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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