New Research Unpacks Why (& How) We Dream About Certain Things
Dreams are one of life's greatest mysteries. They can be scary, enjoyable, vivid, and of course, strange—but why do we dream about the things we do? According to new research published in the journal Communications Psychology1, the content of our dreams is often determined by our personality, coupled with shared life experiences. Here's what they found.
Why do we dream what we dream?
For this study, researchers wanted to dig into the factors that influence our dreams. Data was collected from nearly 300 adults over the course of two weeks, in which participants recorded both their daily experiences, as well as their dreams. Researchers also looked at factors like sleep patterns, personality traits, cognitive abilities, and more, resulting in over 3,700 reports.
Then, they used advanced natural language processing (NLP) techniques to identity the patterns and semantic structure of dreams, finding that individual traits and shared life experiences influence dream content.
For instance, researchers note that data gathered during the height of the pandemic showed our dreams were heavily influenced by the state of the world at that time (i.e. emotionally intense dreams, dreaming about limitations, etc.). Those dreams began to subside as the pandemic went on, suggesting that as we adapt, our dreams do too.
In terms of our personality's influence on dreams, this study found a couple key things: For one, participants who were more prone to mind-wandering reported fragmented, bizzare, and rapidly changing dreams. Vivid, immersive dreams, on the other hand, were more common for participants who believed that dreams in general have significance and meaning.
The NLP data also revealed that our everyday lives are transformed, almost warped, by dreams. Participants would describe their waking lives and their dreams, and the language processing techniques showed that dreams often reorganize or reinterpret waking events.
"Rather than constituting a direct replay of daily experiences, dreams may offer a hyper-associative reinterpretation of past events and future expectations, weaving together apparently distant elements into coherent, though often bizarre, scenarios," the study authors explain.
Why it matters
While the study authors note that more research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying dream content (such as how personality actually influences dreams), the findings bring us closer to understanding the mystery.
“Our findings show that dreams are not just a reflection of past experiences, but a dynamic process shaped by who we are and what we live through,” says lead study author Valentina Elce Ph.D. “By combining large-scale data with computational methods, we were able to uncover patterns in dream content that were previously difficult to detect," she adds.
Not only that, but using NLP for dream research could be a novel and effective way to continue learning more about dreams, consciousness, memory, and so on.
All in all, the study authors write, "Dreaming serves as a mechanism through which the brain processes and integrates newly acquired memories, gradually stripping away or reducing their emotional intensity."
The takeaway
We may never fully understand dreams, their meaning, or the mechanisms behind them, but this research shows one thing for certain; Dreams are not only shaped by our lived experiences, but also our shared experiences, our emotions, and our personalities in general.