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Why do we dream? A new theory on how it protects our brains

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Re: Why do we dream? A new theory on how it protects our brains

#31

Post by sci_prog »

dwighttk wrote: post #2

Well. I don’t (or very rarely) remember my dreams. Hope I get the protection anyway.

I used to dream a lot and then it all stopped, especially when the pandemic started and I became less physically active. Long story short, It turns out I have a severe sleep apnea and it became more pronounced when my physical activity went down significantly (aka I was less tired). Few days later after i started using my CPAP machine my dreams came back. Make sure you don't have sleep apnea, about 7-8% of people have it.

Re: Why do we dream? A new theory on how it protects our brains

#34

Post by tylorr »

dwighttk wrote: post #13
neom wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, are you a frequent cannabis user? I found I didn't remember my dreams when I smoked cannabis, however after a long break I started to remember dreams vividly.

Nope. The only time I seem to remember dreams is when my sleep is disturbed. Most nights I go to sleep and wake up in the morning, no (remembered)dream. If something wakes me up like indigestion or needing to pee I’ll often remember a dream.

This is the exact same for me. Only a disturbance in my sleep allows me to even remember that I had a dream at all.

Re: Why do we dream? A new theory on how it protects our brains

#35

Post by baxtr »

Hmmm somehow I’m a bit skeptical. The article itself includes an example that is not easily reconcilable with their theory: What about the people like the boy who became blind they mention in the beginning? Shouldn’t they have extreme visual dreams even at day to protect their visual area, at least if this theory was true? But instead the brain area was rewired.

Re: Why do we dream? A new theory on how it protects our brains

#36

Post by axaxs »

drevil-v2 wrote: post #30
JKCalhoun wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often feel these waves of ... something ... flush and course through my head when I drift off and am still semi-conscious. I know it happens when I begin to nap, I think too it may happen early in the morning, just before waking. It feels almost chemical.

I have had the same feeling too during a power nap. It feels like a reboot to me. Perceptually when I wake up I panic thinking it must have been hours then I look at the watch and only 10 minutes have passed.

Yes, that. I can wake up at 8, accidentally fall asleep, and feel like hours or days have passed and panic, but it's just 8:15. Dreams are so mysterious it's weird, in our age of science.

Re: Why do we dream? A new theory on how it protects our brains

#37

Post by daen1on »

lawrenceyan wrote: post #18
syrrim wrote: post #11

This doesn't explain why consistently interrupting REM sleep will lead to death. Also, the exposition suggests that this is somehow particularly necessary for visual information because we can't see while sleeping. They originally suggest that this is because it's dark at night, but later modify it to be because one's eyes are closed while sleeping. However, to my knowledge, very little hearing is done while one is s…

REM sleep is when your brain does maintenance and cleaning, particularly with respect to the lymphatic/immune system.

There's so much information about Sleep in Matthew Walker's "Why we sleep". I strongly recommend it. <3

Re: Why do we dream? A new theory on how it protects our brains

#38

Post by brianjunyinchan »

axaxs wrote: post #21
drevil-v2 wrote: post #19

Hmmm this is interesting. I wonder if people that cannot sleep more than 4-5 hours per night also have very vivid dreams? And therefore the brain cleaning REM cycle is just more intense and prolonged so the mind-body decides it does not need to sleep any longer?

Data point, unsure if helpful. I sleep plenty but wake up at least once per night. My most vivid dreams always occur in my last sleep, usually after 6am. I can literally live a lifetime in my dreams between 6 and 9am. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but because my dreams are less than stellar, I usually dread going back to bed.

As another anecdote, on mornings when I can sleep in, I wake up momentarily before my final doze (another 30m-1hr). That wake always interrupts my most vivid dreams of the night (whose events feel like several hours of real life, but unsure about its real length).

Then, as I fall back asleep, I'm either wishing for/against that dream topic to continue. Most of the time not getting what I want.

Re: Why do we dream? A new theory on how it protects our brains

#39

Post by brianjunyinchan »

hutzlibu wrote: post #5
dwighttk wrote: post #2

Well. I don’t (or very rarely) remember my dreams. Hope I get the protection anyway.

Probably. But if you want to remember your dreams again, this is something you can work/train with. Basically, every morning before getting up, not jump up with the alarm out of bed, but rather ly still, in the same position as before and try to remember. If you want to, have a dream diary. Doing so a few days, should bring your memory of your dreams back. I used to do so to train my ability for active/lucid dreaming…

I often remember the dream right when I wake up, but if I don't immediately focus on remembering it (e.g. while writing it down), later in the day I almost magically won't remember even what the general topic was.

Re: Why do we dream? A new theory on how it protects our brains

#40

Post by vosper »

daen1on wrote: post #37
lawrenceyan wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

REM sleep is when your brain does maintenance and cleaning, particularly with respect to the lymphatic/immune system.

There's so much information about Sleep in Matthew Walker's "Why we sleep". I strongly recommend it. <3

You may be interested to know that the book has come in for strong criticism, including an accusation of deliberate manipulation of data.

See: ‘Matthew Walker's "Why We Sleep" Is Riddled with Scientific and Factual Errors’

https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/

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