The Science Of Dreams

[Neon Genesis]

I've always wondered, what causes people to have dreams? I mean like the kinds of dreams you have at night or when you're asleep? Why do people have scary dreams or good dreams? How are people able to dream about being in a different place they've never been to or about people they've never met? Are there any good books about the scientific research of dreams? I just find the whole concept of dreaming fascinating but I never understood why we dream.

[par4dcourse]

Daniel Dennet's "Consciousness Explained" deals with brain function and has some good chapters on dreaming.

 

I share your fascination with dreams and how the mind works. Happy explorations.

[OpheliaGinger]

I think what you eat also contributes to what kind of dream you have or if its in color.

[oddbird1963]

That would be an interesting subject to read. I wonder if any real progress has been made in the subject.

[♦ Fuego ♦]

I find that heat changes the kind of dreams I have. If I have the covers over me and am sleeping hot, I get unusual and sometimes unpleasant dreams. Conversely, if I sleep in a cool room with just a sheet and blanket, I tend to have quiet dreams that I don't remember, or pleasant dreams. I find that dreams are often related to things I've experienced in the past couple of days, even if the visuals are quite different, kind of like a parable of what I experienced but told through different actors and situations.

[Vendredie]

I've heard that dreams are the result of the mostly turned off brain responding to signals being randomly fired off from the pons.

 

This makes a lot of sense to me, and explains why dreams are so random and often segmented- you'll be in one place doing one thing, but then you're in another place entirely doing something else with no real transition.

 

I see it as basically a brain de-frag, or a different way of thinking.

[Randi]

I've always heard it's like the brain doing some hosuekeeping. They say it usually involves whatever's been on your mind that day with some random images and things from the past. Like a purging I suppose. Either way it's super interesting. I'm still trying to figure out why I have a recurring dream that I'm being chased by sandworms a la Beetlejuice.

[SilentLoner]

I don't usually remember having dreams but often I've noticed I wake up angry thinking about some argument I've had in the past even if I hadn''t though of it the day before. Maybe it came up in my dreams just before I woke up?

[monsterfeets]

I don't know about any current studies (I think it's kind of a sadly unexplored part of science at the moment) but I don't buy into the whole "It's just your brain de-fragging" theory. I have an ongoing story line in my dreams. That is, I often go to the same place and meet the same dream people, and there is a continuous plot line in these dreams that unfolds. I have been going to this place, and talking with these people for over 10 years. And none of it has anything to do with my real life, and none of the people have anything to do with people I know in my real life. So I think dreams must be some sort of outlet for exploring some part of your mind, that while awake may be neglected.

 

At this point I honest to god feel like I live two lives. That is the extent and depth of the dreams. I only know one other person who has a similar way of dreaming to me, oddly she has the exact same personality type and is also a creative type so I wonder if that has something to do with it?

 

Granted, some dreams really do seem like a system de-frag, and I have those quite a bit. But as for the other type of dreams that are very in depth and narrative, I'd love to see some studies on that (and participate in them! haha)

[Eemaan]

In the past if i would dream of an insect, then i would see it that day. Islam also has a lot on dreams.

 

http://786-110.blogspot.com/2007/05/science-of-dream-in-islam.html and many more. anyway dreams are recognized in Islam and can have have meanings. There are good dreams, bad dreams and dreams from the mind, like daily things that happens and from thinking.

[Legion]

Dreams are bowel movements of the mind.

[Thackerie]

I don't know about any current studies (I think it's kind of a sadly unexplored part of science at the moment) but I don't buy into the whole "It's just your brain de-fragging" theory. I have an ongoing story line in my dreams. That is, I often go to the same place and meet the same dream people, and there is a continuous plot line in these dreams that unfolds. I have been going to this place, and talking with these people for over 10 years. And none of it has anything to do with my real life, and none of the people have anything to do with people I know in my real life. So I think dreams must be some sort of outlet for exploring some part of your mind, that while awake may be neglected.

 

At this point I honest to god feel like I live two lives. That is the extent and depth of the dreams. I only know one other person who has a similar way of dreaming to me, oddly she has the exact same personality type and is also a creative type so I wonder if that has something to do with it?

 

Granted, some dreams really do seem like a system de-frag, and I have those quite a bit. But as for the other type of dreams that are very in depth and narrative, I'd love to see some studies on that (and participate in them! haha)

 

Wow!

 

I thought I was the only one. I have been having such dreams at least once a week for the past 40 years or so, with the same cast of characters who (as far as I know) don't exist IRL and a continuing storyline. For the most part, I enjoy them, but now that I know I'm not the only one who has this kind of dreamlife, I too would like to see some studies on this.

[Guest Babylonian Dream]

One recurring theme in my dreams is that there are several moons, and sometimes I can see the planets very well. The details would be fairly accurate in my dreams if the planets weren't so close that they should've annihilated the earth.