Meir Kryger, a sleep medicine doctor at Yale Medicine, tells CNET that most people remember their dreams when they're awakened in the middle of a dream, or in the first few moments after a dream has ended. Part of this is biological, Kuras says, as neurotransmitters forming memory are less active during sleep, and dream forgetfulness also appears to be related to the level of electrical activity in the brain during dreams.Īdditionally, it could have something to do with the content of your dreams, Kuras says: Early psychoanalytic theory suggested that difficult or traumatic information in dreams is suppressed, and the dreamer is less likely to retrieve or analyze it.ĭr.
If you're one of those people who "doesn't dream," you probably just forget them. One concept that's generally accepted is that dreaming is a highly emotional process, because the amygdala (an emotional center in your brain) is one of the areas of your brain that's most active during dreams, according to neuroimaging studies. But people without PTSD have nightmares, too, so it can't be said that nightmares always accompany psychological conditions. For example, researchers know that people with post-traumatic stress disorder are likely to have nightmares. While scientists know a great deal about what happens physiologically when people dream, there's still much to be studied about what happens psychologically. "They appear to assist in memory formation, integration, problem solving and consolidation of ideas both about ourselves and the world," he says, adding that neuroscientists have discovered that dreams help with information processing and mood regulation, too. There are many theories of the function of dreams, Kuras says. Why do I dream?ĭreams may serve multiple purposes, including memory formation. The most vivid dreams typically occur during REM sleep, although you can dream during other stages of sleep. There's no definitive evidence about what dreams consist of, but it's generally accepted that dreams represent a collection of thoughts, struggles, emotions, events, people, places and symbols that are relevant to the dreamer in some way. (For better sleep, also check out our rundown of the best mattresses, the best pillows and the best alarm clocks of the year).
Here's what to know about your dreams, what they mean and why you have them. You can start dissecting what your dreams mean with the help of the three sleep experts we interviewed for this ultimate guide to your dreams. Nobody remembers all the dreams they have, and if you've ever woken from a particularly unsettling or offbeat dream, you may wonder why you dream the things you do. In fact, you have one to six dreams a night, the strongest happening during REM sleep.
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Though it's easy to know why we have to go to sleep each night, it's much more difficult to explain why we dream and how to interpret what exactly those dreams mean, especially if they're outlandish or perhaps even scary.ĭreams are very common. And, if you're anything like me, you look forward to sleeping each night to see what kind of crazy dreams your mind might cook up - like riding a giant goldfish through a marshmallow world. We already know we need sleep to regulate our metabolism and brain function and give our bodies the chance to rest.
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