We have attempted to derive meaning from our dreams for thousands of years. Nowadays, countless websites and services offer dream interpretations, many of which are influenced by the work of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. When dreams repeat themselves, we become even more curious as to whether we can learn something from them. In the USA over 60% of adults have had recurring dreams or nightmares. We asked 4 experts in psychology and sleep research ‘Do recurring dreams mean anything?’, here is what we found. This consensus is based on 6 experts answers from this question: Do recurring dreams mean anything?
How do we study dreams and their possible meanings?
The most common way to study dreams is to ask participants to keep dream diaries and fill in surveys about their experiences. Interestingly, it has been possible to decode what people are dreaming about (with a success rate of 60%) by measuring their sleeping brain activity with fMRI machines. By collecting information on both dreams and other factors such as stress or emotional wellbeing, scientists can determine if certain dream patterns correlate with anything.
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😴Can fMRI machines help decode what people are dreaming about? 📓Do participants often keep dream diaries to help study their dreams?Do recurring dreams mean anything?
One of the most famous figures in dream research was Freud. He said that dreams reflect our unconscious desires which we repress when we are not asleep. Dr Joseph Paul Forgas, an expert in psychology from South Wales University in Australia, strongly disagrees: “Despite psychoanalytic claims to the contrary, recurring dreams have no hidden or underlying meaning, they simply reflect some of the garbled residuals of material that has been in the consciousness during waking hours.”
Although the content of our dreams may not be informative, some experts believe that the recurring nature of dreams does mean something. Dr Tina Sundelin, an expert in sleep research from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, says “If the question pertains to the potential meaning of the contents of a recurring dream, the answer is ‘unlikely’. However, recurring dreams occur more often after stressful events, for certain people”. Dr Timo Partonen, an expert in psychology from Helsinki University in Finland, adds “Upsetting dreams or nightmares about a traumatic event which are recurring may indicate post-traumatic stress disorder, and in young children these can take the form of frightening dreams which may or may not include aspects of the traumatic event.”
Many studies have correlated nightmares and sleep problems with mental issues including anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation. Dr Sundelin explains that recurring dreams “might indicate that you’ve recently been stressed, are a bit dissociated, or are suffering from PTSD. (Note: this does not mean that recurring dreams equals PTSD. Recurring dreams are very common.)”. Interestingly, a recent survey in Finland during last year’s COVID-19 lockdown found that many people experienced more nightmares and sleep problems, possibly due to increased stress.
The takeaway: Dream interpretation is highly contested, but it is likely that recurring bad dreams are connected to stress and/or other mental conditions.
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✨What are recurring dreams and how common are they among adults? 🧔🏻What did Sigmund Freud believe about the meaning of dreams? 💫Do recurring dreams have hidden or underlying meanings? 🌙How do researchers study the content and meaning of dreams? 🤯How might recurring dreams be related to mental health conditions such as PTSD? 😷Did studies during the COVID-19 lockdown find an increase in nightmares and sleep problems? 😩Can recurring dreams be connected to stress?