Dreams Actually Virtual Reality Threat Simulation?

Time Slows Down writes "Psychology Today has an interesting story on a new theory of why we dream. Finnish psychologist Antti Revonsuo believes that dreams are a sort of nighttime theater in which our brains screen realistic scenarios simulating emergency situations and providing an arena for safe training. 'The primary function of negative dreams is rehearsal for similar real events, so that threat recognition and avoidance happens faster and more automatically in comparable real situations,' he says. We have 300 to 1,000 threat dreams per year — one to four per night and just under half are aggressive encounters: physical aggression such as fistfights, and nonphysical aggression such as verbal arguments. Faced with actual life-or-death situations — traffic accidents, terrorist attacks, street assaults — people report entering a mode of calm, rapid response, reacting automatically, almost without thinking. Afterward, they often say the episode felt unreal, as if it were all a dream. 'Dreaming is a sensitive system that tries to pay much attention to the threatening cues in our environment,' Revonsuo says. 'Their function is to protect and prepare us.'"

Comments

Yeah

[dreamchaser]

Last night while I was dreaming of playing poker with Einstein and Hawking and an anthropomorphic Zebra, I stopped and thought "This is really a great simulation of reality!" It got really interesting when the dancing elephants started circling our table. I feel far better prepared for life now.

Re:Yeah

[Nykon]

"I know that I pretty much stopped dreaming about the time I hit puberty."

That's a shame. The good dreams don't start until puberty ;-)

Re:Yeah

[rkanodia]

If you don't think you do, go to one of those sleep study centers and book yourself for the night.

Way to go, Captain Reading Comprehension. The GP did exactly that.

NUDE

[chowhound]

Apparently my brain is exhaustively preparing me for the possibility that I'll drive to work naked.

Re:NUDE

[eclectic4]

Apparently my brain is exhaustively preparing me for the possibility of having sex with Jessica Alba. All I can say, is that I'm very, very prepared...

Dreamt of that before

[Marcion]

> What struck him the most was how lifelike they were. "I would say to myself, in my dream, 'Oh shit! I've dreamt of this before, but now this is really happening!' " he recalls

I actually get that. And I thought I was like Isaac Mendez, now it just my brain running simulations. the fact my brain gets it rights shows how dull and predicable my life must be....

Nightmares

[rice_burners_suck]

Maybe that's why I keep having that nightmare about turning on my Mac one day only to find it's suddenly running Vista!

Re:You ever have that dream...

[truthsearch]

So what about that dream where I'm naked at work and Jesus is fighting Nietzsche in pudding? What the hell is THAT training me for?

Coming out of the closet?

Re:What Dreams May Come?

[Cro Magnon]

You KNOW you've been wasting too much time on /. when your dreams get duped!