Four Breakthroughs That Are Changing Our Understanding of Dreams

Lucid Dreams

In recent years, scientists have made significant progress in understanding the power of lucid dreams. Lucid dreams occur when a person is aware that they are dreaming while still asleep. This awareness allows for a sense of control and agency in the dream world, making it possible to manipulate and explore the dream landscape.

A 2021 study showed that two-way communication was possible between a lucid dreamer and a researcher in the lab. The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, demonstrated that the dreamer’s brain activity could be used to control a virtual car in real-time. The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the dreamer’s brain waves and translate them into commands for the virtual car.

Another study, published in 2024, built upon this research by training lucid dreamers to control a virtual car from within their dreams. The study, published in Intelligent Journal of Science and Engineering Technology, found that the dreamers were able to make the virtual car move forward or turn using slight muscle twitches. The study also showed that some dreamers were better at controlling the virtual car than others, regardless of their skill level in controlling their dreams.

While these studies are exciting, it’s still unclear how this technology could be used in everyday life. Additionally, the small sample size of the study limited the conclusions that could be drawn. However, the findings suggest that it may be possible for some people to make decisions from within a dream and communicate them to the outside world.

Why Do We Dream?

Sleep and dreams researcher Mark Blagrove from Swansea University believes that dreams were meant to be shared socially and evolved in humans to enhance emotional intelligence and empathy.

In a study published in 2019, Blagrove collaborated with artist Julia Lockheart to analyze the content of dreams and their relation to emotional intelligence and empathy. The study found that discussing a dream with others can increase empathy between the dreamer and listeners. Blagrove argues that this could have been valuable to ancestral survival in forming significant connections with others.

Other theories about why we dream have also emerged in recent years. For example, the embodied cognition theory proposes that dreams prepare us for the cognitive actions of ordinary waking life. This theory is still in its early stages and has not been widely tested, but it shows a growing scientific interest in the adaptive purpose of dreams.

Insights from Long Dream Series

Michael Schredl, a dream researcher from the University of Mannheim in Germany, has been keeping a dream journal since the 1980s and has published hundreds of articles and books on the topic. At the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) annual conference, Schredl gave a keynote talk analyzing over 12,000 of his dreams.

Overall, the patterns in Schredl’s dreams seemed to support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, which suggests that our dreams are influenced by events and concerns that are happening in our waking lives. Schredl also noticed a steady decline over the years of ice, snow, and hail in his dreams, which is similar to the documented declining number of “ice days” (days when the temperature was below 0°C for 24 hours) in Germany since he began keeping his dream journal.

Another interesting pattern Schredl found was references to money in his dreams. When the Deutsche Mark was the prevailing currency, it occasionally showed up in his dreams, but when the German currency changed to the Euro in 2002, the number of Deutsche Mark references were replaced by references to the Euro.

Dream Recall

Some people are better at remembering their dreams than others, recalling dreams more frequently and in more detail. Researchers have tried to determine the reasons and mechanisms for this difference, looking into factors such as personality and attitude towards dreams, general memory ability, and small physiological signals that happen during certain sleep stages.

A 2022 study investigated the role of attention in dream recall, a cognitive skill closely connected to memory. The study found that participants with low dream recall were better at ignoring distracting stimuli, while participants with high dream recall were worse at filtering out irrelevant information.

The study also found that dream recall is a learnable skill. For example, keeping a dream journal can significantly improve dream recall, especially for people who already have quite low dream recollection.

Conclusion

These four breakthroughs are changing our understanding of dreams and revealing new possibilities for exploring the dream world. From lucid dreaming to long dream series, these findings are opening up new avenues for research and potentially have practical applications in fields such as neuroscience and psychology.

FAQs

• What is lucid dreaming?

Lucid dreaming is the ability to be aware that you are dreaming while still asleep, allowing for a sense of control and agency in the dream world.

• Can lucid dreaming be used in everyday life?

While the technology is still in its early stages, it’s unclear how this technology could be used in everyday life.

• Why do we dream?

Sleep and dreams researcher Mark Blagrove believes that dreams were meant to be shared socially and evolved in humans to enhance emotional intelligence and empathy.

• Is dream recall a learnable skill?

Yes, dream recall is a learnable skill, and keeping a dream journal can significantly improve dream recall, especially for people who already have quite low dream recollection.