Influences On Dreams

[Vuxxei]

So I've seen some threads about outside influences on dreams, but they all had last replies of a few years ago and this topic interests me rather a lot, so why not bring it up again? I would like to discuss any influences the outside world has on our dreaming state. Whether that be music (my preferred method of purposefully influencing), events of the day, strong emotions, personal beliefs, what we've been taught in life, especially if anyone is more inclined or has had phycology teaching (I did one year in sixthform but continue to read into the subject myself). Freudian concepts may even be discussed, not all of his work is correct (in my own opinion). I want to be able to talk about peoples experiences and speculations of their own influence as well. First hand accounts are always good. I have spoken about my music influence in a dream journal entry. Please be nice and feel free to pose any questions here yourself, I'd like to see some in depth discussion from everyone

[101Volts]

Undoubtedly, I've seen actions from my waking state effect my dreams completely; E.G. hearing songs I'd often listen to, have a semi-lucid dream similar to what I saw someone else say happened in one of their own dreams, refuse sex from a woman (yes really.)

[DrmDoc]

I'm interested in what influences dream content as well and have been through over 30 years of study. My most recent interest has been what influences promote precognitive dreams, which are dreams that seem to forecast future events. In my study, I learned quite a lot about role of brain function in the production of sleep and dreaming. This was important to me because neither sleep and dreaming can occur without brain function. I've learned that the most important part of the sleep process isn't dreaming but what occurs in the brain just prior to dreaming. Everything about sleep and dreaming serves the metabolic needs of the brain and it is those needs that most directly influence dream content. At just 5% of our body mass our brain consumes more than 20% of energy intake. The mental resources we exhaust through our conscious experiences are replenished by the sleep process, which includes dreaming. Dreaming literally builds and restores our brain's energy reserve (glycogen); therefore, what we dream about and what influences our dreams is likely the thoughts and mental experiences that have exhausted those reserves. In the case of precognitive dreams, I'm learning how our brain may be preparing itself for some anticipated demand on it resources. I know this seems like a lot of science talk, which doesn't interest many folk. However, whether or not we accept, knowing the science enhances our dream environment--an environment our brain produces.

[Vuxxei]

Your reply was awesome! (sorry for informality, I was quite astonished by it really). I rather like what you said about procognative dreams, I've never heard them be called that before clearly I haven't been reading into it enough. I have had a lot of them but I often forget them in the morning and some details slip through. When they happen there's always a feeling like I've been in the situation before and I physically feel something (in my chest to be specific, like something is passing through me or a raised heart rate.) The first instance of it happening was in primary school and I dreamt that one of the girls I knew had ran past me in a blur, a week later it happened and I had to stop for a minute to process what had happened. And I agree that knowing the science behind our dreams does help with and enhance our dreaming experiences. Knowing about the chemical processes interests me the most (my favourite being different levels of dopamine exposure), which leads me to think about the different mental illnesses which are characterised by certain combinations of the same chemicals and how they effect the brain. It has always made me wonder what effect that would have on dreams.

[DrmDoc]

If you're up for a little more science, here something I wrote elsewhere on the subject: Who’s up for a brief discussion of the sleep process? Although I’ve studied dreams and dreaming for more than three decades and have blogged and published on the nature and evolution of the dreaming brain, I consider myself merely well informed rather than expert on the topic. However, based on the most recent and available peer-reviewed research, I will be making some definitive statements about the nature of sleep and dreaming that you may find compelling, if not informative. First, let’s explore why we sleep and dispel some misconceptions about why we dream and remain immobile while dreaming. Definitively, sleep and dreaming primarily serves the metabolic demands of our active brain and any mental benefit we experience after a cycle of sleep and dreaming is merely a byproduct of the metabolic processes our brain engages amid the sleep process--which includes dreaming. Sleep is a neurological imperative caused by the extracellular accumulation of adenosine, a hypnogenic molecule, in the brain. Adenosine accumulates as the brain metabolizes its primary source of energy, the sugar adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Adenosine build-up triggers a cascade of neural effects that induce the initial stage of sleep, non-REM (NREM). As NREM progresses, adenosine, beta amyloids (a peptide), and other extracellular waste are flushed from the brain via a hydraulic or convection system of waste removal dubbed the glymphatic system. Thus NREM, the initial stage of sleep, clears our brain of potential toxins, which prepares our brain for wakeful activity. The wakeful activity our brain normally engages after NREM is dreaming (REM). Dreaming is another way of describing those episodes of increased activity our sleeping brain experiences relative to its NREM sleep stages. Again, we dream to serve our brain’s metabolic demands and serving those demands enhances our mental acuity and overall brain function. Research shows that the sleep process increases the level of glycogen in the brain. Glycogen is the reserve form of the ATP and oxygen our brain stores to meet the emergent energy demands of conscious activity not immediately supplied or satisfied through normal cerebral blood flow. At the end of each cycle of NREM, our brain activates to resupply its glycogen reserves. That activation increases blood flow to those brain areas with depleted glycogen reserves. REM is the neural effect of our brain acting to regenerate its reserve energy supply. The imagery and content of our dreams are how our brain synthesizes the lingering neural affects that this energy storage process causes. With its toxins removed and energy reserves resupplied, our brain functions better and is prepared for full arousal to consciousness. Finally, we remain immobile while dreaming as a consequence of NREM rather than REM. Our lack of mobility while dreaming (atonia) initiates to serve the metabolic needs of the body at rest. Atonia is the inelastic state of muscle tone that our body experiences during the dreaming stages of sleep. This aspect of our muscle posture is mediated by neural structures below those associated dream production. It was the nineteenth century Nobel Laureate, Sir Charles Sherrington, who first observed how his low-decerebrate research animals would collapse into an atonic muscle posture when they were continually left undisturbed or unfed. Sir Sherrington was investigating the reflexive system of his test animals through the successive removal of brain structure. In 1963, the French sleep researcher Dr. Michel Jouvet, described this tonic-to-atonic cycle of behavior in his test animals as evidence of the “rhomencephalic phase of sleep.” If our brain retains evidence of its evolution path, then where atonia’s mediation arises--relative to other sleep components in brain structure--suggests that in its earliest incarnation atonia evolved between cycles of active survival behaviors where energy expense was minimal or unnecessary. During contemporary sleep, atonia punctuates the final stage of each cycle of NREM, which is the most passive, inactive state of normal brain function relative to dreaming and conscious brain function. We remain immobile while dreaming because our immobility conserves energy. Our brain is the largest consumer of our body’s energy uptake and our immobility amid sleep supports our dreaming brain’s efforts to resupply its energy reserves.