Four breakthroughs that are changing our understanding of dreams

Four Breakthroughs That Are Changing Our Understanding of Dreams

People have wondered whether dreams have a purpose throughout human history. Modern scientists are equally fascinated by this question. For a long time, the science of dreams has oscillated between fringe research and the mainstream. However, creative study designs and new technology are transforming it into an exciting and serious research niche.

Here are four recent breakthroughs that may pave the way for a greater understanding of dreaming.

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Lucid Dreams

In 2021, an international study showed that two-way communication between a lucid dreamer and a researcher in the lab was possible. This was further built upon in 2024 with training lucid dreamers to control a virtual car from within their dreams. The 12 dreamers in the experiment made slight muscle twitches, which sent a signal to a computer to make the virtual vehicle move forwards or turn. Signals were sent back to the dreamer to inform them of obstacles to try and avoid. While some dreamers could move the car well, others could not, no matter how hard they tried.

While fascinating, it is still unknown how such technology could be used in everyday life, and the small sample size of this study due to the rarity of skilled lucid dreamers limits the conclusions that can be taken from it. However, the findings suggest that it may be possible (at least with practice) for some people to make decisions from inside a dream and communicate them to the outside world.

Why Do We Dream?

Sleep and dreams researcher Mark Blagrove from Swansea University believes that dreams were meant to be shared socially and evolved in humans to enhance emotional intelligence and empathy. To test this theory, Blagrove has collaborated with artist Julia Lockheart in a dream discussion and illustration group. In this group, an audience member shares a recent dream, and Blagrove leads the discussion while Lockheart sketches an interpretation of the dream onto the pages of Sigmund Freud’s book "The Interpretation of Dreams."

His research has shown that discussing a dream in this way can lead to increased empathy between the dream sharer and listeners. Blagrove argues that this could have been valuable to ancestral survival in forming significant connections with others. Other theories about why we dream have begun to emerge, and some were discussed at a panel at the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) annual conference in 2024, including the embodied cognition theory of dreaming.

Insights from Long Dream Series

Michael Schredl from the University of Mannheim in Germany has published hundreds of articles and books on dreams. He has been keeping a dream journal since the early 1980s and analyzed over 12,000 of his dreams. According to Schredl, the patterns seem to support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming – that our dreams are influenced by events and concerns that are happening in our waking lives. Schredl also noticed a steady decline in snow and hail in his dreams, which is similar to the documented decline in "ice days" (days when the temperature is below 0°C for 24 hours) in Germany since he has been keeping a dream journal. Schredl joked that perhaps global warming effects are showing up in dreams, but this could also be influenced by waking concerns about the subject.

Another interesting pattern was references to money in dreams. When the Deutsche Mark was the prevailing currency, it occasionally showed up in his dreams over the years, but when the German currency changed to the Euro in 2002, the number of Deutsche Mark references were replaced by references to the Euro.

Dream Recall

Some people are better at remembering their dreams than others, recalling dreams more frequently and in more detail. Researchers have tried to determine the reasons and mechanisms for this difference. Factors include personality and attitude towards dreams, general memory ability, and the small physiological signals that happen during certain sleep stages. So far, one of the most consistent predictors of more frequent dream recall has been a positive attitude towards dreaming.

In 2022, French researcher Salomé Blain and colleagues investigated the role of attention in dream recall, a cognitive skill closely connected to memory. While their participants’ ability to recall dreams did not seem linked to working memory – which temporarily holds information for immediate use – participants with low dream recall were better at ignoring distracting stimuli, and vice versa. Dream recall is a learnable skill. For example, keeping a dream journal can significantly improve dream recall, especially for people who already have quite low dream recollection.

Conclusion

Research on dreams is an exciting and fast-paced field, with new breakthroughs and discoveries emerging regularly. The recent studies and findings discussed above represent just a few examples of the significant progress being made in our understanding of dreaming. As researchers continue to explore the science of dreams, we may uncover even more intriguing insights into the nature and purpose of dreams, and potentially develop new technologies and treatments that can benefit from this newfound understanding.

FAQs

Q: Why do we dream?
A: Sleep and dreams researcher Mark Blagrove believes that dreams were meant to be shared socially and evolved in humans to enhance emotional intelligence and empathy.

Q: What is the latest breakthrough in lucid dreaming research?
A: In 2021, an international study showed that two-way communication between a lucid dreamer and a researcher in the lab was possible.

Q: Can dream recall be improved?
A: Yes, dream recall is a learnable skill. Keeping a dream journal can significantly improve dream recall, especially for people who already have quite low dream recollection.