{"id":173,"date":"2017-10-13T21:13:44","date_gmt":"2017-10-13T21:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreams123.com\/?page_id=173"},"modified":"2020-08-27T23:20:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-27T23:20:19","slug":"why-dream","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dreams123.com\/start-here-dreams-1-2-3-system-of-dream-interpretation\/why-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Dream?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Understanding what<\/em> you dream begins with understanding why <\/em>you dream<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why dream? For one, your brain consolidates memories while dreaming. Memories are encoded as symbolism<\/a> for easy reference. Dreaming makes room for tomorrow, taking what you experience today and fitting it into the existing structure that is you: your mind, psyche, personality, character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evolution is driven by how a species adapts to its environment. For the human species, adaptation is driven in large part by dreaming. We are too preoccupied while awake to do this deep-level processing and learning. Some theorists think that dreaming evolved in the human species as a means of survival.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same thinking applies to explaining why animals dream. They’re learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dreaming is good for your brain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dreaming\u2014especially REM-stage (rapid eye movement) dreaming\u2014is critical for brain development. Infants sleep 16 hours per day and spend half that time in REM stage. Brain development in overdrive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dreaming heats up your neural pathways<\/a>, making them malleable\u2014also known as neuroplasticity<\/em>. Neural pathways are pruned, strengthened, and created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[See this example of neuroplasticity<\/a> expressed symbolically in a dream.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dreaming is vital for absorbing new information so it can be cross-referenced and readily accessed. Studies show that students perform better <\/a>on tests after napping, and piano students perform better with new material after a full night of sleep. While dreaming, you incorporate what you learn and improve at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quote from Jerome Singer, Emeritus Professor of psychology at Yale U.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This [dreaming] starts to sound a lot like the basis for human creativity. The fusing of things that don’t seem to have any connection. That’s what sleep, particularly dreaming<\/a> does. Like good cooking, when it comes to memory, it’s not enough to chop up the ingredients and put them together. The brain needs time to let things marinate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Dreams perform two stages of memory processing: the immediate processing of daily memories, and a second stage that processes memories more deeply into your being. Those dreams tend to be particularly potent, memorable, and metaphorical. Think of it as a distilling process, and left at the end is a potent brew of the lessons and experiences most important for your growth as a person, and for your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More reasons to sleep in<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People who get enough sleep perform better on tests. They perform better athletically. Their moods and emotions are more manageable. They appear healthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who go for long periods without dreaming break down physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Their attention spans shorten and memories fog. They are irritable, anxious. They have difficulty absorbing new information and are prone to depression and weight gain. Go too long without dreaming and a person will dream while awake<\/em>. The symptoms can start in as little as 24 sleepless-hours. We have a word for that condition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schizophrenia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read: Are People With Schizophrenia Living a Dream?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That article doesn’t perfectly back my point, but it’s a nice parallel with it. Blending of dream reality and physical reality is too much to handle and the mind goes haywire. Dreaming appears to play a role in keeping us sane!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch Dr. Rubin Naiman talk about the epidemic of dream deprivation in modern society. He makes the brilliant comment that dreaming is like psychological digestion, and when we don’t get enough REM sleep, we experience “psychological constipation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n