Dream or reality? Explore the fascinating mystery of the night!

Dream or reality? Explore the fascinating mystery of the night!

What happens in our heads at night? This question concerns not only science, but also people in Cologne, as a newly surfaced Instagram reel shows, which brings into play the idea that we could lead a second life in a dream. Whether this is a shallow thought or a profound philosophy is debatable. The fact is, many people report intense dream experiences that feel so real that when they wake up they sometimes even feel as if they have lost a part of their life. At least that's what is reported Gutefrage.net.

In dreams the boundaries of our reality are removed. Whether it’s recurring locations or “dream families,” many dream of alternative identities. What is shocking is the idea that some people “experience” several years in a single dream – including relationships and daily routines. But what remains when we wake up? Above all, many people remember the feeling as if the waking process was a “death” in the dream world.

The secrets of dreams

But what are dreams actually? Martin Dresler, a leading sleep researcher, explains that people probably dream throughout the night. The most intense and emotional dream experiences occur primarily during the REM phase. These phases are particularly interesting because the experiences from these dreams are often clearer and more memorable. But why we dream remains a profound question. According to Dresler, it could be due to the mixture of different theories - from the storage of lived experiences to Antti Revonsuo's "Threat Simulation Theory", which states that dreams help us deal with dangerous situations and try out helpful behavior. This theory suggests that, from an evolutionary perspective, dreams may provide an advantage in preparing us for real-world dangers.

So are dreams simply a processing of everyday events or a deeper reflection of our innermost fears? Psychologist Brigitte Holzinger believes that dreams are a window into ourselves in which we can recognize our feelings in moving images. Above all, recurring patterns provide information about what really moves us.

The neuroscience of sleep

In recent decades, neuroscience has made significant advances in understanding sleep and dreams. Researchers such as Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley have discovered that the REM phases are regulated by a complex interaction of messenger substances. These control whether we dream or not. Interestingly, the brain can create dream worlds even without REM sleep, which Mark Solms has made clear with his work on patients. This means that the questions surrounding dreams and their causes are even more numerous than we thought.

All in all, the mystery of dreaming remains a fascinating field that concerns both scientists and the general public. Dreams can reveal a lot about our subconscious, our fears and hopes. And while we wait in Cologne for the next dream, we could ask ourselves: Are we perhaps actually living in a second life, just when we close our eyes?

For more information about the deepest secrets of dreams and their meanings, take a look at the detailed explanations in the articles from Planet knowledge and dasbrain.info.