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Dreaming is a very common phenomenon, as to why we dream? Do some of the contents of a dream represent some specific meaning? Different researchers have a variety of opinions about it.
Some people think that dreams are the product of random neural activity in the brain, some people think that dreams represent the thoughts and desires that are suppressed in our subconscious, and others think that dreams have a predictive effect and give us guidance in the dark.
The content of dreams is diverse, and almost all people have had spring dreams, that is, to talk about love in dreams, which can be a person who loves, or a person of the opposite sex who has never met, or even have a relationship with them.
Interestingly, the more educated people tend to have this kind of dream more often. Psychologists understand this phenomenon as saying that smart people have richer imaginations and better associative abilities. In dreams, when the intensity of their moral inhibition decreases, it is easy to release the fantasy desires in their minds.
Therefore, when you have spring dreams, you don't have to worry about whether you have any problems, let alone nervousness and shame, because this is a normal performance, and even adults will often have such dreams.
Of course, loving to do this kind of dream also shows that the frequency of dreaming is relatively high, after all, the large base increases the probability of spring dreams. There are also many studies that have found that dreams can help us learn and remember, so people who dream often are more likely to digest old knowledge and have more learning ability to learn new knowledge.
What's going on?
In 2017, the Gan Wenbiao Research Group of the Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University published such a study, which used in vivo imaging to explore the mystery of dreaming.
People with some knowledge of biology will know that in our minds, the transmission of neural signals is done through synapses between cells. Cells that often transmit information to each other will have stronger synaptic connections between them, making this part of the memory consolidation deeper. And when similar knowledge is activated, the parts related to it will also be activated accordingly, forming a relatively complete knowledge system.
The enhanced connection between synapses makes it easier for us to extract a certain memory. The researchers found that during the dreaming of the observed mice, there was a lot of electrical activity between the synapses of some nerve cells.
This step of the study found that these electrical activities are conducive to synaptic plasticity, that is, when we dream, the prominent electrical activity generated will promote the enhancement or disappearance of its connection, which is the underlying basis of learning and memory.
In addition, another benefit of dreaming is that it can quickly dispose of some of the new synapses that are not important, which means that it effectively preserves those more important synapses, so that our brain can make new space to learn other things, which is the selectivity of the neurodevelopment process.
It can be seen that the meaning of sleep for us is very important, and the electrical activity generated during dreaming can help us play an important role in the establishment and disappearance of synapses, which is conducive to the consolidation of learning and memory and the development of the brain. So those who dream regularly may be smarter because their brains are better developed.
The higher the IQ, the more people love to dream in the spring, and there is also a possibility that these people usually live more depressed. Because such people tend to have higher academic achievements and career development, and usually pay less attention to their own needs, most of the time is invested in the improvement of knowledge and skills.
But as Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory puts it, sex is a very low-level human need, as common as eating and drinking water. Even in the process of pursuing higher self-actualization needs, if the underlying needs are not well met, naturally this demand will burst out when we are not paying attention, and release this repressed desire in the form of a dream.
Dreams, on the other hand, provide a good way to release this demand, without the need for high costs or the risk of any immorality. Therefore, for those who have long suppressed their own underlying needs, they are more likely to have this type of dream to satisfy their inner desires.
Overall, dreaming has a role that cannot be ignored, not just a random activity of the nervous system. Dreaming can help us consolidate our knowledge and filter out the insignificant parts that promote the development of the nervous system of the brain. People who dream often have higher creativity and associative ability, and such people tend to be inspired in real life, rather than being limited to some stereotypical patterns.
In addition, for those with high INTELLIGENCE, since most of their time and energy is spent on the need for self-actualization and ignore their own underlying needs for sex, it may lead to this part of the repressed needs reappearing in the mind in the form of dreams. Therefore, dreaming of this kind does not require feeling too ashamed, but should be regarded as a normal phenomenon.
- The End -
Author | Tommy
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参考资料：Montgomery, Marilyn J, and Gwendolyn T Sorell. “Love and Dating Experience in Early and Middle Adolescence: Grade and Gender Comparisons.” Journal of Adolescence, vol. 21, no. 6, 1998, pp. 677–689., doi:10.1006/jado.1998.0188.
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