hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about 15 psychological facts
about dreaming now let's begin number one black and white what colors do we see in our dreams
just imagine a dreamscape do you envision a vibrant world filled with colors and patterns
well most of us do but one study discovered that dreams aren't always as colorful as we think this
2008 study published in the journal consciousness and cognition found that a small percentage of the
population dreams in black and white almost like a black and white filter has been laid over their
subconscious now according to this study black and white dreams are especially common among
older dreamers these people grew up exposed to black and white media so their dreams can adopt
a grayscale appearance younger dreamers on the other hand dream primarily in color because modern
media is bright and colorful so the next time you're dreaming just think about the aesthetics
of your dream because your age and media exposure may be affecting the way your dreams really look
number two sleep paralysis during rem sleep your body is essentially paralyzed this period of deep
slumber freezes the motor neurons in your brain and stops you from moving this process is called
muscle atonia muscle atonia prevents you from running jumping and moving in real life without
this process your body would unconsciously move during your dreams most of the time muscle atonia
ends when you wake up but it doesn't always that feeling of numbness can carry over creating a
feeling called sleep paralysis your mind is awake and conscious but your body is essentially asleep
in the moment sleep paralysis can be a frightening experience but it's a common occurrence and it's
completely natural so don't panic just relax and give your body a few extra minutes to wake up
number three gender differences in a 2013 study from the international journal of dream research
scientists discovered that men and women dream about different things anyone can be interested
in anything some subjects are more divisive than others cars and tools for example are more common
interests among men on the other hand clothing and jewelry are more common interests among women
but did you know these trends actually affect the way men and women dream the average male dream is
more likely to contain popular male interests like cars and tools and in the same way the
average female dream is more likely to contain popular female interests while this difference may
sound negligible it tells us that dreaming isn't something we do independently we're influenced
not only by our passions and lifestyles but by our gender our interests and our expectations
number four personality changes the same 2013 study found that dreams radically change according
to your personality this study compared the dreams of introverted men to the dreams of
extroverted men they discovered that the content of their dreams differed significantly the dreams
of extroverted men for example contained more female characters than the dreams of introverted
men in other words social preferences experiences and routines can also affect the way you dream
number five bizarre experiences why are dreams so strange there's actually a scientific reason
why you create such strange combinations in your dreams in your everyday life your brain is working
overtime to make sense of the world around you it combines sensory information perceptual cues
and stored memories to create a landscape you can understand and navigate ah but when you fall
asleep these important areas of your brain fall asleep so your subconscious runs wild
your brain cannot make sense of all the information thrown at you
during a dream and that's why your dreams are usually bizarre and difficult to understand
number six dream faces almost everyone interacts with other people in their dreams but did you know
that every face you see is one you've already seen before even if you don't recognize people when
you see them your brain uses faces from your memory you might have seen this person on tv
in the library or in a passing car on the highway but everyone in your dream exists somewhere in the
world number seven dreaming animals does your dog run in his sleep you may think your dog is
dreaming but do animals dream like humans for decades scientists have disagreed about whether
or not animals really dream dreams are associated with a higher degree of consciousness which humans
have and dogs may not if we say that dogs can dream who knows what other things their brains
are capable of over the years several studies have shown evidence in favor of animal dreams
cats for example seem to stalk and catch prey in their sleep but the question remains unresolved
whether or not your dog is really dreaming that's still up in the air number eight stress nightmares
where do nightmares come from nightmares are combinations of sensory information
just like a regular dream now on their own nightmares are not scary but strong emotions and
stress can turn a positive dream into a negative nightmare alright let's say you go to bed with
low stress and a happy mindset well you're much more likely to have uplifting fun dreams
on the other hand if you fall asleep stressed and sad you may spend the night running from monsters
number nine sightless recall what do blind people see when they dream do they see colors in
visual imagery even if they've been blind since birth according to a 2017 study from the third
international conference on applications of optics and photonics blind people dream like everyone
else their brains experience the same sensations and visual imagery even if they can't see
their subconscious dreams the same way there is however a small difference in their dream recall
the same study found that blind participants have lower rim densities and fewer rim bursts
this change doesn't affect their dreams but it does decrease their dream recall in other
words blind people dream the same as anyone but their dreams are more likely to be forgotten
number 10 universal dreaming similar dreams are experienced all over the world falling dreams
chasing dreams naked in public dreams and flying dreams these common categories show up across
countries cultures and communities but why do so many people experience the same dreams these dream
categories are grounded in universal human worries wishes and fears humans around the world look at
the birds in the sky and wonder what flying feels like from the smallest children to the oldest
adults everyone is scared of falling off cliffs or being chased by something dark and dangerous
in other words universal dreams are manifestations of fundamentally human ideas it really doesn't
matter who you are or where you're from the same dreams terrify enchant and embarrass us all
number 11 clusters of dreams how many dreams do you remember each night most people are lucky to
remember a single one but your brain actually dreams around four to six times every single
night these dreams range from short and simple to long and elaborate even if you can't put the
pieces together in your memory your brain is a lot more active at night than you realize
number 12 sleep swearing do you talk in your sleep most people think sleep talking
is clear and conversational you may imagine your friend whispering funny comments in their sleep
but a 2017 study from the journal sleep found that sleep talkers sound a little bit different
it turns out when you sleep talk during a dream your words are likely to be brief unhelpful and
even a bit rude for example around 10 percent of sleep talkers use profanities while they
sleep the most common word among sleep talkers is no so if your friend is a sleep talker don't
expect much out of them in the way of conversation number 13 negative over positive in a 1951 article
published by the scientific american calvin hall said that dreams are more than clusters of images
and sounds they activate your emotions in strange and powerful ways however some emotions are
more common than others hall found that negative emotions show up more often than positive emotions
worry fear embarrassment sadness and anger are some of the most common negative emotions
you feel in your dreams sometimes you feel them after you wake up too much like sleep paralysis
dream emotions can trickle into your real life you may find yourself unreasonably angry about
something that didn't happen or maybe you feel like crying the entire day all because your dream
is still in the back of your mind dreams are quick to escape our memories and difficult to understand
but they're powerful emotional experiences that can shape your mood and mindset
number 14 dental dreams have you ever had a dream about your teeth falling out
studies show that dental dreams could actually have some physical basis the fear of your teeth
falling out may be a sign that you're experiencing dental irritation your physical symptoms may be
manifesting themselves as images within your brain so if you're having lots of dental dreams
you may need to floss a little more often number 15 solving puzzles can dreams help you with your
everyday life while you sleep your brain is still hard at work you're still mulling over problems
conflicts and puzzles from your daily life even if you felt stuck the night before you may wake up
with an easy answer why is that because your brain has been mulling all night long hey thank you for
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