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?
 

Make a Comment

 
SHARE
Comments
ticklemeusilly by ticklemeusilly | Louisville, KY
Mar 16, 2009

I hate to admit it, but yes dreams have affected my daily life. I have been a little upset with a friend and my husband after having a dream that they were having an affair. Ok, it was just a dream, but it bothered me for days. I kept going over it in my mind, and thinking if there were clues that I had seen and they were only coming up to the surface in my resting mind. It took me a while to get back to normal. And this was years ago, and no, they never did have an affair, it was just a bad dream, so I was a little crazed to alienate a friend for a few weeks over it, and risk losing her, over it. She did have a secret boyfriend though, so maybe that was it? Who knows? She didn't want us to know because we always check them out and make a big deal out of it, and she didn't know if this would last or not. But it did, and they are now married.