Ernest Hartmann, a professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and the director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Newton Wellesley Hospital in Boston, Mass., explains.
The questions, "Why do we dream?" or "What is the function of dreaming?" are easy to ask but very difficult to answer. The most honest answer is that we do not yet know the function or functions of dreaming. This ignorance should not be surprising because despite many theories we still do not fully understand the purpose of sleep, nor do we know the functions of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is when most dreaming occurs. And these two biological states are much easier to study scientifically than the somewhat elusive phenomenon of dreaming.
Some scientists take the position that dreaming probably has no function. They feel that sleep, and within it REM sleep, have biological functions (though these are not totally established) and that dreaming is simply an epiphenomenon that is the mental activity that occurs during REM sleep. I do not believe this is the most fruitful approach to the study of dreaming. Would we be satisfied with the view that thinking has no function and is simply an epiphenomenon--the kind of mental activity that occurs when the brain is in the waking state?
Therefore I will try to explain a current view of dreaming and its possible functions, developed by myself and many collaborators, which we call the Contemporary Theory of Dreaming. The basic idea is as follows: activation patterns are shifting and connections are being made and unmade constantly in our brains, forming the physical basis for our minds. There is a whole continuum in the making of connections that we subsequently experience as mental functioning. At one end of the continuum is focused waking activity, such as when we are doing an arithmetic problem or chasing down a fly ball in the outfield. Here our mental functioning is focused, linear and well-bounded. When we move from focused waking to looser waking thought--reverie, daydreaming and finally dreaming--mental activity becomes less focused, looser, more global and more imagistic. Dreaming is the far end of this continuum: the state in which we make connections most loosely.
Some consider this loose making of connections to be a random process, in which case dreams would be basically meaningless. The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming holds that the process is not random, however, and that it is instead guided by the emotions of the dreamer. When one clear-cut emotion is present, dreams are often very simple. Thus people who experience trauma--such as an escape from a burning building, an attack or a rape--often have a dream something like, "I was on the beach and was swept away by a tidal wave." This case is paradigmatic. It is obvious that the dreamer is not dreaming about the actual traumatic event, but is instead picturing the emotion, "I am terrified. I am overwhelmed." When the emotional state is less clear, or when there are several emotions or concerns at once, the dream becomes more complicated. We have statistics showing that such intense dreams are indeed more frequent and more intense after trauma. In fact, the intensity of the central dream imagery, which can be rated reliably, appears to be a measure of the emotional arousal of the dreamer.
Therefore, overall the contemporary theory considers dreaming to be a broad making of connections guided by emotion. But is this simply something that occurs in the brain or does it have a purpose as well? Function is always very hard to prove, but the contemporary theory suggests a function based on studies of a great many people after traumatic or stressful new events. Someone who has just escaped from a fire may dream about the actual fire a few times, then may dream about being swept away by a tidal wave. Then over the next weeks the dreams gradually connect the fire and tidal wave image with other traumatic or difficult experiences the person may have had in the past. The dreams then gradually return to their more ordinary state. The dream appears to be somehow "connecting up" or "weaving in" the new material in the mind, which suggests a possible function. In the immediate sense, making these connections and tying things down diminishes the emotional disturbance or arousal. In the longer term, the traumatic material is connected with other parts of the memory systems so that it is no longer so unique or extreme--the idea being that the next time something similar or vaguely similar occurs, the connections will already be present and the event will not be quite so traumatic. This sort of function may have been more important to our ancestors, who probably experienced trauma more frequently and constantly than we (at least those of us living in the industrialized world) do at present.
Thus we consider a possible (though certainly not proven) function of a dream to be weaving new material into the memory system in a way that both reduces emotional arousal and is adaptive in helping us cope with further trauma or stressful events.
Answer originally posted July 14, 2003.
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27 Comments
Add CommentThis is so interesting, it is encouraging me to learn more and do more research on the topic...is there any additional information i can find that you might think is valuable?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHi, just recently discovered what makes us dream, other than if you didn't you would go insane. It is a "drug" that is closely related to Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), that is exsistant in your brain. It is what keeps randomness a part of your life.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHonestly I am unable to appreciate why even these days we make so much of dreams. Is it because Dr. S. Freud proposed a theory way back a century ago saying dreams serve as "a royal road" to hidden personality? Should we be still stuck with it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfter all, wakeful or dream states represent a 40 Hz neuronal activity, though the brain chemistry differs - from aminergic to cholinergic. The brain attempts to give a meaning to those electrical pulses that occur during dream state without the extra info provided by the sensory cortex because at the time of dreaming the senses are at rest and not receiving (conscious + so called unconscious) signals from the environment.
The brain keeps a continuous chatter when we are wakeful. We call the chatter as "thoughts." We do not know how the electric pulses get felt as "thoughts". We are able to remember (send to storage for later recall) some of the events of the day. Our mood or emotion at the trime of event governs the type of memory. So also the dreamstage thoughts appear as dreams and are equally pruned and edited by emotion.
Modern managers run away to secluded resorts and stay totally "incommunicado" (no phones, no office-staff, no mobiles, no meeintgs) to external world when they want to deeply pay attention to a specific topic. They process the problem in thier brain without any interruptions and come up with a tangible answer. So also, brain processes some of the critical problems uninterrupted by external seonsory inputs (sort of off-line processing) and come up with astounding solutions (e.g. Benzene ring, Nobel prize winning ideas of Rutherford, Loeiwe). There is nothing odd in that as Dr. Winson said long back.
Can we not hence equate dreams as the REM sleep neuronal activity of brain similar to "thoughts" of the daytime wakeful state?
--ramesam
If you do not consume food or beverage at least 6 hours prior to going to sleep, there is a high probability that you will not have a dream at all. It has something to do with the brain receptors that the food triggers as you begin to digest it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHi!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think that dreams are the openings to a gate toward parallel universes, alternative realities or other dimensions. It is just enough our brain be free of stimulations coming from our real world, which happens when we are asleep! Some day one will prove this!!
Hi!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think that dreams are the gate to parallel universes, alternate realities or other dimensions, because during sleep our brains are turned off from our "real" world or reality, which makes it ready to receive inputs or stimulations from those alternate realities. Perhaps this will be proved someday!
Regards
Tersio
Has anyone considered that dreams might be a side-effect? If the brain is really just a processing unit, then maybe we should be asking why our brains are still processing while we sleep. Why not just "turn off" and remain at rest until consciousness is regained? Perhaps because we need to be receptive to information (such as the smell of smoke or sound of someone breaking into the house, etc) while in a state of sleep in order to ensure we wake and protect ourselves. Could dreams simply be a side-effect of active data reception without conscious interpretation? Might this also explain why our dreams tend to represent inherently "passive" emotions such as arousal and fear?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis doesn't, of course, explain why we sleep. I was just wondering if anyone has done any research around this theory.
im only 12 so i may be wrong but i think we have dreams because becausein the real world it may come true. i think our dreams are trying to tel us something so we can fix those mistakes in reality. example: i had a dream that i was going to middle school and i didn't want to get bullied but there were several bullies in my neighborhood. im going to middle school and im afraid this is going to happen to me. we will find out in august when i go to school.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisheyy. im only 12 years old but i think we have dreams because when you go to sleep have u ever had a nice dream a nightmare or something kool? your dream is trying to tell you something! an example: im going to sixth grade this year and im scared of bullies, i had a dream last night and there were these girls that were bullies and boys too. they would come to the pool and they would say like if u let us win we wont bully you soz im gonna find out in august!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishey im only 7 i had a dream i was going to second grade i didnt want to get bullied there where way more then 100 kids in there there where 100 bullies in there they all bullied me when the 100# one punched me in the face i woke up. sometimes dreams may come true ill see if my dream will come true ill see u guys again in august ok bye ps im also going to second grade 4 real
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisheyy my name is Jacey. I go to Goshen JR. high.i'm in the 8th grade. see i was talking to my friend,tim, and he said that it's something about self-conscious. sometimes,well majority of times i dream about stuff that happened that day,and it was just little stuff.and when i dream about something that DIDN'T happen that day it usually comes true:) crazy!...i know! lol well i'm not even suppose to be here i'm supppose to look up somethin else bye! add me on myspace jaceylunn_crazy@yahoo.com (EMAIL)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHEYYY:) what it do?!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi'm jacey. i go to GOSHEN jr. high. im 14. add me on myspace jaceylinn_crazy@yahoo.com
so omg guess what!!!!!?????
............uhhh okayy..yeahh i kinda just forgot...lol. im sucha blonde! damn it! lol im hangin with my buddy tim right here..we are at school,being bored we have been sitting here longer than an hour gotta go...TEACHER COMING DONT FORGET TO ADD ME! LOVE YEW ALL.
buhh-bye<333
okayyy.......im back. so yeahh lets talk! what did u say? who said what? huh? what? NO IN MY ENGLESH CLASS! no else where is with an L. yes. (my teacher mrs.miller is saying) (lol)...okay she left.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thistim says heyyloww!
Jess says HILOWW!
student of the week time to go home..yay bye! work hard!!!!!
Ayy wassup its timay from Goshen Jr. high yeah I think dreams are about like figureing out somthin about your life I have the weirdest dreams honestly i think it becouse im phycho like its usualy about friends schoool and war lol any way im out :aaaaahhhhh) well bye
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thislol timay:)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thissee that guy above me?!
yeahh thats my buddy! sooo?? whats going on..im bored..eww my teacher mr.krebs is behind me..im outtie.
peace<3
lol timay:)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyeahh that is kinda weird....
mmmh. yepp see the guy above me?! yeahh thats my buddy! my teacher mr.krebs is behind me ewwwww! he is akwerd on so many levels! next tri. starts tomorrow! yay! finally new teachers! i HATE mr. thiery! well im outtie.
peace<3
lol timay:)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thissee that guy above me?!
yeahh thats my buddy! sooo?? whats going on..im bored..eww my teacher mr.krebs is behind me..im outtie.
peace<3
lol timay:)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyeahh that is kinda weird....
mmmh. yepp see the guy above me?! yeahh thats my buddy! my teacher mr.krebs is behind me ewwwww! he is akwerd on so many levels! next tri. starts tomorrow! yay! finally new teachers! i HATE mr. thiery! well im outtie.
peace<3
heyy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswhat it do?!
this is gay
i think dreams are things come from our subconscious. which is inactive while awake and active while asleep. Subconscious collect emotins, wishesm thoughts, wishes, love, hates unexpressed while awake. and being expressed during sleep time. create nice or bad dreams.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisumm i still dont knw why we do dream
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this...........................
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisbuht i still dont knw why we dream?? can you help mwe out??
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishi everyone. dreaming is really exciting and interesting, specially if what we see in dream, occurs. 90% of what i see in my dreams, happens next days. i don't know why does it happen, but it is very nice for me; and even very bad in some cases :) there should be an explanation for this dreams. these aren't so simple, it's just a complicated function.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishi everyone. dreaming is really exciting and interesting, specially if what we see in dream, occurs. 90% of what i see in my dreams, happens next days. i don't know why does it happen, but it is very nice for me; and even very bad in some cases :) there should be an explanation for this dreams. these aren't so simple, it's just a complicated function.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have a rather fuller description of the nature and function of dreams at http://poeticks.com/knowlecular-psychology/2470-2. Here's my first paragraph: "I propose that person’s dreams have two functions. Their primary “duty” is to relieve the person’s cortical neurons of stored energy that would otherwise make those cells excessively prone to out-of-context daytime activation that the person would experience as “mistakes.” I also contend that by causing a person to experience mixtures of highly incongruous data while he sleeps, dreams promote creativity. To account for these results, I postulate a mechanism that causes a portion of a person’s cortical neurons to become spontaneously active during REM sleep to produce the bizarre memories that, I claim, make up dreams."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnalyze your dreams, find consistent patterns, and share with friends.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a great new app that lets you interpret your dreams.
A fantastic tool for interpreting dreams - I love the design, the simplicity, the calendar and sync capabilities, and their dream journal is a comprehensive tool that lists a variety of words which will help guide you in better understanding your dreams!
Link = http://itunes.apple.com/app/morpheus-dreams-advanced-dream/id508437774?mt=8