10 curiosities about dreams revealed by science

When we sleep, too we dream. At least in some specific phases of sleep, in which we imagine unreal situations, product of our unconscious. These dreams can be emotional, magical or strange, and they can even be chilling, like nightmares.

Although the Psychoanalysis has been providing the foundations of the dream interpretationScientific research on the world of dreams has not yet been able to determine exactly why we dream, nor do we know what causes us to dream some specific things.

About what (little) we already know about them, here we leave you these 10 curiosities about dreams discovered by science.

10 curiosities about dreams revealed by science

Several scientific investigations bring us different conclusions about the world of dreams. Let's get to know them. Let us begin!

1. We dream, on average, more than 6 years throughout our life

Since we are born, we dream. All people dream: it is something common in our species, and in case you are wondering, those who say they don't dream also dream

(They simply do not remember dreams, but this does not mean that they do not dream). Research shows that we dream at night for periods of between 5 to 20 minutes.

Adding up all these small periods throughout an average life, we can say that we spend approximately six years dreaming.

2. Most dreams are quickly forgotten

Sleep scientist Allan Hobson revealed, based on his multiple studies on the matter, that even 95% of dreams are quickly forgotten, within a few minutes after waking up.

So, ask yourself: Why is it so difficult to remember the content of dreams?

The explanation has been verified in different experiments. It seems that the changes that occur in the brain during the hours when we dream are not are consistent with how we routinely process information to provide information to the memory. Brain scans of individuals who sleep long hours at night have shown that the frontal lobes, brain areas that play a fundamental role in shaping memory and memories, remain inactive during the REM phase of sleep, just the moment we dream.

3. Men and women: different ways of dreaming

Several studies have found certain differences in the way women and men dream. Above all, the differences lie in the dream content.

Apparently, men report more cases of dreams in which scenes of assaults. Women, on the other hand, tend to have slightly longer dreams, and of a somewhat greater complexity (more details, characters, situations ...). As for who appears to us in dreams, men dream of other men twice as often as women. They dream of characters of both sexes equally.

4. Some dreams are black and white

Approximately eight out of ten dreams are "in color"But there is a small percentage of the population that claims to dream without colors, that is, in black and white.

In the investigations that inquired about the issue of color in dreams, the experimental subjects were required to select colors that matched the dream they had just had on a chart, and soft pastel colors were most commonly pointed out. So it seems that we tend to dream in pastel shades.

5. Do animals dream? Everything points to yes

Many people have observed how their pet moves its tail, legs or mouth while sleeping. The explanation for these movements may be that animals dream too, although the fact that animals dream is a difficult hypothesis to prove. Researchers believe that they do dream, and even dare to claim that they go, like humans, through REM and non-REM sleep stages.

One of the greatest scientific evidences that dreams is due to the study of a gorilla who was fluent in gestural and sign language. At one point when he was asleep, he gesturally communicated some images of what he was dreaming about.

6. Can you control sleep? Lucid dreams

Have you heard of the lucid dreaming? It is the phenomenon that occurs when, despite being asleep, we are aware that we are dreaming. Those who have experienced these kinds of dreams are able to control and guide the content of the dream.

Approximately 50% of the population recall having experienced a lucid dream at least once in their life. There are even people who have the ability to control their dreams on a fairly regular basis.

• Everything you need to know about lucid dreaming, reading this article: "The benefits of lucid dreaming"

7. Negative emotions are more common than positive ones in dreams

One of the leading exponents of sleep research, Calvin Hall, recorded more than 50,000 student dreams over half a century.

This very extensive archive of dreams revealed many of the emotions and sensations that we experience during sleep, such as joy, fear, anger... But the emotion that was most commonly found was the anxiety and in general, negative emotions (afraid, hopelessness, sadness) predominated in the face of positive emotions.

8. Blind people dream too

Blind people, despite not being able to see, also dream. Those blind people who went blind at some point in their life have the ability to reproduce images and visual content in your dreams.

In the case of blind people from birth, their dreams are somewhat different: they represent dreams through other senses, such as smell, hearing or the sensation of touch.

9. Women also dream of sex

An investigation revealed that, contrary to what we usually think, women dream as much about sex as men.

However, it seems that the situations described in female and male dreams vary a bit: Women dream of famous men, while men report more dreams of having sex in exciting situations.

10. There are contents of dreams that we all dream of (universal dreams)

Some dreams are common to all humans. A lot of dreams are influenced by the personal experiences of each person, but although it is strange, dreams Researchers have revealed that there are certain recurring themes in our dreams, regardless of the differences cultural

For example, it seems that all people dream of being chased, attacked or falling into the void. Others universal dreams they are the experiences in the field of the school, feeling immobile, or the shame of being naked in public.

Bibliographic references:

• Martin Dresler, Stefan P. Koch, Renate Wehrle, Victor I. Spoormaker, Florian Holsboer, Axel Steiger, Philipp G. Sämann, Hellmuth Obrig, Michael Czisch; "Dreamed Movement Elicits Activation in the Sensorimotor Cortex", Current Biology, 21, (1-5) November 8, 2011, DOI: 10.1016 / j.cub.2011.09.029
• Empson, J. (2002). Sleep and dreaming (3rd ed.). New York: Palgrave / St. Martin's Press. Hall, C., & Van de Castle, R. (1966). The Content Analysis of Dreams. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
• Schredl, M., Ciric, P., Götz, S., & Wittmann, L. (2004). Typical dreams: Stability and gender differences. The Journal of Psychology 138 (6): 485.