Despite having coexisted with us throughout human history, dreams remain a mystery in many ways. And the more we learn about them, the more we realize how much we don't know about them.
Dreaming is a unique and exciting experience, but above all, it's revealing. Hence, it continues to be an important source of information, as well as a few interesting facts.
Dreams, what are they and why do they occur?
The body has a kind of internal clock that controls when we're awake and when it's time to sleep. It moves according to approximately 24-hour cycles and is regulated by factors such as light, darkness, and sleep schedules.
Sleep is a period of rest that alternates with wakefulness. It's vital for health because it affects many of your body's systems.
Therefore, not getting enough sleep or quality sleep increases the risk of heart and lung problems. It also affects metabolism and the ability to think clearly and concentrate.
Curiosities about sleep
- It would be a representation of repressed desires
For Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, dreams were a much more direct route to the unconscious. In fact, the study of dreams is one of the foundations upon which his psychoanalytic theory rests. They constitute a manifestation of psychic life that does not cease with rest, and represent the fulfillment of repressed childhood desires.
From a psychoanalytic perspective, to understand the above, dreams consist of a manifest content, which corresponds to what is remembered. Without this, there would be no possibility of its representation, and a latent content, which corresponds to what remains hidden and which attempts to be discovered through interpretation.
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- Why is it sometimes so difficult to remember dreams?
It turns out that, when we sleep, not all brain regions shut down at the same time. One of the last regions to do so is the hippocampus, which is key for transferring information from short-term memory to long-term memory.
If the hippocampus is the last to go to sleep, it might be the last to wake up. So, if this area isn't fully up and running yet, the brain can't retain that memory. But that doesn't mean the hippocampus was inactive during the night.
- We will have between four and six dreams each night
These dreams usually occur during the REM stage, which is the most active stage of sleep. However, most of them last only a few seconds, while others extend up to 45 minutes. On average, each dream lasts about 15 minutes.
People tend to dream more as the night progresses. This is because REM sleep can last from five minutes early in the evening to 34 minutes. Everyone dreams, but it's not always easy to remember dreams. Typically, a person would only remember the last one.
- Why do some people have very vivid dreams?
They are known as "lucid dreams" and occur when the person is conscious while dreaming. They may even play an active role, leading to the sensation of waking up within the dream and believing they are still dreaming.
This would be because the frontal lobe would not be completely asleep, which puts the person in an intermediate state between sleep and wakefulness.
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- Better rest could be achieved with the right pillow
Sometimes, certain problems with proper rest may be due to the devices used. For example, some pillows may not be the right size for the person, or the design may not fit their needs.
Science knows this and has developed innovations that promote rest. For example, there are already pillows with ergonomic technology, capable of cooling themselves, with personalized leveling, or even with a special design for side sleepers or snorers.
Dreams: a universe of meanings, mysteries and curiosities
As you can see, dreams are just the beginning of what happens when you close your eyes to rest. Little by little, more and more is being learned about this process. But paradoxically, the more knowledge there is, the less we know about everything it entails.
Sleep will always have something more to offer. The important thing is to pay attention to the signs, but above all, to get quality sleep. That will always be the first step: getting the restful sleep part sorted.
