Dream A Little Dream

   By drodriguez  Mar 16, 2009
29

We’ve all woken suddenly in the night from a dream that feels too real to be just the inner workings of the brain at rest.  The images we see while we sleep can be very convincing at times, so convincing in fact that we may alter our day so as not to face events that occur in dreams.  This is one of the reasons why a team of researchers have dedicated their studies to finding out if our dreams act to influence our daily behavior.

ABC News recently reported about a study that was conducted by Morewedge and Michael I. Norton of Harvard on the topic of dreams.  The Nortons’ studies spanned both Eastern and Western cultures including the United States, South Korea, and India.  Overall, the researchers found that people tend to place great importance on their dreams.

In the study the researchers caution people about the lengths they go to after having a realistic or disturbing dream.  Researchers used one example of this by saying, “Dreams of spousal infidelity may lead to suspicious accusation, alienating one’s spouse and potentially provoking actual infidelity.” 

A majority of the 182 people surveyed in Boston reported that dreams do affect their day to day behavior.  About 68 percent believe that dreams can foretell their future while 63 percent said that at least one of their dreams had come true in the past.  The study also showed that people are more likely to change their travel plans after having a dream about a plane crash than they would if they had a waking thought about a crash or received warnings from the government. 

Even though the images and thoughts we experience during sleep are subconscious, they are still coming from our own psyches which leads us to place greater importance on them.  The study closed by saying, “although dreams are unlikely to predict future world events, it is possible that they may provide some hidden insight into diurnal life in the way that laypeople believe they do.”

What do you think about the way dreams can affect our behavior?

Do you think your dreams affect the way you go about your day to day life?
 

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Edennicole888 by Edennicole888 | Wasilla, AK
Aug 14, 2009

I think dreams have deeper subconscious meanings.... If you have a dream of your significant other with your best friend...then maybe that was something that you subconsciously thought about before you went to bed that night.

prt1984 by prt1984 | Painter, VA
Jul 20, 2009

I have to say yes dreams affect my life.I have had many dreams where the do come true sometimes they are telling me and preparing me of what is going to happen sometime in the near future.I had a dream where my teen daughter came to get me and was in a accident while she was the driver I had kept praying to God that my child would drive better and take the road serious so fro 3 months I had the same dream me and my child in an accident we neither one got hurt but it was to show her she needed to be more serious so after 3 months 1 day my dream happened just as I had dreamed and my child got serious from then on.I believe it was God preparring me for what was going to happen.I have those types of dreams every so often.They can be scary for me sometimes.

parisluvr by parisluvr | STOW, OH
Jun 15, 2009

I believe that dreams can tell the future sometimes. But, last night, I had a dream that I was an English princess in the 18th century and about to get married. Im not about to go back in time or get married. Some dreams are purely entertainment.

xxcrystalinaxx by xxcrystalinaxx | alhambra, CA
Jun 15, 2009

I believe dreams have a deeper meaning. If I have a vivid dream I like to interpret the meaning of it and apply it to my life. I believe dreams can tell us something or help guide us if were unsure of something. I believe dreams can be helpful like they can almost try to tell us something or warn us about someone or something. I remember I had trust issues with my ex I thought he was cheating and all that stuff he told me I could trust him and I remember having a dream about a movie i didnt like and I looked up how to interpret it, basically it said either he was cheating or I shouldnt trust him sure enough i found out months later he was cheating. I shoulda trusted my instincts and used my dream as a guide instead of believing him.

COOKIESANDCREAM by COOKIESANDCREAM | NEW YORK, NY
Jun 12, 2009

i try to look in the dream book to when i had a dream that makes me think about it.and i had a couple dreams where i woke up and it was true too.for example i was away and i woke up cuz i dreamed it was gunshots and teens screaming ..i called my hubby and said i jus had this dream..he said baby a teen just got shot on the corner.. stuff like that.and my girl dreamed about her babyboy and guess what couple month later and she has excactly this baby...sometimes i see names and i look em up and those names excist even tho i never had anything to do with them..the only thing i cant figure out are my elevator nightmares. scientist should believe things over there horizon cuz there is another world -the spirit world i believe

SiLvEr-StArS by SiLvEr-StArS | REVERE, MA
Jun 09, 2009

O yes, I Do believe that we all dream for a reason and that dreams do mean something. Dreams do come true, I was taking a nap 1 afternoon and I had this dream that I put on 1 of my lamp's and then the light bulb blew out. Well guess what I woke up from my nap and went to put the lamp on and Boom, The light Blulb Flashes then Blew out! Was the most strangers thing that happen.

julz53 by julz53 | Virginia Beach, VA
Jun 08, 2009

I have dreams sometimes when I can fly which seems really weird, but I have read that it means you are trying to get aways from people and things that bother you. I also have a dream occassionally where something is slamming into me and I am going to die so I wake up almost screaming.

iheartjulie by iheartjulie | San Francisco, CA
Jun 06, 2009

I would say I'm affected by my dreams! Not on a day to day basis. Sometimes I wake up and can't remember anything of them but those few times that I do remember and they were of bad situations...I listen to my gut! And it's mainly because I've had these bad dreams and then later the bad situations pop up! Like once I dreamed I was at a camp and we were surrounded by a ring of fire and there was no way out. Well the next day I was supposed to be heading out to a camp. I had an uneasy feeling about going all the way there and I almost didn't go. Two days into the camp and there was a huge fire in the mountains where we were and we couldn't get out of the camp because the fire had blocked off the road. We almost had to get air-lifted out but luckily the firemen were able to contain the fire and free the roads in time! Also had a dream that my boyfriend cheated on me..days later...he did.

onreservation3 by onreservation3 | Sammamish, WA
Jun 02, 2009

i dont know if dreams foresee the future, but i think they are in a sense our way of contacting the spiritual world. i have a friend who, througout the entire course of her life after her grandfather died, would see him in her dreams. in them, she would be updating him on her life, and she would get these about once a year, each year letting him know what happened the last year. one night, she had the dream, she was talking to her grandfather, and saw her grandmother run into the room, and throw her arms around him. the dream ended, and the next day, her grandmother died. she truly believes that she was really talking to her grandfather, it just can't be a coincidence or product of our thoughts if her grandmother died the day after this happened!! we dream things for a reason!

sethienlukie by sethienlukie | Easton, MD
May 27, 2009

I had recurrent dreams that my fiance was cheating with his ex, leaving me anxious, paranoid, and awakening in tears. Once I began to utilize healthy communication with him about my concerns and frustrations with real life situations, I began to have dreams that I was exerting myself , and felt empowered and confident throughout the dreams. I really do believe our dreams give us insight we would not normally pay attention to in the hustle bustle of every day details of our lives.

amiejoe by amiejoe | hinsdale, IL
May 17, 2009

dreams are a truly magnificent thing. your brain just never stops. i had a dream when i was little about getting lost in the woods... of course now that can happen to anyone in everyday life, but it happened to me and my mom two weeks later and while we were lost i got stung by at least 20 bee's and when my mom finally found the car she had to rush me to the emergancy room.. now when i get a dream i usually analize it really well....

makeetis by makeetis | WELLSTON, OH
Apr 19, 2009

I haven't ever had a dream that come true but I have had friends who said they do. I don't remember my dreams to often.

tjshorty by tjshorty | york, NE
Apr 16, 2009

I think that for the most part dreams are there to help deal with stress and help to cope with life in general. I have had a few dreams actually come true and happen exactly as I had dreamt.

glbaker-oregon by glbaker-oregon | Beaverton, OR
Apr 09, 2009

LOL msfriendly. I believe that the subconscious is at work when dreaming. The subconscious picks up on everyday little actions that the conscious misses during the day. During the dream state the subconscious is trying to bring conclusions and information to these actions. Consequently many dreams may look like they are forecasting the future. But in reality it is just making sense of what we might have consciously overlooked.

msfriendly by msfriendly | MONROE, WI
Mar 31, 2009

If it is true that dreams do come true, I am in for one heck of a wild ride!