We all have at one point or the other had dreams. The moment our consciousness grows, we begin to use certain tools to increase our level of awareness and understanding. One such tool we use is called dreams. Dreams are a product of our subconscious and they happen in the Theta Brainwave state. In the said state, we are often open to getting information from our subconscious. But one debate that has been raging for a while now bothers on dreams and the future. So, can dreams tell the future? Before we delve into this and other related matters, we need to know that dreams can be grouped into two namely the ones we see in our sleep and the ones we see when we are awake. Dreams sometimes come out funny and at other times they are simply scary. The ones we often remember are the ones that we consider as interesting, even if they may not make much sense.
When it comes to dreaming, we do not do so every day, even though there are people who dream more frequently than others. Dreams can leave behind different effects which include being frightened and disturbed.
Can dreams tell the future?
The debate bothering on the ability of dreams to tell the future is one that has gone on forever. There is no real proof that dreams can predict the future. Although they may show the present state of mind of a person, there is no evidence that they can foretell the future. One thing dreams can however do is to identify links to possible events that may happen in the future. Our brain has a special ability to identify repetitive patterns and associations when awake. The type of dreams that appear to foretell the future is known as precognitive dreams. For instance, in ancient times, there were accounts of people who had prophetic dreams that could tell what the future held. The bible is one book that accounts for several people who had dreams of what was to occur in the future. One such biblical scenario was the story of Joseph who dreamt that his brethren would bow to him eventually. This did occur after a few years in a faraway land.
What Is A Dream?
Dreams are a sort of conscious state that features sensory, cognitive and emotional activities. They often happen at the final stage of sleep which is called the Rapid eye movement phase. There are five main stages of sleep. And during the first four stages, the body usually recharges and gets energy back. In the final stage, the brain is the one that gets recharged. This REM stage occurs just before an individual awakens when the heartbeats start to increase and the brain is active. This also happens when the eyes quickly move behind the eyes. This stage is reputed for helping with concentration, cognitive functions, and memory.
It is believed that dreams happen at the REM stages mainly because the brain becomes even more active through the body may be inactive. This is perhaps why the person does not act out the contents of the dream. In the first four stages of sleep, the dreams often do not happen because the body is inactive in this stage.
Dreams are lifelike visual images that are full of themes, color, objects and voices which have a close semblance to real life. What this means is that a person can wake up from a dream and it would feel very real. Most dreams often involve places, people and things that we have interacted with before. They may also involve unknown people and things as well. Dreams sometimes come out as profound to the extent the memory lingers in the mind of the dreamer for a long time to come. Several books are products of dreams.
What Is The Origin Of Dreams?
There have been quite a several types of research carried out on the subject of dreams and what is behind the occurrence of the same. Some of the possible causes of dreams include consolidation and processing of the information we gather each day. It could also be the representation of our hidden desires and the interpretation of the signals which our body and brain receive per time. Dreams may also be a product of the cognitive stimulus of real-life events and experiences. Dreams are quite difficult to study in a laboratory setting unlike the other components of sleep. This is perhaps why they remain such a huge mystery to even the smartest scientists.
What Is The Difference Between A Dream And A Nightmare?
Nightmares are simply scary dreams. They occur both in adults and children and are most times a product of stress, emotional issues, trauma, and medications. Unlike dreams, nightmares are often quite vivid and as such, they are easier to recall. They are however not the same as night terrors which happen mainly with children and they often do not remember the details by morning. The impression created by nightmares sometimes lasts for a couple of months.
How Powerful Are Dreams
Dreams more often than not do not have a beginning or an ending. They are often so scattered that they do not make much sense. The human brain is strong enough to be trained about lucid dreams. These types of dreams are the type that occurs when a person is aware of the dream and retains the same level of energy they had during the dream. There have been records of people who used such abilities to tell what the weather would be the next day or even the traffic.
Why Do We Dream?
There are quite several reasons why people dream even though no one knows the real reasons we dream. Many people believe that dreams are irrelevant and do not have meanings. Others believe we need dreams for our emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. Research has attempted to unravel the place of dreams in our health. For instance, in a bid to better understand sleep, researchers woke people up just as they were about entering into a state of REM sleep. It was discovered that those who were not allowed to dream developed certain issues. These issues include anxiety, tension, depression, lack of coordination, poor concentration, hallucination, and even weight gain.
Several experts on dreams believe that dreams exist to help incorporate our memories, solve life problems and analyze emotions. What this means is that if you go to bed with a thought that is troubling you, you may wake up with a feeling of a solution or at least better than when you slept. Some dreams may assist your brain in processing your thoughts and the events that occurred during the day. While other dreams may be a consequence of normal brain function.
What Is The Span Of A Dream?
REM sleep often lasts just for some minutes during the early part of the night and becomes longer during sleep. On average, you could spend up to thirty minutes dreaming in your sleep.
What Exactly Do Dreams Mean?
Some believe that dreams serve as a window that grants access to our subconscious and helps to reveal our thoughts, desires, and motivations. Also, the same way there are different reasons as to why we dream, there are some thoughts as regards the type of dreams we dream. A couple of people believe that dreams have no bearing on the real emotions we show as they are simply stories that have no bearing on our real-life experiences. Others believe that dreams reflect our inner feelings and thoughts. And as such, if we can analyzing our dreams, we could be able to come up with solutions to our real-life issues.
Why Do We Find It Difficult To Remember Dreams?
There isn’t any established reason why dreams are hard to remember. It may just be that we are made to forget them all. Another reason may be that since our body shuts down some functions during REM sleep, it could also affect the part of our brain that helps in creating memories. But we may only be able to remember the dreams we have just before we sleep. Others believe that we don’t forget dreams, we just don’t have access to them when we wake up. This may explain why we sometimes suddenly remember the details of a dream after a while.
Some things could help you recollect the details of a dream such as reminding yourself to remember, waking up without an alarm, and when you remember it, write it down.
Conclusion
Dreams are an integral part of what makes us humans different and special. But until we gain mastery over our dreams, it will remain illogical to connect what happens in our dreams with the future. This does not take away the mystery and adventure associated with dreams. And we can be sure of the fact that we will keep studying dreams for a long time to come.
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