As a result, our dreams offer a portal into our deepest, most unfettered creativity, as well as to new approaches to problem-solving. At the very least, dreams offer another way of looking at things.ĭreams don’t just simply replay what we’ve experienced or learned, they also create brand-new mashups and free associations between what we’ve seen and what we know. So having a recurring nightmare of that event could keep you on guard. Some experts believe that this is a defense mechanism rooted in our earliest days-if something bad happened once, there was a chance it could happen again. Researchers now believe that these experiences are the brain’s way of preparing us for when bad things happen, like an emotional “dress rehearsal.” It’s almost as though the mind is anticipating bad things happening, and then trying out solutions. Nightmares occur most frequently in REM sleep, but unlike lucid dreams, these intense, often unwelcome imaginings happen with decreased prefrontal cortex activity, meaning there’s less emotional control and a more overwhelming sense of arousal. This has led some researchers to examine how REM sleep plays a role in trauma recovery and mood regulation, owing to its hand in processing difficult experiences. Recent research suggests that we’re more likely to dream about emotionally intense experiences, and the theta brain waves during REM sleep are one way in which the brain consolidates those memories. Experiments in both animals and humans support the theory that our dreams are like a “rehearsal” of that new information, allowing our brain to put it into practice and actively organize and consolidate the material. Their findings suggest that our dreams are a sort of virtual reality experience as we witness this memory processing. But some experts believe that dreams aren’t just reflecting what we need to know and remember, they’re actively cataloging it. The brain reactivates and consolidates newly received memories and information tidbits while we sleep, and researchers have seen that this process is directly reflected in the content of our dreams. Dreams help us store memories and the things we’ve learned. The advantages of nighttime dreaming are numerous. But if you’re not sleeping well (not reaching deep sleep or waking up multiple times a night), then you’re missing out on one more essential tool that your brain needs in order to keep you healthy and sharp.Įven though you may not know whether you’re dreaming on a regular basis (we dream at all stages of sleep, not just REM, and don’t necessarily remember all the content), it’s safe to say that if you’re consistently cycling through all four stages of sleep without regular interference (meaning you’re getting a full, restful night’s sleep), then you’re going to reap the benefits of dreams. However, new research has shown us that dreaming actually serves a number of important functions, especially for our learning and memory. Scientists used to think that dreams were just a byproduct of the brain’s nighttime regimen. And we now know that dreaming is an important part of these nocturnal activities. Without any incoming stimulation or thoughts, the brain uses this valuable free time to perform maintenance and admin-cleansing, consolidating memories, and imprinting new information. New research shows that dreaming actually serves a number of important functions, especially for learning and memory.Įven though we think of sleep as “powering down,” our brains are doing anything but that when we get shut-eye.
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