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The Truth About Dreaming:
It’s Healthy!
3 Interesting Facts You Should Know
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The subconscious mind is an incredible thing, and there’s no quicker way to tap into it and work out our deepest thoughts and desires than by evaluating our dreams.
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Since the beginning of recorded history, people have theorised about the function and meaning of dreams.
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While there’s still a lot we don’t know for sure, there are some things that we do know about the interesting act of dreaming.
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The Truth About Dreaming: 3 Interesting Facts 🙂
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The Truth About Dreaming…#1
Why Do We Dream?
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However what we do know through research, is the importance of dreams to our health and well-being.
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In one study, researchers woke up participants just as they were drifting off into REM sleep. They found that those who were not allowed to dream experienced a number of negative side effects including tension, anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, lack of coordination and even a tendency to hallucinate.
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So while dreams can seem absurd and nonsensical, without them the human brain just isn’t able to function.
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The Truth About Dreaming… #2
Dream Themes
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By interpreting our dreams, it might be possible to gain some understanding into our subconscious thoughts.
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There are a number or dream themes that interestingly are reported across all cultures and countries.
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These include falling, teeth falling out, realising you’re naked in a public place and death.
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These types of dreams are most likely to be caused by stress or anxiety in the dreamer’s waking life, although it’s fascinating that so many of us conceptualise these anxieties in a similar way.
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However even with common themes, the particular reason behind each dream will be unique to you.
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To de-code your own dreams, have a think about the theme and how it applies to you. For example, dreams of being chased can indicate that there’s something in your waking life that you’re trying to avoid or get away from.
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Think on a metaphorical rather than a literal basis- for example, it could indicate running away from certain unpleasant feelings or desires.
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The Truth About Dreaming…#3
Lucid Dreaming
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This means that you are able to manipulate and change the dream in whichever way you want. These kinds of dreams tend to be more even more strange and emotionally charged than other dreams. .
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Being able to control your ‘dream self’ and the surroundings is a truly mind blowing experience and something everyone should aim to do at some point in their lives.
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Luckily there are a few ways you can try to induce this state, for example once you wake up from a dream, try to focus hard on it as you’re falling back to sleep.
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In some cases you can find that you ‘re-enter’ the dream but with more control over it. Waking yourself up in the middle of the night and meditating are also thought to induce lucid dreaming.
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There are certain supplements such as galantamine, a synthesised drug from the snowdrop plant which are also thought to help induce a state of lucidity. A great (fully legal!) way to get inside your own head and have a poke around!
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There’s so much we still don’t know about the human brain, and dreaming is definitely one of these things. This is what makes it all the more fascinating!
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Until science can find out more we can enjoy vibrant, peculiar and amazing dream stories every night and use them as a way to work out our subconscious minds.
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