The relationship our dreams have with our memories
Recent studies suggest we employ the same neurophysiological mechanisms while dreaming that we use to construct and recall memories while we are awake.
Studies also found that vivid, bizarre and emotionally intense dreams are linked to parts of the amygdala and hippocampus. The amygdala plays a key role in processing and memory of emotional reactions. The hippocampus is implicated in important memory functions, such as the consolidation of information from short-term to long-term memory.
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Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung put forth some of the most well-known theories of dreaming.
- Freud's theory was that dreaming allows us to sort through unresolved and repressed wishes.
- Carl Jung also believed dreams had psychological importance but differed about their meaning.
Dreams seem to help us to process emotions by constructing memories of them. The experience in our dreams may not be real, but the emotions we experience are real.
Our dream stories try to strip emotion out of some experiences by creating a memory of it. This mechanism seems to fulfil an important role because it helps us process our emotions.
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The human brain is a highly complex electrochemical organ, generating as much as 10 watts of electricity.
This electrical activity is displayed in the form of four types of brainwaves: Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta which correspond with focus, rest, creativity and deep sleep.
Consciousness is everything you experience - taste, pain, love, feeling. Where these experiences come from is a mystery.
Many modern analytic philosophers of mind either deny the existence of consciousness, or they argue that they can never be meaningfully studied by science.
Rocking babies back and forth while making them sleep is common as parents try to stop them from wailing and shouting. Even as adults, we can get lulled into sleep in the rhythmic motion of the train compartment or the hammock.
New studies show that our brains are evolutionarily programmed to respond positively to rocking, and it helps us sleep better.
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