Dreams how do they occur

It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The Sleep Foundation editorial team is dedicated to providing content that meets the highest standards for accuracy and objectivity.

Our editors and medical experts rigorously evaluate every article and guide to ensure the information is factual, up-to-date, and free of bias. Dreams An introduction to what they are, when they happen, their meaning, and how to stop nightmares. Updated October 30, Written by Eric Suni. Medically Reviewed by Alex Dimitriu. Why Do We Dream? When Do We Dream?

Do Dreams Have Meaning? What Are Types of Dreams? What Are Nightmares? Do Dreams Affect Sleep? How Can You Remember Dreams? How Can You Stop Nightmares? What Are Dreams? Studies have revealed diverse types of dream content, but some typical characteristics of dreaming include: It has a first-person perspective.

It is involuntary. The content may be illogical or even incoherent. The content includes other people who interact with the dreamer and one another. It provokes strong emotions. Elements of waking life are incorporated into content.

Different theories about the purpose of dreaming include: Building memory: Dreaming has been associated with consolidation of memory, which suggests that dreaming may serve an important cognitive function of strengthening memory and informational recall. Instant replay: Dream content may be a form of distorted instant replay in which recent events are reviewed and analyzed.

Incidental brain activity: This view holds that dreaming is just a by-product of sleep that has no essential purpose or meaning. Get the latest information in sleep from our newsletter. Your privacy is important to us. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Alex Dimitriu Psychiatrist MD. Ruby P. Experimental research on dreaming: state of the art and neuropsychoanalytic perspectives. Frontiers in psychology, 2, Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep.

Meaidi, A. The sensory construction of dreams and nightmare frequency in congenitally blind and late blind individuals. Sleep medicine, 15 5 , — Scarpelli, S. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16 19 , The Characteristics of Sleep. Purves, D. Researchers compared the dream content of different groups of people in a psychiatric facility.

Participants in one group had been admitted after attempting to take their own lives. Their dreams of this group were compared with those of three control groups in the facility who had experienced:.

Those who had considered or attempted suicide or carried out violence had were more likely to have dreams with content relating to death and destructive violence. The right and left hemispheres of the brain seem to contribute in different ways to a dream formation. Researchers of one study concluded that the left hemisphere seems to provide dream origin while the right hemisphere provides dream vividness, figurativeness and affective activation level. A study of adolescents aged 10 to 17 years found that those who were left-handed were more likely to experience lucid dreams and to remember dreams within other dreams.

Studies of brain activity suggest that most people over the age of 10 years dream between 4 and 6 times each night, but some people rarely remember dreaming. It is often said that 5 minutes after a dream, people have forgotten 50 percent of its content, increasing to 90 percent another 5 minutes later.

Most dreams are entirely forgotten by the time someone wakes up, but it is not known precisely why dreams are so hard to remember. There are factors that can potentially influence who remembers their dreams, how much of the dream remains intact, and how vivid it is. Age: Over time, a person is likely to experience changes in sleep timing, structure, and electroencephalographic EEG activity.

Evidence suggests that dream recall progressively decreases from the beginning of adulthood, but not in older age. Dream also become less intense. This evolution occurs faster in men than women, with gender differences in the content of dreams. Gender: A study of dreams experienced by males and females found no differences between the amount of aggression, friendliness, sexuality, male characters, weapons, or clothes that feature in the content.

However, the dreams of females featured a higher number of family members, babies, children, and indoor settings than those of males. Sleep disorders : Dream recall is heightened in patients with insomnia , and their dreams reflect the stress associated with their condition. The dreams of people with narcolepsy may a more bizarre and negative tone. One study looked at whether dream recall and dream content would reflect the social relationships of the person who is dreaming.

College student volunteers were assessed on measures of attachment, dream recall, dream content, and other psychological measures. Everyone dreams, although we may not remember our dreams. At different times of life or during different experiencs, our dreams might change. A study investigating anxiety dreams in children aged 9 to 11 years observed the following :. Studies comparing the dreams of pregnant and non-pregnant women showed that:. Those that give care to family or people who have long-term illnesses often have dreams related to that individual.

A study following the dreams of adults that worked for at least a year with individuals at United States hospice centers noted :. It is widely believed that oppressive dreams are frequent in people going through a time of bereavement.

A study analyzing dream quality, as well as the linking of oppressive dreams in bereavement, discovered that oppressive dreams:. In another study of people experiencing bereavement:.

Younger people are more likely to dream in color. The number of people aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s dreaming in color increased through to Researchers speculated that color television might play a role in the generational difference. Another study using questionnaires and dream diaries also found older adults had more black and white dreams than the younger participants. Older people reported that both their color dreams and black and white dreams were equally vivid.

However, younger participants said that their black and white dreams were of poorer quality. Some researchers claim to have evidence that this is possible, but there is not enough evidence to prove it.

Most often, this seems to be due to coincidence, a false memory, or the unconscious mind connecting together known information. Dreams may help people learn more about their feelings, beliefs, and values. Images and symbols that appear in dreams will have meanings and connections that are specific to each person.

People looking to make sense of their dreams should think about what each part of the dreams mean to them as an individual. However, for those who are interested in such books, there is a selection available for purchase online. One study followed the dream content of people who regularly use crack cocaine in Trinidad and Tobago during a period of abstinence:. People with complete vision loss have fewer visual dream impressions compared with sighted participants. People who have been unable to see from birth report more auditory, tactile, gustatory, and olfactory dream components, compared with sighted participants.

One small study explored the dream diaries of 14 people with impairments. When Do We Dream? Where in the Brain Do Dreams Originate? Areas of the brain that are active during dreaming include: The Brainstem: One of the most primitive parts of the brain, the brainstem helps control movement, sensation, and the involuntary nervous system.

When you dream, the brainstem issues rapid-fire signals, which may be why dreams feel so tactile. The Amygdala : The amygdala is a tiny part of the brain that helps control emotion. Activity in the amygdala 14 may be one reason why we feel so strongly about what we experience in our dreams. The Hippocampus : This section of the brain has a lot to do with memory, as well as learning and emotional information.

It is hyper-active during dreams. This may have to do with how vivid memories are factored into dreams, and also may indicate that dreams are involved with processing and consolidating memory The Visual Cortex : This area in the cerebral cortex interprets and processes images and visual information.

It is also highly active during dreams 16 , which may be why we can see dreams play out before us. There are a number of things that happen in your body during a dream, including: Rapid Eye Movement: Your eyes move rapidly behind your eyelids when you dream.

During this time, your eyes do not send visual information to the brain 17 as they usually do during waking hours. Rather, eye motion during dreams is likely involved with visual processing during deep sleep, and possibly even the ways in which you visually experience your dream space. You lose almost all muscle tone, with the exception of the muscles under your eyelids and in your diaphragm.

This state is called atonia and caused by a change in the neurons in the base of the brainstem 18 , which are in contact with the neurons that stimulate muscle movement. Atonia may be the body trying to keep you from physically acting out your dreams in your sleep or accidentally waking yourself up. Twitching Muscles: While many of the muscles in your body are inactive during REM sleep because of atonia, it is common for people to involuntarily twitch, especially in the fingers and toes.

Breathing Changes: Breathing during REM sleep often becomes irregular 20 , involving dramatic rising and falling. REM sleep is also characterized by brief apneas, or pauses in breathing.

Apneas during REM sleep correspond to bursts of rapid eye movement and are linked to the body activating the respiratory control system during REM sleep. However, during REM sleep, heart rate and blood pressure can fluctuate wildly 21 , sometimes dipping to NREM rates, and sometimes rising to an average or higher rate of breathing found in everyday life.

Why Do We Dream? Scientists are not totally sure why we dream, but there are many interesting theories. Problem-Solving Dreams may help you solve problems more efficiently and creatively. Cementing and Processing Memories Dreams may help you process and store memories. Emotional Processing Like other memories and important waking-life experiences, emotions may also be processed during dreams.

What do Dreams Mean? Author Recent Posts. Board-certified sleep M. Sleep vs. Related posts: Essential Oils for Sleep. I always forget when I woke up.

Older Comments. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Comment Name Email Notify me of new posts by email. How Important Is Sleep? Popular Sleep Topics.