The dream has always fascinated us since the beginning of time. In some cultures it is believed that during this time our mind detaches from the body and begins to travel to other dimensions. In the past it was believed that the dream was the ideal state in which the gods sent their messages and, more recently, Freud introduced the idea that the content of our dreams are messages that our unconscious mind sends us to help us accept certain inner conflicts.In recent years, finally, the dream has also attracted the attention of neuroscientists so now we know so many really amazing details to respect.
- The dream allows us to soften the bad memories
A study conducted at the University of California found that during REM sleep, that is, when we are dreaming, our brain chemistry changes. In particular, norepinephrine levels have been observed to drop, meaning that the brain chemistry associated with stress is turned off. Thus, our brain processes experiences of emotional pain better and can cushion their impact or even cancel them completely. Basically, during the REM phase the memory is reactivated and presents us with many of the situations we experienced during the day. In this way we are able to put the facts into perspective and integrate them into our past experience. If we consider that they are not too important, we delete them. However, what's interesting is that since the stress-constrained system is inactive we are able to process this information by taking a more positive approach.
- You can check the content of our dreams
Normally we think we have no control over dreams, that they occur randomly. However, a study conducted at Harvard University revealed that not only do we have control over what we dream, but we can also find solutions to problems while we sleep. These psychologists asked a group of students to think thoroughly about a problem to be solved before going to bed. They had to do it for a week. As the week passed, more than half of them reported dreaming of some aspect of the problem in question. But the interesting thing is that 25% of the students said their dreams contained the answer they were looking for. This process is known in the field of psychology as "incubation" and it is by no means uncommon, as some great scientists are known to have come up with brilliant solutions while they slept.
- The smell of the room determines our dreams
A few years ago it was thought that while we sleep we almost completely disconnect from reality, but now we know that this is not the case. A study conducted at the University of Dresden found that the scent of the room in which we sleep is able to determine the content of our dreams. These researchers waited for people to enter REM sleep and then vaporized different scents in the room: the smell of rotten eggs and the scent of roses. When people woke up they reported that they did not smell any, but, surprisingly, those who had been exposed to the scent of roses had more peaceful dreams, while those exposed to the smell of rotten eggs reported disturbing nightmares and dreams. So now you know that if you want to have pleasant dreams, it is better to worry about the smell of the room in which you sleep and, finally, you should also consider that the scent of roses improves memory.
