Meaning and Purpose of Dreams

Dreams, Why Do We Have Them and What Do They Mean

Origins and Significance

The main causes of dream have been assigned to two major thoughts-natural and supernatural. The natural cause has further been categorized as psychological and physiological.

Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley have in 1970, during the sleep period called Rapid Eye Movement suggested that the visual as well as emotional brain parts get into action. Any other sensation, whether physiological or pertaining to the sensory organs get together with this front lobe activation to create into a wholesome dream sequence or event. For example a banging sound of any kind in the real-time world around him along with an associated recapitulation of distant past happening where the person was in a school even as he enters his REM stage in sleep combine and may engender a dream of observing a parade along with the same rhythmic banging as if, of drums in the parade. Hobson has actually chosen to dissociate dreams from any other psychological relevance that to augment memories. Amongst the earliest proponents known, of this line of physiological connection of dreams is Aristotle, the philosopher. He chose to call dreams as a later rendition of the perceptions of the senses.

The other line of thought under the natural category of dream theory, psychological, is earliest recorded to have been proposed by Plato who suggested that a dream of a person can be an indicator of his character.

In more modern studies, psychological angle further branches off into two schools of thought. One, that dreams are harbingers of things to come, or that they connote a certain possibility, and two, that assert that dreaming is only thinking on a different plane. There is nothing more to it than that. According to Sigmund Freud (Die Trautumtung, 1900; The interpretations of Dreams, 1913), the content of the dream has to be analyzed to find the meaning it seeks to make in real life situation. David Folulkes (dreaming: A Cognitive-Psychological Analysis, 1985) refuse to render any meaning to the content of the dream whatsoever. He categorically sates that dreams are an amalgamation of sensory perceptions experienced during wakefulness. It has been surmised by him that the association of the cognitive experiences are linked in a way so as to make a more whole comprehensible sequence or chain of events tied loosely together.

One of the most commonplace understanding or explanation of dreams that was dominant in ancient times was that of spirits, Gods or any other supernatural visit to a person in his dream and providing freedom from any physical or other ailment or malice. This form of healing was sought by imbibing a dream with a dream and was purely spiritual in nature. The most evident proofs have been found to be in the existence of vast number of shrines and worship places built to enable practicing of this study and proliferation. As long as dreams are concerned, the Biblical references including Bible itself abound in treating it as a supernatural, spiritual healing device of the Gods. In almost a score of chapter's more than 100 verses enumerate and relate to dreams as an explicitly spiritual healing process. Physical healing associations with dreams have been stoutly denied. The Bible, also at the same time cites instances of contradictory views with Abimelech being spoken to by God as can be seen in the First Testament (Genesis 20:6) as also with Josephin as described in New Testament's first book itself Matthew, 1:20). The exact opposite that there is nothing divine in the occurrence of a dream can be seen both by Solomon (Ecclesiastes5:7) and Jeremiah (23:25-32) (Chara, 2014).

Current Studies and Findings

According to an Australian researcher, Prof Dew Dawson, it is wholly possible that dream is an important piece of mental exercise or device that effectively sieves information collected by cognitive process and chooses to store selectively the important ones and discard redundant ones. This point-of-view of Dr. Dawson of the famed Centre for Sleep Research, University of South Australia was found in The Daily Telegraph. In the same breath it has been further explained that by preventing a person from dreaming during his sleep after being asked to carry out a formidable mental assignment, we could be, depriving him of the rest that sleep achieves. Dr. Dawson cautions not to mistake Rapid Eye Movement for deep sleep. Quite on the contrary, he goes on to suggest that Rapid Eye Movement follows deep sleep. The sleeping cycle has been explained as a cycle of a period of deep sleep followed by dreams. There could be many such cycles with alternating sleep and dream periods during a normal sleep duration of a person, it was said.

The patterns of the waves of the brain studied during a dream and while awake were found to be alike. Using this it came to be believed in academic circles that dreaming was a survival instinct mechanism. That Dreaming is an activity to keep the brain alert and responsive, it was inferred. Aiding this theory, Dr. Dawson stated that sleeping deeply the whole night may prevent people from responding to any eventuality and interspersed dreaming helps break the elongated deep sleep stretch. Most of the mammals were found to dream in a study. However it was uncertain, he says, that cats and dogs, however, dreamt visual images. It simply can't be ascertained he opined.

To add to this knowledge, Dr. Stuart Baulk that dream period in the sleep cycle is accompanied by altered muscle toning that effectively renders man paralytic and incapable of movement.

The distinction between real life and cognition and dream images gets blurred when a person experiencing sleep paralysis wakes up during the dream-sleep period (this was published by HT Syndication courtesy Asian News International, 2010).

Similarities between Dreaming and Waking

The workings of the brain when in a state of dream-sleep and when fully awakened need to be evaluated for their similarities and the way in which they may differ. These observations then be applied to the respective activities and responses of the neural arrangement in the two sates of consciousness- wakeful and dream can establish the interrelations between the two. It is but obvious that dreams are manifested by the cognitive and neural apparatus of the brain.

Most of the dreams are influenced by the wakeful cognitive sensations and experiences. The dreams are full of those very objects and environment as well as feelings that are felt in wakefulness. All the senses that can be perceived during wakeful consciousness like smell, touch, taste sight and sound can and do appear in some scale or the other during the dream consciousness. As such it can be safely concluded that dreams are not to be taken as an abstract happening. Fear, pleasure, joy and sadness can all be experienced in a dream.

The various tests that were carried out during Rapid Eye Movement state and compared with those of the same Electroencephalogram (EEG) tests performed during wakefulness showed no apparent difference in the activity of the brain. The similarities of the two sates of consciousness were supported by these studies. As a further proof of likeness of brain activity in the two states, Positron Emission Test (PET) the metabolism of the brain isn't much separated when in wakefulness and in REM state. In REM sleep the occipito-temporal visual cortex is as highly activated as should be given the fact that dreams are so visually rich.

The rendering of the cognitive as well as sensory perceptions during waking period and dreaming are also found to be quite in agreement. The cognitive escalation in children is seen to be accompanied by a similar growth in their dream experiences. Likewise those afflicted with brain injury and with reduced cognitive capabilities have been found to have a corresponding shift in their dream pattern, too.

The most common things that can be found to influence dreams are the ones that most influence the real lives led. Some of the prominent ones being, state of mind, vision and imagination power, people they show interest in (either way) and the most important things that dominate their thinking in real life. Dreams of people have been found to be in agreement with their real life aptitudes, attitudes, likings, and disliking. Anxieties and concerns of trivial or serious nature that may also involve social interaction issues like reaching late for an exam, getting lost in a crowd or separated from family etc., have been found to find their way into dreams. It has been found that during adulthood across all barriers, the dreams are more or less stable and of similar nature. That dreams do differ very largely from real life experiences, despite the innumerable similarities is a fact that cannot be denied. And that dreams are pleasurable. This variety too is reflected in the neuro-physiological domain (Nir & Giuilo, 2010).

Synthesis

In as much as dream experiences vary so do the types of dreams. It is however not possible to fit in the types into well defined classes. However, an attempt has been made to differentiate the dreams using the preceding sleep stage, feelings encountered, relative proximity to reality and the causal demarcation. EEG tests have been able to mark out four succeeding stages of sleep with each lasting roughly for two hours or thereabouts. Amongst the first things that sleep confers is to rest the mental activity, the period of psychological resting stage wherein the brain filters away thoughts and emotions and chooses to distinguish between trash and the retainable experiences. These are two stages that constitute the D-sleep, the desynchronized EEG. The remaining two, the later ones are the ones dedicated for the physical rest required by the body. This is the S-Sleep or synchronized EEG sleep period. The D-sleep period is the most likely time for dreams to occur. That is not to say that dreams don't occur during S-sleep.

The next difference in dream types is that REM is likely to be seen in only the D-type of sleep. This activity is less observed during the second stage of sleep. So, there are, according to researchers the REM and NREM types of sleep patterns that can be assigned with dreams. Most of the dreams occur during the REM type about eighty percent. Only a fifth of the dreams may be seen during NREM sleep. Meaning if people are to wake up during REM, they are most likely to state being in a dream. The recall value associated with REM dreams is much higher. The quality of the dreams is also much more than that compared to NREM dreams. Better recollection of dreams is generally found to be directly proportionate to greater wakefulness. The higher the frequency of dreams, the better the person can be expected to relive the dream.

Another important observation that has been brought out by studies is that the way people daydream has a like bearing on the way they are likely to see dreams in sleep. A positive, uplifting day dreamer is likely to experience the same vigor and drive even in his dreams when asleep. Those who are victims of not so pleasant dreams are found to be guilty of negative emotions and anxious thoughts or a feeling of remorse. Amongst all dreams that carry feelings as their content, the majority (almost 60-70%) of those can be assigned to the negative ones. Falling off the cliff, being chased or relaying of a disliked happening are amongst the most commonly experienced negative dreams reported. This often results in profuse sweating, disorientation, or sudden awakening, however, they do not last very long and the recollection is also very feeble in such cases.

In a study in England by researchers of University of Warwick, children are often plagued by night terror following psychological traumas faced by teenagers, mostly in early teens. An extremely violent and murderous act faced by a teenager is likely to cause PSTD (post traumatic stress disorder). The affected person relives the dreams of violence and aggression repeatedly, night after night, and may keep appearing throughout the sleep cycle, and is not limited to any particular; REM or NREM duration of the sleep. There have also been reported cases where the dreaming person acts out what he had been dreaming. Such cases are said to have been linked to dementia in aged people with Lewy bodies (Chara, 2014).

Section 2

Evaluation

We, human beings spend roughly8 hours of a day in sleeping and armed with the information that we are in a dream state for 2 hours in that duration, we effectively dream for about a decade given a life span of 75-80 years.

Some of the oldest literature mentioning dreams are The Epic of Gilgames (3500 BCE), Chester Beatty Pappyrus that dates back to the 1991-1786 BCE the period of the twelfth dynasty, Genesis, supposedly authored and inspired by Moses, during 1446-1406 BCE (Abimelech, being visited by God in his dreams, during the era of Abraham and Sarah), Artemidorus Daldianus in 2nd century BCE wrote Oneirocritica ( here an overview of the meaning attached to dreams in those times are enlisted ), that literally means The Interpretations of Dreams.