What Do Dreams Mean? These Four Steps Can Help You Interpret Yours, According To Dream Researchers

In my recurring dream, I was driving a car when I suddenly remembered that I didn't know how to do it. Also at this moment I realize that my father has asked me to find a parking space. Like many dreams, it doesn't make much sense. My father never let me drive a car. And I certainly wouldn't be bold enough to drive a car with no experience. So could this dream have something to do with me in real life? Research says yes .

Dreams are anything but random. By observing some dreams and when they occur in a person's life, one can see how dreams embody constant worries, how a person sees himself and the dreamer's relationship with the world, says Antonio Zadra, PhD, professor of psychology at the university. . of Montreal and co-author of When Brains Dream. A recent example: During the lockdown in 2020, people daydreamed about social distancing, personal protective equipment and other pandemic-related problems, according to a study. This is not that surprising, but it shows that our dreams and waking are closely related.

If you look at various dreams and when they happen in a person's life, you can see how dreams embody current worries.

So, if dreams mimic life, why do some defy common sense like my drifting dream? The answer lies in neurology. Most dreams are remembered during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. At this stage, your secondary visual cortex, which forms images from your memory and imagination, is much more active than when you are awake. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for logic and censorship, is significantly damaged, as are the linguistic areas of the brain, says Deirdre Barrett, Ph.D., author of The Sleep Committee and professor of psychology at Harvard. Result? "We have our usual thoughts, worries, hopes and fears, but they are expressed in a visual storytelling format rather than verbal logical reasoning," he says.

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