Some tips:

• Optimize your environment: Check your bedroom conditions for a good night’s sleep. For example, control the temperature to prevent it from getting cold or hot. Try to sleep in complete darkness and as quiet as possible.
• Reality Tests: Create ways to evaluate the truth of life. It serves the famous pinch of cinemas, but also other movements, such as closed mouth breathing. Trying to read a page from a book or newspaper, for example, is another good tip.
• Going back to sleep: This is a technique that consists of five hours of uninterrupted sleep and then waking up for a few minutes (you can use an alarm). When you go back to sleep, it will be easier to switch to the REM state. This method also helps to remember better. dreams.
• Dream diary: Recording what we see in dreams can even make it easier for us to dream. lucid dreams. This helps in recognizing dream scenarios and can trigger moments of clarity.
• Play video games: There is research showing an association between playing video games and an increased frequency of gaming. lucid dreams.
• Also read: 11 iconic movie dream scenes

Joyful dreams has long aroused human curiosity. They have already been given many tasks and may fulfill one, more or all of these roles. Maybe none. But one thing is for sure: We can keep dreaming of the day we get these answers.