The impact of recurring dreams: what they reveal about emotions and experiences
A recent study highlights how recurring dreams, especially those with a negative tone, are related to intense emotions and collective traumas, reflecting everyday life experiences.
Dreams are a window to the subconscious, and recurring dreams have captured the attention of experts in psychology and neuroscience due to their relationship with deep emotions and moments of adversity. This phenomenon is not only common but intensifies in contexts of global crisis, as evidenced by a recent article from Scientific American. Specialists explain how these dream patterns respond to traumatic events and offer tools to face them.
What are recurring dreams and how do they affect
A recurring dream is one that repeats frequently, with similar content, and usually has a significant emotional impact on the person experiencing it. According to psychologist Michael Schredl from the Central Institute of Mental Health in Germany, these dreams amplify emotions, often linked to daily fears or frustrations.
During stressful situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, this phenomenon became especially evident. During the first months of the health emergency, millions of people reported dreams filled with anxiety, featuring images that evoked fear, illness, and death. This demonstrates how dreams act as a reflection of the most intense emotions that people go through.
The role of the brain: more emotions, less logic
The brain plays a crucial role in how dreams are generated. During REM sleep, brain areas associated with emotions, such as the amygdala, are intensely activated, while those related to logical thinking, such as the prefrontal cortex, decrease their activity. This explains why dreams tend to be more emotional than rational.
The negativity bias, a psychological predisposition that magnifies negative experiences, is also amplified during sleep. According to Schredl, this bias, which has evolutionary roots linked to survival, could be one of the reasons why recurring dreams tend to be unpleasant. The continuity hypothesis, which holds that dreams reflect daily life events and emotions, reinforces this idea.
Dreams and collective traumas
Moments of collective trauma offer a unique perspective for studying recurring dreams. Researcher Deirdre Leigh Barrett, author of the book Pandemic Dreams, analyzed how events such as the September 11 attacks and the coronavirus pandemic influenced dream patterns. Her research included over 15,000 dream reports during the pandemic, revealing that themes related to fear and uncertainty were predominant.
Some frequent narratives included swarms of insects, natural disasters, and sick or dying loved ones, symbolizing the feeling of being overwhelmed. These images are not random; they reflect the subconscious's struggle to process intense emotions and difficult situations.
How to manage recurring dreams
Although recurring dreams can be disturbing, there are effective strategies to manage them. One of these is imagery rehearsal therapy, which involves visualizing the recurring dream with a more positive ending before sleeping. This technique can reprogram the mind and reduce the intensity of these dreams.
Additionally, psychologist Nirit Soffer-Dudek recommends practices such as:
- Maintaining good sleep hygiene: establishing regular sleep and wake times.
- Reducing screen time before bed: the blue light from electronic devices negatively affects sleep quality.
- Avoiding stimulants like caffeine or alcohol before sleeping.
- Separating wake time from sleep: avoiding bringing worries into the bedroom.
These practices not only decrease the frequency of negative recurring dreams but also contribute to better overall emotional health.
A glimpse into the subconscious
Recurring dreams offer a unique opportunity to understand how the mind processes emotions and experiences. Although science has not yet fully deciphered their functioning, studies like those of Barrett and Schredl provide clues about how daily experiences and collective events shape the content of our dreams.