How do dreams happen

How do dreams happen

Now that we know something about dreams, let's take a look at how dreams actually happen. On this issue, different families have different opinions. However, the more authoritative view is that the formation of dreams is related to the physiological basis and internal and external stimuli.

Boone Ekstrand gave a scientific description of the psychological basis of the cause of dreams in his Principles and Applications of Psychology. The main components of the rhomboencephalon, he says, are the medulla, the pontine and the cerebellum. The pontine sits just above the medulla and, like the medulla, contains a variety of ascending and descending fibers that connect the upper and lower parts of the central nervous system. There are other respiratory nuclei in the pontine, as well as sensory and motor nuclei of several important cranial nerves. Some neurons in the pontine brain may influence certain aspects of sleep, such as triggering dreams.

Therefore, there are different frequencies and amplitudes of brain waves in the same stage of sleep, and each stage has a different EEG pattern. a subject who is awake but resting with his eyes closed mainly shows A brain wave. As sleep hits, the a rhythm is replaced by slow, irregular waves of so-called early stage 1 brain waves. This is followed by bursts of activity about four weeks per second, during what is known as stage two, eye sleep. When irregular activity and spindle are combined with larger, slower brain waves, this pattern is called stage III; And when the radio is dominant, the resulting pattern is the fourth stage. Stages one through four repeat four to six times a night.

Psychologist Eugene Asselins found that during the first phase of EEG, when he woke up sleeping subjects with REM recordings, 50% of them could recall having just had a dream. It is now generally accepted that normal dreaming occurs during stage 1, REM sleep, although dream-like activities sometimes occur during other stages of sleep. If stage 1, REM, is charted, the first such stage appears about 90 minutes after falling asleep and lasts 5 to 10 minutes. It gets a little longer in the second 90-minute cycle. Rem dreams, the last stage of the night, may last from half an hour to an hour, with frequent awakenings, and the last dream, of course, is the one people are most likely to remember in the morning.

Almost all motor functions are inhibited during dreaming, with two exceptions. The first is rapid eye movement, which is characteristic of dreaming sleep. In some experiments, REM has been shown to correlate with what the dreamer reports seeing, for example, if the dreamer reports that he saw an object fall from an airplane to the ground, his oculogram will indicate large up and down REM movements. Watching a table tennis match in a dream may produce large horizontal rapid eye movement. Another motor function not lost in the dream state seems to be the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate, blood pressure and respiration showed great variability; And there are sudden, big changes in dreams. Whether this reflects the mood of the dream, however, is not clear.

During most of the stage 1 dream, the male penis is generally semi-erect, but this phenomenon is not an obvious feature of sexual dreaming, but a physiological relaxation phenomenon. 'Morning erection' is due to a full bladder. This statement has been considered false, and the phenomenon is now believed to be caused by the last dream of the night.

A number of medications have also been studied for their effects on sleep cycles. Almost every drug, especially sedatives, can reduce the amount of stage 1 REM sleep, and there is some evidence that taking a hallucinogenic drug like keratic acid diethylamide before bed causes more stage 1 REM sleep in the first half of the night, but it does not have much effect on the total amount of such sleep.

In psychoanalysis, dreams are seen as a kind of safety valve, allowing unacceptable unconscious impulses to be fully expressed so that they do not lead to the confusion of the day. Some theorists believe that the content of dreams reflects the processing of certain information about the events of the day. Other theorists believe that the function of dreaming is to keep the cerebral cortex on alert, so that the body does not wake up quickly when a deep sleep is dangerous.

The term dreamless sleep is commonly used to refer to the second, third, and fourth stages of EEG sleep patterns. Because there is no rapid eye movement, these stages are called non-REM sleep. But reports of intense and passionate dreams outside of stage 1, REM, are rare. Because such dreams are, after all, accidental. The researchers are not yet sure whether these pre-moving reports are dreams recalled from a previous stage 1, REM, or whether they actually occur during non-REM sleep.

When people wake up from non-REM sleep, they often feel that they have nothing in their minds, which may be because people do not have mental activity during sleep or have poor memory of mental activity. Others refer to what they get from REM sleep as 'thinking.'

It is generally believed that only occasional, vague and monotonous thoughts occur during dreamless sleep. One exception, however, is that dream-eating, sleepwalking and stressful nightmares have been found to occur mostly during non-REM sleep. The fact that most nightmares often occur during non-REM sleep suggests that the occasional particularly intense dream-like process is often accompanied by the greatest emotional arousal.

The above is the physiological basis of dream production, only this, the dream can not be done, it is inseparable from internal and external stimulation. Stimulation is an important cause of dreams, and dreams are a response to interference from internal and external stimuli, a fact acknowledged by many psychologists. Generally speaking, there are four types of dream stimulation: one is external sensory stimulation, the other is internal (subjective) sensory stimulation, the third is internal (organic) physical stimulation, and the fourth is purely mental stimulation. Regarding the first stimulus, there are many examples of psychologists, such as in a dream, thunder can lead people into fierce battles; The crow of a chicken turns into a scream of terror; The head under the pillow can dream of the heavy weight of boulders.

Generally speaking, the dream image is consistent with the state of the organism's stimulation. During sleep, if an organ of the body is in a certain state, such as an active state, a stimulating state, or a disturbing state, then the dream will show ideas consistent with the nature of the organism performed by that organ. However, dreams caused by diseased body organs generally have images and ideas that correspond to their nature. For example, people with lung disease dream of suffocation, and dreams caused by normal body organ stimulation, even if a dream of an organ is sick, it is not necessarily sick. To determine whether the dream image is consistent with the stimulation state of the organism can not only explain the cause and source of dreams, but also have obvious significance to physiology and pathology.

The mental source of the stimulation associated with dreams is generally believed to be caused by the entry into the dream of things that are noticed while awake. Some people call dreams derived from mental stimulation associative dreams, which are thought to be loose due to the lack of reason and the loss of the combination with physical stimulation, and usually show a clear demeaning tendency.

It is also said that dream fantasies are pure illusions, and that the most immediate cause of all dream appearances is the sensory stimulus attached to the reproduced association. With the words 'all', 'the most direct cause', 'attachment' and so on, the sensory stimulation is affirmed and the spiritual source of the dream is denied. Others believe that dreams that are purely spiritual do not exist, and that the thoughts in dreams come from outside. Although there are still some problems in exploring the spiritual origin of dreams, there is no need to deny the spirit. External sensory stimulation is certainly an important reason for causing dreams, but if it is absolute, it is one-sided.

If the depletion of the organism or the accumulation of fatigatin can be felt directly, then we must expect a regression of time in the dream. Almost all of the oddities in dreams can be attributed to the fact that some sensations and images do not enter consciousness at all, while others are too difficult and too late to enter consciousness. That associative inertia is a fundamental characteristic of dreaming. Reason often falls asleep in part. Thinking about a dream in a dream, we can recognize it as a dream by its strange plot, but we are not confused by it.

Knowing that the formation of dreams cannot be separated from people (the physiological basis of dream production), nor can it be separated from internal and external stimuli, then it is not too difficult to understand the causes of dreams. However, it took a long time for people to gradually find a more scientific explanation for the cause of dreams.

Yue Guang, a famous metaphysician of the Jin Dynasty, put forward that no matter how unreal and bizarre a dream is, it must have a reason, and his greatest contribution is more directly related to physiological reasons. Yue Guang cited examples: First, no one has ever dreamed of driving a car to drill a rat hole; Second, no one has ever dreamed of crushing and eating allium macrostemon. The reason why people do not dream of driving a cart through a rat-hole is that no one has ever had such thoughts, such desires, such imaginations. Obviously, the first example speaks of 'thinking,' that is, 'without thinking.' Allium Macrostemon is a perennial plant in the liliaceae family, whose bulb is a vegetable that no one has mashed and eaten like a clove of garlic, and no one has chewed it in his mouth. Because I have not been exposed to such things, I will not have such feelings; Without such a feeling, there would be no such impression; Without such an impression, there is no condition for such a dream. The second example deals with 'cause,' that is, 'without cause.'

Le Guang on dreams, one said 'think', two said 'cause', and 'think' comes from 'cause'. In fact, the spiritual and psychological causes of dreams are unconsciously connected with the physical and physiological causes. Yue Guang's two words 'want' and 'cause' can be said to be a great creative contribution. However, these two categories he created were not developed, and because of this, only a few outstanding people could truly understand their meaning later on. Su Shi, a famous scholar in the Northern Song Dynasty, was one of them.

Su Shi, a famous scholar in the Northern Song Dynasty, also made his own interpretation of Yu Leguang's 'thinking' and 'cause'. He said in his book Mengzhai Ming:

The hearts of men are never independent. The birth and death of dust, there is no memory. Dream of the close, dust and dust to teach, after the data, lost its original. It is thought that the form and spirit do not meet, is not 'cause'? A man who sleeps with a sheep, who thinks of a horse because of the sheep, a cart because of the horse, a cover because of the cart, and then he dreams and sings and trumpets, being a prince. The husband herding sheep and the prince are also far away, 'think' of the 'cause', how strange!

Su Shi believes that 'the hearts of the world have never been independent' this saying is very good. The heart is not 'alone', you can not 'alone', 'alone'. He also pointed out that the various phenomena of color, sound, gas and taste in the world are constantly changing. Man's waking consciousness, man's sleep, actually come from these phenomena and their changes. And the awakening and the dream are transformed into each other, and the visions are transformed into dream images, and the dream images affect the movements of the consciousness, such as association, imagination, fantasy, and so on. In this way, it is not clear where dreams come from. If it is not clear, it is thought that 'form and spirit do not connect' and spirit walks alone. According to Su Shi, the origin of dreams is ultimately not a matter of 'cause'.

He gave a very interesting example: a shepherd lying on the grass, seeing the sheep beside him, with a head and tail, four hooves, thinking that if it were a little bigger, a little higher, it could not be ridden like a horse. Horses can drive, so from horses to all kinds of cars. Some of the finest cars were covered with a canopy, which was the vehicle of the maharaja. As a result, when he fell asleep, he saw a car with a canopy, blowing blows around him, and he became a prince sitting in it, leisurely, beautiful, and not dignified. Everyone knew that the distance between the shepherd and the prince was too great. However, based on this example, Su Shi pointed out that 'for the reason of thinking', it is not surprising that shepherds dream of princes. The shepherd's dream of the prince, although it seems to be unrelated, but careful analysis, there is still its source. This dream is caused by objective things (sheep) and cannot be separated from physiological feelings. From 'reading horses because of sheep' to dreaming of 'Quyi advocacy', there are also psychological reasons. In this way, the relationship between 'think' and 'cause' elicited by Le Guang has been clearly explained here by Su Shi. However, Su Shi seems to lay emphasis on lyricism, and his discussion of theory is not clear and accurate.

Some ancient Chinese scholars use 'thinking' and 'cause' to explore dream causes, although there is a certain scientific truth, but throughout the thousands of years of Chinese history, the analysis of the cause of dreams is more comprehensive and detailed to the philosopher Wang Yanxiang of the Ming Dynasty.

In the second part of his 'Yasu', Wang Yanxiang divided dreams into two categories: 'those who feel the spirit' and 'those who feel the yearning'.

He said, 'What is the sense of consciousness? The five viscera and all the bones have consciousness, so the qi is clear and smooth (dream), and the fat is stagnant and turidity (dream), and the body wants to fly and fall back; The heart is clear pure (dream) travel wide wilderness; Crouching 蹐; And the serpent disturbs me with a band, and the thunder rattles my ears; Hunger (dream) take, fullness (dream) and; Hot (dream) fire, cold (dream) water. Push this also, five (dirty) soul consciousness of the feeling (with).'

The 'soul consciousness' mentioned here is the body perception of modern physiology, including perception, but also includes internal perception, Wang Yanxiang uses the 'qi' of turidity, floating and sinking, smooth obstruction, clear trouble, hunger and satiety, cold and heat to analyze the dream cause, from the overall point of view, or later medical and Zhang Zai thought of a number of synthesis. The discussion of the dream of 'Qi Qingchang', the dream of 'fat and turbidity', the dream of 'heart clear and pure' and the dream of 'upset' has not been seen so concentrated analysis before. However, the new generalization of the 'sense of vision' is much clearer than the so-called 'cause' of the Lok Guang.

In the analysis of dream causes, Wang Yanxiang puts emphasis on the 'feeling of missing', he said: What is the feeling of missing? The way is not to the person, thinking can not be absolutely also. Therefore, the beginning and end of the matter, before sleep is thought, after sleep is a dream. Is the dream is also thought, thought is also dream. Where the old place is performed, the day is done, and the dream is also a feeling of learning. Those who have not seen, have not heard, and dream are also because of the sense of derivative. ... Push such also, the heart of the feeling of missing (with).

In fact, there is no one in the joys and sorrows of people that does not run through 'missing', and there is no one that is not based on 'missing'. From the original meaning of 'missing', desire, sorrow and happiness are all contained in it. Wang Yanxiang believes that people's mental and psychological activities are always disturbed by such and such thoughts. Since the conscious consciousness of longing and the subconscious consciousness of sleep belong to human mental activities, it is said that sleep and longing are essentially the same thing. Strictly speaking, the formulation of 'dream is thought, and thought is dream' is very inaccurate, but Wang Yanxiang does not deny the difference between the two. He said that in dreams and dream images, some people have 'never seen, never heard' in life, which is a powerful illustration of this point. Compared with Le Guang's 'think also' is much clearer and more specific.

In addition, Wang Yanxiang also divides the 'feeling of missing' into two different situations. One is the 'sense of habit', that is, the impression of things obtained by 'the old place and the day', which will be reproduced in the subconscious mind of sleep. The other is the 'sense of causation'. Some of man's dream images belong to the impression obtained by 'the old place, the day's work.' No one is surprised that these impressions appear in dreams. However, there are some things that are 'never seen, never heard', these images appear in dreams, and people always find it difficult to understand. Wang Yanshou in the Western Han Dynasty 'Dream Fu' said that in his dream, he 'noticed the change of ghosts and gods, strange snake head and four horns, fish head and bird body, three feet and six eyes, dragon shape and human', these strange images do not exist in the objective world, of course, no one has seen, but people's dreams will appear such grotesque and unreal images. What does that even mean? How does that happen? This has long been a great problem both philosophically and scientifically. Some scholars use sickness to explain, Wang Chong said, this is 'exhausted spirit' and 'eyes reflect light.' Fan Qi said that this is 'god faint inside' and 'see foreign bodies.' But these explanations are hardly convincing because they are not universal. Some scholars seek to explain the psychological state or psychology of human beings, such as Le Guang's 'thinking also' and Su Dongpo's 'the reason for thinking', these explanations are in line with facts and close to reason, but they are still relatively general.

An important contribution of Wang Yanxiang is that he put forward the concept of 'Yin Yan' on the basis of his predecessors, and for the first time made a relatively scientific explanation of the mechanism of these various strange dreams.

(Editor in charge:character)