Fascinating work into why we dream, and the role of the REM state in development and learning, has been carried out by psychologist Joe Griffin.
Griffin explains that our nightly dreams serve the purpose of completing unresolved emotional arousal from the previous day. This allows the brain to rest and re-nourish itself, ready for the next day’s challenges. When people become highly emotionally aroused, as in depression, anxiety or stress (including PTSD), the ‘files’ are just too big for the brain to download in one night’s dreaming. Existing files are taking up too much memory. This explains why, when you’re depressed or anxious, you dream a lot and wake up tired. You simply don’t get enough restorative sleep. When people learn how to relax they can access the thinking part of the brain and can begin to plot a course out of the problematic state.
When people become highly stressed over a long period, the dreaming brain remains active when they’re awake. Because we dream in metaphor in the right hemisphere of the brain, the left hemisphere tries to rationalise but struggles to make sense of what’s happening. This explains the psychotic state, when people hear voices, or see things that others don’t.
Dreaming
Why we dream
Griffin explains that our nightly dreams serve the purpose of completing unresolved emotional arousal from the previous day. This allows the brain to rest and re-nourish itself, ready for the next day’s challenges. When people become highly emotionally aroused, as in depression, anxiety or stress (including PTSD), the ‘files’ are just too big for the brain to download in one night’s dreaming. Existing files are taking up too much memory. This explains why, when you’re depressed or anxious, you dream a lot and wake up tired. You simply don’t get enough restorative sleep. When people learn how to relax they can access the thinking part of the brain and can begin to plot a course out of the problematic state.
When people become highly stressed over a long period, the dreaming brain remains active when they’re awake. Because we dream in metaphor in the right hemisphere of the brain, the left hemisphere tries to rationalise but struggles to make sense of what’s happening. This explains the psychotic state, when people hear voices, or see things that others don’t.
More on this important theory of dreams can be found on www.why-we-dream.com