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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

#43
post #5
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…

You can also write down your dreams if you wake after a dream in the middle of the night. The downside is you might start waking up frequently to write down your dreams.

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

#44
post #40
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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/

Hmmmm...there's a whole article on that blog about 'why you should have a blog' which to me reminds me of 'flatting the curve' medium post which was written by a 'marketing manager'....

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

#45
The article says that "dreams are primarily visual". That might be true for most people (and for the researchers), but I'm aphantasic and I don't think I've ever had a visual dream. My visual cortex seems to work perfectly fine on waking (though I do find a sunrise alarm clock useful in winter). If this is typical among aphantasics then I don't see how the theory can possibly be correct.

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

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

dont need to _dream_. The article is about why we dream, not why we sleep.

and? Still total bullshit.

Their theory says nothing about sleep, except that your visual cortex isn't receiving any input.

You're making a mistake in conflating dreams and sleep.

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

#47
post #2

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

Of course. Articles such as the "OP" are simplistic bollocks. For starters, you'd be completely blind by now if the article had any merit. And deaf. And lost all memory.

Oh no, wait: we open our eyes every morning, so even if there was any effect, it would be the opposite: visual taking over everything else. Which also doesn't happen.

So take it with a grain of salt: yet another unprovable "theory" about the brain.

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

#48
Another prediction of this theory would be that naturally blind animals such as some moles would not need REM sleep or would have substantially less REM sleep. I couldn't find any research in completely blind mammals, but in a mammal that has very poor eyesight "Cape mole rats sleep substantially less than other similarly sized terrestrial rodents but have a similar percentage of total sleep time occupied by REM sleep." https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301482322_Sleep_in_... Seems like there is still a lot of scope for research on REM sleep in non-human species.

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

#49
post #44
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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/

Hmmmm...there's a whole article on that blog about 'why you should have a blog' which to me reminds me of 'flatting the curve' medium post which was written by a 'marketing manager'....

Are you implying that the author of the post I linked to is untrustworthy, because their site also has a post about why it’s good to have a blog? And then something about Covid which has nothing at all to do with this?

Sorry, but this is just unfair insinuation, based on nothing.

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

#50
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

Aren’t those the ripples of theta waves that start to emerge as alpha waves drop while you transition through hypnagogia?

On the other end, as you transition out of sleep to wakefulness, you pass through hypnopompia.

I experience the feeling of these waves also when I meditate.

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