Sleep has always fascinated us, since the beginning of time. In some cultures it is considered that during this period our mind separates from the body and travels to other dimensions. In the past, sleep was considered the ideal state for the gods to send their messages and, more recently, Freud introduced the idea that the content of our dreams are messages from our unconscious mind to help us accept certain conflicts. In recent years, sleep has also attracted the attention of neuroscientists, so we now know many truly surprising details about this state.
1. Sleep allows us to soften bad memories
A study conducted at the University of California discovered that during the REM phase of sleep, that is, while we dream, our brain chemistry varies. Specifically, it was observed that norepinephrine levels decrease, which means that the brain chemistry linked to stress is deactivated. In this way, our brain processes painful emotional experiences better and can soften their impact or even erase them completely.
Basically, during the REM phase the memory is activated again, bringing up many of the situations that we have experienced during the day. In this way we can put the facts into perspective and integrate them into our previous experience. If we consider that they are not too important, we delete them. However, the interesting thing is that since the system linked to stress is disconnected, we can process this information taking a more positive approach.
2. It is possible to control the content of our dreams
We normally think that we have no control over dreams, that they just happen randomly. However, a study carried out at Harvard University has revealed that not only do we have some control over what we dream but we can also find solutions to problems while we are sleeping.
These psychologists asked a group of students, before going to bed, to think about a problem they had to solve. They had to do it over a week. After that time, more than half of them reported having dreamed about aspects related to the problem in question. However, the most curious thing was that 25% of the students stated that their dreams contained the answer they were looking for. This process is known in the field of Psychology as incubation and it is not entirely unusual since it is known that some great scientists have found brilliant solutions precisely while they were sleeping.
3. The smell of the room determines our dreams
A few years ago it was thought that while we sleep we are almost completely disconnected from reality, but now we know that this is not the case. A study carried out at the University of Dresden has discovered that the aroma we breathe in the room can determine the content of our dreams.
These researchers waited for people to enter the REM phase of sleep and vaporized different aromas in the room, from the smell of rotten eggs to the perfume of roses. When people woke up they did not report smelling any smell but, surprisingly, those who smelled the roses had calmer dreams while those who were exposed to the smell of rotten eggs reported nightmares and disturbing dreams. Therefore, now you know that if you want to have good dreams, you better worry about the smell of your room and, to top it all off, you should also know that the fragrance of roses improves memory.
References:
Walker, M.P. et. Al. (2011) REM Sleep Depotentiates Amygdala Activity to Previous Emotional Experiences. Current Biology ; 21(23): 2029-2032.
Stuck, BA (2009) Information processing during sleep: the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content and dream emotions. Journal of Sleep Research ; 18(3): 285-290.
Barrett, D. et. Al. (1993) The «committee of sleep»: A study of dream incubation for problem solving. Dreaming 3(2): 115-122.
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