Illustrations by N/A
An Inquiry into the Unconscious: Dreams as an Evolutionary Tool for Survival
Whether we remember them or not, all humans dream on a nightly basis. From nightmares about failing a test to gaining the ability to fly, the content of our subconscious thoughts often seem to have no logical explanation or connection to reality. Yet, for centuries, psychologists have analyzed dream content in the hopes of solving the problems that plague us in our waking lives. As Sigmund Freud poignantly stated, Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious;” that is, by analyzing our dreams, we may be able to uncover the underlying reason for specific emotions (qtd. In Winson).
In the midst of a global pandemic that has largely put humanity on pause, dreams may be a vital tool to uncover our true feelings and to cope with bouts of isolation. With more time than ever to relax and catch up on sleep, an astounding number of people have experienced uncharacteristically vivid dreams, which, oddly enough, they are able to recall long after the night has ended (Rogers). Feelings of uncertainty and distress have even left those who believe that dreams are random occurrences scrambling to make connections between sleeping and waking life. Throughout history, periods of isolation and crisis, such as 9/11/01, have also drastically impacted dream content. As a study conducted by Dr. Ernest Hartmann, titled A Systematic Change in Dreams After 9/11/01″ concludes, the concerns people express in their dreams are concerns they have in waking life.” The study, which tracked participants’ dreams before and after 9/11/01, found that while participants did not have dreams about the Twin Towers or other images directly associated with the attacks after 9/11/01, their dreams became increasingly intense and full of powerful negative emotions (Hartmann). By analyzing participants’ diary entries, researchers concluded that emotion-laden events can alter the content and ferocity of dreams, as well as aid in emotional recovery. Thus, while the act of dreaming appears to be a nonessential part of the human experience, with no definitive purpose, it is actually a vital evolutionary tool for survival.
In the face of life-threatening events such as the Coronavirus, dreams serve both as an emotional regulator and evolutionary defense mechanism in which information important for survival is reprocessed during REM sleep” (Winson). REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep, is our deepest phase of sleep that occurs in intervals during the night and is characterized by rapid eye movements, a faster heart rate, and dreaming” (Rogers). Periods of REM have been found to correspond to higher levels of activity in the brain, and to be more visually vivid, emotional, and story-like” than Non-REM dreams (Tuominen). More significantly, during REM sleep, a special type of brain wave, known as theta rhythm, is released. Theta rhythms are believed to be produced by the hippocampus, an area in the brain associated with the production of memories. As Jonathan Winson, a researcher at Rockefeller University explains, since theta rhythms are also produced during REM sleep, the stage in which dreams occur, dreams must play a vital role in memory consolidation, helping a species recall where to get food, to find shelter and other tasks that are essential for survival.
To demonstrate the effect of REM-dreams on memory consolidation, Winson designed an experiment where he made incisions into the septum of rats. The septum was significant to the experiment, as it is an area closely connected to the hippocampus, where memory consolidation occurs. In a previous experiment, also conducted by Winson, the rats had learned, using spatial cues, to locate a particular position in a maze;” however, after cutting the septum the rats were no longer able to navigate to the location that they previously had located. As such, Winson concludes Without theta rhythm, spatial memory was destroyed.” Winson’s study demonstrates that REM sleep may have evolved as an evolutionary tool, helping each species to process the information most important to its survival, such as the location of food or the means of predation,” which it can use in the future to provide an ongoing strategy for behavior.” Without theta rhythms being produced while they slept, the rats could not find the food they needed to survive, suggesting that sleeping is essential for helping the brain remember important information that the brain is not biologically programmed to recall. Similarly, the human brain may be experiencing nightmares as a way to generate a strategy for survival, consolidating pertinent information about Coronavirus so that the body will not succumb to illness. While happy emotions are important to overall well-being, they present no threat, and if stored, would take away from other critical memories needed to ensure longevity.
Furthermore, the theta rhythms released while dreaming may improve responses to future threats, as they strategize mechanisms of protection to be unleashed in the event of danger. Just as the human immune system has evolved to elicit appropriate? responses when triggered by antigens,” the brain has evolved to respond to psychological threats through the process of dreaming (Winson). If the immune system encounters no harmful antigens, it remains in a resting state, because there is no need to attack. Similarly, if the brain encounters no threats during dream production, no response will be elicited (Winson). Therefore, the vivid and nightmarish dreams that are being reported by people in self-isolation can be explained as the brain’s way of preparing for an impending threat, such as the Coronavirus. Dreams about bugs, spiders, or other creatures that elicit negative emotions may be metaphors for our waking-life troubles and can alleviate stress by allowing us to develop a plan of action for dangerous or uncertain circumstances.
Despite mounting evidence that dreams may have developed as an evolutionary defense mechanism, some scientists still consider dreams to be a benign byproduct of the sleeping brain,” postulating that the shift in dream content is merely the result of a change in routine and a lack of socialization (Love). As people across the globe have been isolating from friends and family, many have resorted to using platforms such as Zoom and Facetime to fill the void of social interaction. Although staying in touch with the outside world is a vital part of coping with isolation, foregoing sleep for socialization can have dire effects on one’s sleep cycle, and in turn on their dreams. Courtney Bolstad, a graduate student at Mississippi State’s Clinical Psychology program, contends, The rhythms we have during the day, what time we get up, and whether we see our friends, can influence our circadian rhythm” (qtd. in Weiner). Participating in virtual game nights in place of an afternoon brunch with friends might ease feelings of loneliness, but can severely disrupt sleep patterns, as light exposure from screen hours before bed can be detrimental to ensuring a good night’s sleep” (Rogers). This phenomenon, dubbed the social rhythm theory, could help explain why people such as Veronica Torres, a Brooklynite, have been waking up several times to go to the bathroom” in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep, as the bright light of our technological devices creates unfavorable sleep habits that are difficult to break (Weiner).
Alternatively, as some dream experts have put forth, it is possible that withdrawal from our usual environments and daily stimuli has left dreamers with a dearth of inspiration, forcing our subconscious minds to draw more heavily on themes of the past” (Renner). As a study at the Lyon Neuroscience research center found, the Coronavirus pandemic has caused a 35% increase in dream recall among participants” (qtd in Renner). With nowhere to travel and no friends to see, it appears that vivid dreams may serve as an escape from the monotony of life. Sherry Margolin, a 65-year-old piano teacher living in Paris reported to TIME Magazine that while her dreams usually consist of playing the piano, post-pandemic, she has been dreaming about travel by train? through Sonoma County, CA, where [she] lived from ages 17 to 28″ (Weiner). It appears that lack of a daily routine has left people with more time to reminisce about the past, or to dwell on dreams from the previous night.
Believers in the simplicity of dreams also attribute the spike in dream recall to a lack of a proper routine and a decrease in daily activity. As Jason Ellis, director of the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research, explains, in the midst of the pandemic routines have? become harder to establish and maintain and the motivation to go to sleep at the same time has gone away, [which disrupts] the internal processes necessary for good sleep” (qtd.in Rogers). Patrick McNamara, an associate professor of neurology at Boston University uncovers mounting evidence to support Ellis’ findings, explains that anxiety and lack of activity decrease sleep quality” and that frequent awakenings, also called parasomnias, are associated with increased dream recall” (qtd. in Renner). As McNamara asserts, a lack of a routine may be contributing to heightened stress, which in turn ?[influences] the content of dreams, and [allows] some dreamers to remember more of them” (Renner). However, after collecting data about dreams during quarantine, Dr. Deirdre Barret, a psychologist at Harvard Medical school found evidence to counter both Ellis’ and Rogers’ research, asserting that the pandemic has led to an increase in sleep. As Barret explains, changing one’s routine dramatically often leads to more dream recall, especially when the new routine involves more sleep” (qtd. in Robb). Without a set time to be at work, people are more likely [to] get to those deeper periods of [sleep], which produce[s] some of our most vivid dreams” (Weiner). Whether the pandemic is causing an increase or decrease in sleep, one thing remains certain- there is a direct correlation between a lack of a routine and an increase in vivid and nightmarish dreams.
Aside from having a dramatic effect on the quality of our sleep, a lack of face-to-face interaction has been proven to drastically alter dream content. Following extensive research during her Ph.D. candidacy at the University of Turku, Monica Bergman asserts Our dreams are sensitive to our social environments during the day, [which] could explain why some of us are dreaming more of close friends and family at the moment” (qtd. in Weiner). In an experiment about the effects of trauma on dream content, Bergman and her team interviewed Holocaust survivors who had been imprisoned in Auschwitz during WWII. After analyzing the data, Bergman identified five general dream categories, among which were family and friends. Excerpts from participants’ diary entries about their dreams revealed that themes related to family…were more likely to appear in dreams dreamt during the war than before or after the war.” In her conclusion, Bergman explains that the respondents were more likely to dream about things they were deprived of and isolated from.” Similar to the isolation felt by Holocaust survivors, in this period of quarantine the brain may be overcompensating for a lack of socialization by amplifying the content of our dreams involving friends and family.
Although it is possible that the reported increase in vivid dreams about childhood memories and loved ones may be random occurrences, there is increasing evidence that suggests dreams have an innate biological function. Both the social simulation theory and the threat simulation theory offer mounting evidence of dreams as an evolutionary tool that is vital for memory formation, processing complicated emotions, or as a way to practice facing threats and dangers” (Love). The social simulation theory, or SST, predicts that dreams feature more social content than corresponding waking life, an adaptation that allows us to refine our interpersonal skills and to communicate our feelings more effectively” (Weiner). As Jarno Tuominen, a Ph.D. student in Psychology at the University of Turku, Finland, explains, A central idea of the SST is that [dreams] offer a selective advantage in waking life by offering numerous possibilities in practicing social encounters with close people.” Seeing as social groups were vital to the survival of our past ancestors, the social simulation theory demonstrates that to maintain group inclusion, the dreaming self- engages more frequently in positive social interactions with persons of higher relationship intimacy” (Tuominen). Additionally, through his research, Tuominen finds mounting evidence in support of the threat simulation theory, which works in conjunction with the SST to explain the evolutionary meaning behind our dreams. The threat simulation theory demonstrates that dreams are crucial to human survival, as they allow people to work through their fears in a low-risk environment and to prepare for stressful events in real life” (Robb). In the face of unpredictable danger and a largely nomadic lifestyle, by selecting threatening waking events and simulating them over and over again in various combinations,” our ancestors would have been able to develop and maintain threat avoidance skills, ensuring the species was best fit to survive (Revonsuo). While dreams may appear to be sporadic cognitive processes, as demonstrated by the SST and TSS, dreams have specific evolutionary and biological properties, helping the brain process memory, cope with heightened emotions, and to simulate future threats such as the CoronaVirus, before they occur. Furthermore, in a time of social distancing, dreams are increasingly beneficial, as they help strengthen emotional connections between isolated individuals.
As insinuated by both the social simulation theory and the threat simulation theory, there is a strong correlation between dreaming and overall emotional adjustment to stressful situations. Thus, it is possible that the increase in nightmares during social isolation may serve as coping mechanisms” for feelings such as anxiety and depression (Rogers). As renowned psychologist Rosalind Cartwright concludes in her 1996 study Broken Dreams,” dreaming contributes to the emotional and behavioral adjustment [needed] to solve emotional problems (qtd. in Revonsuo). Cartwright studied recently divorced couples, forty of whom were experiencing symptoms of depression in the months after their separation. After observing the subject’s sleep patterns in a laboratory for several nights, Cartwright noticed that subjects who were depressed were more likely to experience negative dreams than subjects who were not depressed. Furthermore, subjects with signs of depression had a higher tendency to dream about their former partner (qtd. in Revonsuo). While incessant dreams about an ex-husband or wife may seem like a detrimental and unpleasant experience, in a one year follow up to the experiment Cartwright observes,?those depressed subjects who had dreamt about their spouse were better adjusted than those who had not” (qtd. in Revonsuo). Thus, our dreams may allow us to work through complicated emotions that could negatively affect our social interactions. After being isolated with friends and family members for an extended period of time, conflict may appear inevitable, but dreams give us a chance to process our emotions in a non-destructive mechanism, allowing us to solidify our interpersonal relationships, and to avoid making rash decisions.
Aside from aiding in emotional adjustment, dreams play a critical role in the processing of recent memories, helping the brain decide which pivotal moments to store in our long-term memory and which to discard. As Mark Blagrove, a professor of Psychology at Swansea University, contends, Dreams tend to prioritize what’s emotional,” in order to prevent the brain from holding onto information for which it no longer has a use (Love). Katja Valli, an associate professor in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Sk?vde bolsters Blagrove’s findings, contends, the best-consolidated memories are those with emotional content. We forget mundane things like what we had for breakfast? but if you see a car crash? that is emotionally salient, and it gets consolidated more easily” (qtd. in Weiner). In one study, Blagrove assigned test subjects the task of writing in a diary for a week’s period, and then analyzed their dreams shortly after in a lab. Blagrove asserts the emotional parts [of the diary entries] had a greater chance of becoming part of the dream than the non-emotional parts” (qtd. in Love). Thus, we have a higher chance of recalling content with a high emotional level, such as the dreams being reported in quarantine, as they are more useful in our waking-lives. Moreover, Blagrove’s discovery could explain why people tend to remember nightmares they have had during quarantine, as they typically generate stronger emotions than insipid dreams.
Furthermore, findings by Jean-Baptist Eichenlaub, a researcher at Swansea University’s sleep laboratory corroborate that there is a strong correlation between the content of dreams and their intensity of emotion. Eichenlaub hypothesizes that the content of older experiences and memories” should not manifest themselves in dreams, as they are thought to have already been processed. Participants of the study were asked to log their major daily activities, personal events, and other major concerns,” and to state any accompanying emotion on a scale from 1 to 3.” After analyzing a sample of dreams, Eichenlaub concludes that recent events that featured more intense emotions were more likely to manifest themselves in dreams. In the absence of dangerous threats, it appears that our brain turns to emotionally charged memories” such as nightmares, as they are more salient for dream production than emotionally neutral content” (qtd. in Revonsuo). Thus, dreams are crucial for the consolidation of memory, ensuring that information the brain no longer needs to remember is discarded, and vital information is carried over to long term memory. In the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak, it appears that dreams are becoming increasingly emotional and laden with images of disease and infection, suggesting that knowledge about the Pandemic is vital to our survival. Thus, the brain is more likely to remember death toll statistics in order to elicit both immune and neurological responses to the pandemic. Therefore, the increase in gruesome dreams being reported is quite beneficial, as it signifies that people across the globe are using dreams as a mechanism for survival.
Although the nightmares and vivid dreams being reported during the pandemic are not ideal, they are a sign that the body is coping with its feelings in a healthy way and preparing for possible threats that may arise in this time of uncertainty. The relief provided by night terrors, bizarre dreams, and childish memories bolster the claim that dreams are not merely a random neurological occurrence, rather an essential biological function that has evolved over generations to assist our body in dealing with intense emotions, fighting off threats, and processing memories. In the midst of the pandemic, the human mind has demonstrated its extraordinary ability to use dreams as a way of mitigating feelings of anxiety and depression that may come with social isolation. Although we are far from finding a cure for the Coronavirus and returning to our normal lives, using our dreams to better understand our unspoken emotions can help us cope with stress and uncertainty, providing a constant in our ever-changing world. While it may be a while before humans are able to attend concerts, travel to foreign countries, or attend in-person classes, we should continue to walk down Freud’s royal road to the unconscious to recognize the underlying meaning of our dreams and their role in our survival.
Author: Tamar Levy
In the spring of 2020, my life, along with the lives of many other students, was drastically altered by the abrupt transition from in-person to remote classes. As I frantically gathered my belongings and headed off campus, I could not help but panic about the uncertainty of the future.
For weeks, I struggled to cope with isolation and to adjust to the new normal.” It was around this time that I began to experience uncharacteristically vivid dreams. Each time I fell asleep, my mind began to conjure up bizarre scenarios involving friends, family, and places near and far. At first, I thought I was alone in this experience. It wasn’t until I saw a tweet of a girl asking if anyone else had been having weird dreams that I realized this problem was larger than myself. So when asked to write a research paper on a topic of my choosing, I jumped at the chance to find out why I was having such odd dreams, and to explore the relationship between the waking life and the subconscious. Initially, I merely hoped to discover why certain content manifests itself in dreams, and whether there was a correlation between stress and nightmares. However, as my research progressed, I became increasingly interested in the notion that dreams not only help humans cope with emotions, but also serve as a vital evolutionary adaptation.
Through this period of stress and ambiguity, I quickly took comfort in the fact that many other people were experiencing similar emotions and were also using dreams as a method of coping with stress. Additionally, while I remained physically isolated, I felt better knowing that I could use my dreams to reminisce about good times, to work through current problems, and to imagine a better future.
Instructor: Timothy L. Jadick
The goal of my ENGL 110 class is not just to make students better writers, but also to help them understand the benefits of writing and reflection. Everything we do is rooted in metacognition, epistemic awareness, and revision. Ultimately, understanding how and why quality writing occurs in terms of the process is just as crucial as the final product.
My class has three major parts. In the first part, we read several short essays for response and class discussion, and students select one response to revise and reflect. Next, students complete a UD Profile Essay,” which involves field research and an introduction to academic research using both popular and scholarly sources.
Finally, to conclude the course, students generate a research question from a variety of possibilities, ranging from the angle of their previous writing project, to the type of writing significant to their major, or a topic stemming from a personal passion. Through database research, they begin to explore the scholarly conversation around this topic, and they use that research to complete an annotated bibliography, outline, and eventually, two drafts of the paper leading to the final. The ultimate goal of the research paper is to acknowledge and experience research as an ongoing and iterative process which not only provides answers but also generates more questions.
Works Cited
Bergman, Monica, et al. The Holocaust as a Lifelong Nightmare: Posttraumatic Symptoms and Dream Content in Polish Auschwitz Survivors 30 Years After World War II .” The American Journal of Psychology, vol. 133, no. 2, 2020, pp. 143?166.
Eichenlaub, Jean-Baptiste, et al. Incorporation of Recent Waking-Life Experiences in Dreams Correlates with Frontal Theta Activity in REM Sleep.” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Oxford University Press, 1 June 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29868897.
Hartmann, Ernest, and Tyler Brezler. A Systematic Change in Dreams after 9/11/01.” Sleep, Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, Feb. 2008, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2225570/.
Love, Shayla. Why Are My Dreams So Weird?” Vice, 3 Apr. 2020, www.vice.com/en_us/article/3a8mdb/were-all-having-coronavirus-dreams-now
Renner, Rebecca, and Magnus Wennman. The Pandemic Is Giving People Vivid, Unusual Dreams. Here’s Why.” National Geographic, 27 Apr. 2020, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-is-giving-people-vivid-unusual-dreams-here-is-why/.
Revonsuo, Antti. The Reinterpretation of Dreams: An Evolutionary Hypothesis of the Function of Dreaming.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 23, 2000, pp. 793?1121.
Robb, Alice. Why Are My Dreams So Vivid Right Now?” The Cut, The Cut, 2 Apr. 2020, www.thecut.com/2020/04/coronavirus-weird-dreams.html.
Rogers, Kristen. The Meaning behind Your Strange Coronavirus Dreams.” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Apr. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/health/meaning-dreams-coronavirus-wellness/index.html.
Tuominen, Jarno, et al. Social Contents in Dreams: An Empirical Test of the Social Simulation Theory.” Consciousness and Cognition, vol. 69, 2019, pp. 133?145., doi:10.1016/j.concog.2019.01.017.
Weiner, Sophie. The Science Behind Your Coronavirus Dreams (And Nightmares).” Time, Time, 16 Apr. 2020, time.com/5821896/coronavirus-nightmares-dreams/.
Winson, Jonathan. The Meaning of Dreams.” Scientific American, vol. 263, no. 5, 1990, pp. 86?97. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24996977. Accessed 28 Apr. 2020.
Paper Prompt
Once your research question has been established, you will begin researching in order to explore what relevant scholarly conversations” exist to guide you towards possible sources. For each source you deem worthy of your research question, you will need the MLA citation, correct indentation, a description of the source and an evaluation of the source. Your goal should be to locate 10 sources, at least 6 of which are scholarly in nature.
Below are the requirements and dates for your annotated bibliography. Please adhere to the requirements in order to receive full points for each entry. (4 points per source)
REQUIREMENTS:
*Place Research Question or Position Statement at the top.
**Share link to Preliminary Research document at the top.
a. _____/ MLA Citation for each source
b. _____/ Correct Indentation
c. _____/ Description of Source: ~100-200 words: Summary: What is the overall idea of this source? Is it scholarly or popular? What can you find out about the author, institution, or publisher to further its credibility? Does it provide qualitative or quantitative data?
d. _____/ Evaluation of Source: ~100-200 words How does this source connect with your other sources/research question? How credible is this source and why? Timeliness? Does it support or counter? How does this source assist you in forming your thesis statement? List keywords below.
Research Paper Outline:
Prior to Draft 1, you will create an outline to assist you in planning the organizational format for your research paper. Upon determining your predicted pattern” you will create a topical outline which arranges your sources using MLA citation format. It is imperative that you show your source integration throughout the outline with a goal of integrating and connecting sources in the same scholarly conversation.”
Prior to Draft 1, you will create an outline to assist you in planning the organizational format for your research paper. Use Bedford Ch 12 and 13 and the requirements below to assist you.
Step 1: Confirm Predicated Organizing Pattern: See p. 224-225 Bedford. Stay as true and logical as you can by organizing topics and subtopics.
Step 2: Create a Topical Outline: See p. 232-233 FIGURE 13.7 Bedford. There is no correct number of topics and subtopics, but it is highly recommended that you have an Introduction and Conclusion as beginning and end of your outline.
Step 3: Review and Arrange Your Evidence: See p. 226-227 Bedford. Use MLA citation format and show your source integration throughout the outline with a goal of integrating and connecting sources
Requirements:
- State Confirmed Organization Pattern at the top of your outline and justify in ONE paragraph)
- Thesis Statement: Label Thesis Statement”
- Introduction: Describe your plan for reader engagement.
- Topics and Subtopics: Using the selected organizing pattern, incorporate at least 8 of your sources next to the appropriate topic or subtopic. (Technically, a source could fit in your intro or conclusion as well.)
*Sources should be referenced as a citation with either the author or title:
whichever comes first in the citation entry in your annotated bib.
- Conclusion (For now, you may just write Conclusion”)
Research Paper:
After conducting your research, you will construct an essay that considers the breadth of research you have found. Your main objective will be to construct an argument which defends your thesis and provides evidence through source integration. Your organization, source selection, integration, synthesis, and development will be significant to providing your reader with an engaging and coherent argument in the paper which offers an answer to your original research question.
(~2,500 words)