On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we explore one of the greatest mysteries of the human mind—dreaming. We all dream. Whether we remember it or not, our mind makes us dream several times a night when we get normal sleep. The average person is said to have five years of dreaming in their lifetime. But what are they, where do they come from, and what do dreams mean? Those are hard questions to answer.

Experts can’t locate a specific center of the brain that is doing the dreaming. For example, parts of the brain that control imagination are entirely shut down during the dream. Also, the brain does amazing feats of recovery, such as flushing plaque off of neurons and letting the emotional center run wild while the parts that cause stress shut off. The question really becomes why do we do it?

One sleep expert named Matthew Walker from Cal Berkeley, says dreams serve two major purposes. One is to give our daily experiences a place in the framework of our lives. By dreaming, our new memories are merged with who we are. Second, dreams take the emotional edge off of bad emotions or tragic events. In the morning, we can often face things with a clear mind and apply logic where only emotion was present the night before.

He even talks about Lucid Dreaming (which we covered in our Parasomnia episode) and shows that is 100% a scientifically proven thing. But what about those common dreams we all have? Do your teeth fall out in your dreams? Are you chased by an animal or a person? Are you falling or perhaps flying? What about being naked at work or being late for a test? These are very common to many of us, and we talk about what the experts think these dreams archetypes mean. From recurring dreams to lucid dreams, this one has it all!

 

Visit Our Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBby0RJw3Dc

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dreaming

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/dreaming-overview

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55442/12-common-dreams-and-what-they-supposedly-mean

https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-your-dreams-2795935

https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/why-do-we-dream-matthew-walker-explores-the-theories-behind-nocturnal-fantasias-a3799396.html

https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/selectively-remember-dreams

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/media-spotlight/201807/why-children-have-nightmares