Why does a person need sleep and why do dreams arise? Why does a person dream?

We've all heard stories about how dreams inspired people to create something new or helped them find a needed solution. Paul McCartney heard the hit Yesterday in a dream, and Dmitry Mendeleev saw the periodic table of chemical elements.

Many people think that their dreams have a special meaning, but science is more skeptical. Some scientists consider dreams to be a meaningless consequence of sleep, by-product evolution, from which there is no benefit.

Another thing is sleep as such. Scientists know that reducing sleep duration leads to dangerous diseases such as heart disease or stroke.

All more research shows that lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity and Alzheimer's disease.

Extensive population studies reflect the sad truth: the less sleep you get, the shorter your life.

Dreams during the phase REM sleep treat pain from difficult, traumatic emotional episodes

Sleep also helps us retain memories, remember information faster, and learn new skills. Healthy sleep is important for every person and especially for children, students, athletes, pilots and doctors.

But what about dreams? Do they have a purpose? Recent research from my neuroscience laboratory, as well as the work of others, suggests that dreams serve a special function that is important to our well-being. There are two main areas in which dreams help us.

Dreams relieve emotional pain

They say that time heals wounds. But my research shows that time heals when you sleep and dream. Dreaming during REM sleep treats the pain of difficult, traumatic emotional episodes experienced during the day and offers emotional resolution when you wake up the next morning.

REM sleep is the only period of time when the brain is completely free of norepinephrine molecules, which provoke anxiety.

Moreover, while we dream, areas of the brain associated with emotions and memory are restored.

Retrieval of emotional memory occurs when the brain is free of the neurotransmitter that causes stress. This allows us to re-process sad memories in a calmer, safer environment.

Dreams help people reduce emotional reactivity

We came to these conclusions through several studies. One study conducted at the Center for Human Sleep Science involved healthy young adults who were divided into two groups.

All participants in the experiment were placed in turn in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner and shown a set of images that evoked different emotions. 12 hours later, participants were shown the same images again.

For participants in the first group, the images were shown again on the same day. For the participants in the second group, the break occurred at night, and they managed to sleep.

People who slept between the two sessions showed a significant decrease in emotional response to the images. MRI results showed a significant decrease in response in the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain where painful feelings are formed.

Moreover, after sleep, there was a re-engagement of the rational area of ​​the brain - the prefrontal cortex. This helped reduce emotional reactivity.

Participants in the other group, who did not sleep between sessions, showed no decrease in emotional response during the repeated experiment. We also recorded each participant's sleep on the night between the two experimental sessions. We found specific activity in the brain that reflected a decline in chemical processes associated with stress during dreams. It was she who determined the success of nightly “psychotherapy”.

One of the main functions of dreams is to ease our emotional experiences so that we can move on with our lives.

Dreaming may help people reduce emotional reactivity because the emotional content of dreams is associated with a decrease in norepinephrine in the brain.

This theory is supported by research conducted by Murray Raskind. He studied the problem of post-traumatic disorder in former combatants who were often tormented by nightmares.

As part of the experiment, participants in the first group of subjects were given prazosin, a drug that reduces blood pressure and blocks the production of norepinephrine. They had fewer nightmares and demonstrated fewer symptoms post-traumatic disorder than participants in the second group who were given a placebo.

Thus, one of the main functions of dreams is to ease our emotional experiences so that we can learn lessons and move on with our lives.

Dreams stimulate creativity

Research shows that during the phase deep sleep memories move into long-term memory.

But it is during REM sleep that these memories are mixed and combined in unique new ways. When we dream, the brain analyzes large amounts of acquired knowledge and then outputs general rules and patterns. This helps us find solutions to problems that previously seemed intractable.

In one of the studies, we were convinced that it is dreams that are important, and not sleep itself.

Before going to bed, we gave the experiment participants several tasks: to form words from a set of letters arranged in a chaotic order. Then they fell asleep, and we watched their sleep and woke them up different phases sleep to repeat the task. We woke up some participants during the dreaming phase, others during the deep sleep phase.

Participants who were awakened during deep sleep showed no creativity. They solved few problems.

Dreams improve Creative skills in the field of problem solving

Participants awakened during the dream phase solved 15-35% more problems than before sleep. In addition, they noted that the solution simply “popped” into their minds without much effort.

In another study, my colleagues and I presented participants with a series of logical chains, for example: A>B, B>C, C>D, and so on. We then asked them questions to check their understanding. For example, is it true that B>D? After completing the task, we allowed the participants to take a break for nap lasting from 60 to 90 minutes, which included REM sleep.

After sleep, they showed a significant increase in performance, as if they were connecting disparate puzzle pieces in their sleep.

A similar way of processing information is key feature, which distinguishes the work of our brain from a computer. It also highlights the difference between knowledge, which is the retention of individual facts, and wisdom, which involves understanding what they mean together. Wisdom is a product of the dreaming phase.

Another study found that dreaming improves creative problem-solving abilities.

People who think they can get little sleep without negative consequences, are sorely mistaken

Participants learned to navigate the virtual maze through trial and error and by placing unique objects, such as Christmas trees, in specific locations. After the study session, participants were divided into two groups.

The first group slept for 90 minutes, while the other watched videos the entire time. Sleeping participants were awakened from time to time and asked about the contents of their dreams. Participants who watched the video were also periodically asked what they were thinking about. After this, the participants again tried to find a way out of the maze.

As expected, the participants who slept performed significantly better on the task than those who watched the video. But that is not all. Those who dreamed about the maze performed 10 times better than participants who simply slept.

When we examined the content of the dreams, it became clear that the participants were not exactly reproducing their learning experiences in their dreams. Instead, they selected the most memorable moments and tried to connect them with their existing knowledge. This is how dreams help us develop creativity.

The benefits of dreaming are obvious, but many of us struggle to sleep eight hours a day and experience them for ourselves. Some people think they don't need that much sleep. But research proves the opposite. People who think they can get little sleep without negative consequences are sadly mistaken.

Five ways to normalize your sleep

If you have trouble sleeping, you may be tempted to take sleeping pills. However, pills have a detrimental effect on the dreaming process, so it is better to use other methods:

1. An hour or two before going to bed, dim the lights. room and remove bright light sources such as computer monitors and gadget screens. You can start dimming the lights in your home even earlier to induce a feeling of sleepiness.

2. Go to bed and get up at approximately the same time. This is how the body gets used to going to bed regularly. There's no point in sleeping in on the weekend. You still won't be able to make up for the lack of sleep accumulated during the work week.

3. Sleep in cool room, The ideal temperature is about 18 degrees. During sleep, body temperature drops, so more low temperature indoors signals your brain that it's time to sleep.

4. If you cannot sleep for a long time or wake up in the middle of the night, do not stay awake in bed. This signals to the brain that the bed is not a place to sleep. Better get up, go into another room and read a book with dim lights. Do not turn on the computer or take out gadgets. When you feel drowsy, go back to bed. If you don't want to get out of bed, try meditating. Research shows that meditation helps you fall asleep faster and improves the quality of your sleep.

5. Avoid drinking caffeinated or alcoholic drinks in the evening. Both disrupt sleep, preventing you from falling asleep or causing you to wake up frequently in the middle of the night.

Sleep is the most effective method recovery for the brain and maintenance physical health, it cannot be replaced by anything else.

Dreams provide us with the emotional help we need and do wonders for processing information. If we want to be as healthy, happy, and creative as possible, we need to keep these facts in mind.

about the author

Professor of psychology and neurobiology at the University of California at Berkeley, director of the Center for the Science of Human Sleep, author of the book “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams” (Scribner, 2017).

Why does a person dream? It is very difficult to give a definite answer to this question, because in fact, scientists have still not come to a consensus regarding dreams and their direct purpose. There is even a whole science - oneirology, which studies dreams, but it does not give a clear formulation of their functions. However, there are a number of medical and psychological theories that seek to explain the mysterious nature of human dreams. It's about them we'll talk in our article today.

Dreamland: basic psychological theories

Let's start with the psychological theories of dreams, of which there are many adherents. In principle, the explanations that various schools give for the nature of dreams are quite logical and quite interesting. But unfortunately, none of these theories can be confirmed empirically, so they remain just guesses.

The pioneer and one of the founders of oneirology can be called the well-known psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. It was he who was the first psychiatrist to begin to pay attention to dreams and their interpretation. Having a large clientele and increased interest on the part of patients in their dreams, Freud received a fairly extensive symbolic base. Having drawn an analogy between the symbolism in dreams and the experiences of the clients themselves, the scientist came to the conclusion that in - suppressed desires, experiences and fears. In other words, everything that we strive to avoid in reality sooner or later finds a way out in our dreams.

A follower of Freud, Carl Jung went beyond the limited framework of Freudian psychoanalysis and suggested that dreams are a kind of “language” spoken by the collective unconscious. Jung also believed that the images that appear in dreams are nothing more than archetypes -. Therefore, the main purpose of dreams is the opportunity to communicate with your archetypes.

More modern look The assignment of dreams was introduced by psychiatrist Ernest Hartman, who developed his theory of dreams. He suggested that dreams are a protective smoothing mechanism negative emotions and traumatic experiences. This is a kind of “psychotherapeutic session” during which we can resolve underlying problems.

Professor put forward a similar hypothesis Harvard University Deirdre Barrett. According to her idea, dreams are a theater on the stage of which you can find answers to exciting questions. In addition, Barrett came to the conclusion that dreams accelerate the formation of associative connections. There is even a saying about this in our folklore: “The morning is wiser than the evening.”

In Darwin's Footsteps: Evolutionary Theories of Dreams

Some scientists believe that dreams are a "side" effect of evolution. For example, there is a theory according to which a person in a dream behaves like many animals before mortal danger- pretends to be dead. In other words, brain activity during sleep remains at the level of consciousness, and the body becomes immobilized. Dreams that occur in this state are the result of evolution, because in fact a person has lost the need for such protective behavior.

This theory fits perfectly into the hypothesis of the Finnish scientist Antti Revonusuo, who is confident that in the sleep state we simulate various situations and learn to respond to them. According to his theory, a person who successfully encountered real life with such a situation will be able to quickly respond to it.

Why does a person dream: information theories

There are also theories that explain dreams from the perspective of information. For example, reversal learning theory states that dreams help a person filter out unnecessary information and get rid of it through the process of forgetting. Adherents of the systematization hypothesis have an absolutely opposite opinion: dreams will allow you to systematize all the information received and contribute to its better memorization.

Sleep is one of the most mysterious processes that occur in the body. It would seem that a person is sleeping, resting, and at this time his brain is constantly working. And on top of everything, at this time a person not only regains strength, but also dreams. What happens to us during sleep? Why do we dream? What do they mean? Let's try to figure it out together with you.

What happens to us during sleep?

There are two types of sleep: "rapid" sleep and "slow" sleep. NREM sleep is normal sleep normal sleep; REM is sleep with dreams.

The whole procedure, so to speak, begins with “ slow sleep" Such sleep is divided into 4 stages and at each of them various changes occur in the body. For example, at the first stage the process of falling asleep occurs: a feeling of “floating away,” sometimes interrupted by a start. Physiologically, this manifests itself in decreased muscle activity and slow eye movement. In the second stage, shallow sleep occurs. This stage accounts for more than half total duration sleep. At this time, the heart rate slows down and body temperature drops. There is also a further decrease in muscle activity. At the third and fourth stages, deep sleep comes: the body's main physical rest. In the absence of deep sleep, a person wakes up broken and tired. At the physiological level, processes such as blood flow to the muscles and increased production of growth hormone occur. After passing through all these stages, REM sleep occurs. Only in this phase does a person see dreams. The function of REM sleep is not completely clear. It is believed that it is needed to organize information in memory. Thus, American scientists have found that nerve impulses that were observed in a person while awake are reproduced by the brain at a sevenfold accelerated rate during sleep. Such reproduction of daily impressions, as scientists suggest, is necessary for the formation of memories. The authors of the experiment believe that the process they discovered somehow rewrites information from short term memory, into long-term memory. Continuing about “rapid eye movement” sleep, I would like to note that during such sleep, rapid eye movements (dreaming), increased blood pressure, blood flow to the brain and irregular frequency heart rate and breathing.

Human sleep consists of alternating phases of slow and fast sleep. In turn, the pair, consisting of a phase of slow-wave and rapid sleep, forms a sleep cycle (lasting about 90 minutes). Depending on the total duration, normal sleep consists of 4 – 6 cycles. A person sleeps better if he wakes up at the end of the cycle.

The main task of sleep is to provide the body with rest. Sleep promotes information processing and also plays a role important role in metabolic processes and restores immunity.

Why do we dream?

There are many different theories about why a person dreams. At the beginning of the 20th century, scientists said that over the course of a whole day, various things accumulate in our brain. chemical substances. Such as, for example, carbon dioxide, lactic acid and cholesterol. It was claimed that these substances dissipated while a person slept. And thanks to this process we see dreams. In general, dreams were considered to be “cleaners” of body processes.

One of the latest theories says that dreams may be the body's way of “rebooting” the brain. Dreams free the brain from unnecessary information and help it work like a clock. Without dreams, the brain would simply “explode.”

Others explain dreams in such a way that they appear in our brain due to a disorderly electrical activity. Almost every 90 minutes, when REM sleep occurs, the brainstem sends random electrical impulses throughout the brain. Forebrain, which is responsible for the analytical part of the brain, tries to understand and respond to these signals that are unclear to it. And the only way for the brain to understand them is through dreams.

What do dreams mean?

Our dreams can be divided into three types. The first type of dreams is called “everyday dreams”. In these dreams a person sees his problems, life situations and tries to solve them. The second type of dreams is the second symbolic dreams. In them a person sees symbols in the form various items, signs. In such dreams, people most often see themselves and other people performing actions that ordinary life not typical for them.

The third type of dreams - prophetic dreams. People who have such dreams are very rare. Such dreams can tell a person what might happen to him or other people, how to avoid certain unpleasant incidents. Symbolic dreams are worth listening to. Because during sleep the brain tries to solve pressing problems and give us a finished result. Perhaps it is through these symbols that he is trying to tell us something. To understand what such dreams mean, people have summarized the basic meanings of dreams over hundreds of years of dream observations and interpretations. And today, these long-term observations are available to everyone. Fortunately, every book department is full of such publications, and the Internet is not far behind.

Having opened the door to the secret room of dreams a little, you will have to stop there. And not because there is nothing more interesting there, but only because there are still too many secrets there. In the meantime, the main thing to remember is that healthy sleep– deposit wellness!

? This question has been asked by people since ancient times. Probably each of us has had dreams more than once and asked the question “What does this dream say?”
Over the years, a significant amount of research has been conducted on the topic of dreams. However, scientists still do not have a definitive answer to the question “Why do we dream?” True, there are several theories, as well as specific knowledge about the physiology of sleep.
Dreams occur during (rapid eye movement). The stages of REM sleep themselves occupy approximately 20% to 25% of a person's sleep time. Interestingly, brain activity during sleep is similar to brain activity when people finally woke up.
Dreams can last from a few seconds to 15-20 minutes. As already mentioned in the article, complete sleep cycles in healthy person occur approximately five times per night. In this case, the stage of REM sleep is accompanied by periods of deep sleep, called slow-wave sleep (Non-REM sleep). Some scientists believe that it is during the stage of slow-wave sleep that information about dreams that have arisen is “erased” in people’s memory. Each of us is familiar with such a situation when, waking up in the morning, we know that we had a dream, but we do not remember what it was about.

Why do we dream? Theories...

There are many theories related to the question “Why do we dream?”, some are physiological, others are psychological, and some are a combination of different ideas.
Relationships between sleep and daytime activities and emotions
Most research seems to confirm that the daily activities that happen to us while we are awake have some influence on our dreams, according to at least, part of the sleep time.
In many cases, people can see connections between their dreams and the hopes, fears, worries, and experiences that occur in daily life. During various stages sleep, the brain and body go through a process of "Repair and Tuning" in which hormones are re-balanced, renewal occurs immune system, the pressure in the circulatory system decreases.
Some researchers believe that dreaming is just part of another function that occurs in our brains at this time - reorganizing and processing recent memories and experiences. Our dreams may be one of the mechanisms our brain uses to find agreement between emotionally charged or traumatic events that happen to us while we are awake.
Activation theory
When considering the question “Why do we dream?”, activation theory suggests that dreams are the result of the brain trying to organize random signals, messages, memories and everyday activities into something recognizable. This theory believes that there is no real logic or reason why our dreams develop.
Freudian explanation
Theoretically, the answer to the question “Why do we dream?”, which was popular at one time but has now received less attention, was put forward by Sigmund Freud. In his own words, S. Freud believed that sleep could be “the hidden fulfillment of repressed desires.” In other words, he believed that we hold back certain emotions and actions in our conscious world because they may be socially unacceptable. However, during sleep, the brain feels free to explore these activities. However, not a single study has proven Freud's hypothesis.
Justification Everyday life
It's more late theory about why we dream, which puts elements of different theories together to create a new one. During sleep, the brain takes in the thoughts, ideas and emotions that a person experiences while awake and mixes information together in an attempt to interpret and organize it in a way that is consistent with each person's beliefs.