Why is it Good to Dream?
Dreams are stories and images that our brain creates while we sleep. Although we don't always remember them in the morning, on average, we dream between three to six dreams each night, lasting between 5 to 20 minutes. Dreams can be funny, romantic, disturbing, frightening, and sometimes even bizarre.
Dreams have always been a source of mystery for scientists, doctors, and many psychologists who delve into questions like why do we dream, what causes them, can we control them, and what is their purpose?
Dream or Psychotic State?
Dr. Matthew Walker, a psychologist and brain researcher from the University of Berkeley in the United States, studies dreams and their role in our lives. In his book "Why We Sleep," Walker argues that during dreams, we are essentially in a form of a psychotic state due to several reasons:
- We hallucinate - seeing things that don't really exist.
- We have delusions - believing in things that cannot possibly be true.
- We experience disorientation - becoming confused about time, place, and people during the dream.
- We undergo an extreme range of emotions - from happiness to sadness and fear.
Yet, we wake up the next morning and don't remember at all or only remember fragments of what we dreamed, which means that we suffer from amnesia. If we experienced any of these feelings in our daily lives, we would probably seek psychological or even psychiatric help. However, during dreams, it is a normal biological and psychological process.
So, why is it good to dream?
Dreams Enhance Creativity
During dreams, the brain begins to combine recently acquired information with autobiographical memories stored in our brains, creating narrative connections between the two. In doing so, a type of informational wisdom is formed that can help us find solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems that arise in our daily lives. This is the origin of the famous saying, "sleep on it."
Therapy through Dreams
They say that time heals all wounds, but Walker argues that the time invested in dreams is what truly heals. It seems that dreams remove the painful sting from emotionally difficult, even traumatic, events we experience during the day. As a result, we wake up the next morning with a better feeling about these events and can continue with our lives. Walker calls this "emotional first aid."
Tips for Better Sleep
- Good sleep plays a central role in our ability to dream at night. Therefore, Walker suggests adopting several simple tips that can contribute to improving our sleep quality:
- Ensure the sleeping area is dark, and avoid exposure to blue light at least an hour before sleep.
- Try to go to bed and wake up at approximately the same time each day. There's no point trying to make up for lost sleep on weekends since it's impossible to compensate for sleep loss.
- If you find it difficult to fall asleep or are tossing and turning in bed, it's advisable not to stay in bed but to get up and read a book under dim light in another room. Do not look at your smartphone. When you start feeling drowsy again, return to bed. However, if you prefer not to leave the warm bed at night, try meditation. Studies show that it helps people fall asleep faster and improves sleep quality.
- Avoid consuming caffeine and alcohol before sleep since they disrupt sleep and cause frequent awakenings during the night.