dream research

“Our dreams combine verbal, visual and emotional stimuli into a sometimes broken, nonsensical but often entertaining story line. We can sometimes even solve problems in our sleep.” (3) Supposedly.
(Following two paragraphs are from source (1)):
“Among the hundreds of archetypes of personality, five are usually emphasized:
1.	The persona: the archetype that allows us to take on different roles in life (the "mask")
2.	Anima: the feminist aspect in men (passive and accepting)
3.	Animus: the masculine aspect in men (assertive?)
4.	Shadow: the instinctive aspect...the "animal spirits"
5.	Self: the integrative function within us...that which tries to bring wholeness and harmony”
“Dreams that come from the collective unconscious and express archetypes are "big dreams." In addition to "big" and "little" dreams, Jung also thought there were other kinds of dreams:
1.	Traumatic dreams, now called PTSD dreams;
2.	"Prospective" dreams, meaning dreams that are "anticipatory" of needed changes (this category is difficult to distinguish from compensatory dreams);
3.	Extrasensory dreams, based on telepathy;
4.	Prophetic dreams, based on pre-cognition (Jung said these were very rare).”

Dream research started around the mid 1800’s. Sigmund Freud believed that “dreams are the outlet for a dreamer's subconscious thoughts” (1), and that we can control them.
“Freud studied dreams and noticed that there were a lot of elements that "fulfilled the dreamer's desires"...He thought that dreams were phenomena where the desires of the unconscious relapse into the conscious during sleep. To be blunt, you see dreams in order to feel good.” (4)
Going further into this, his theories revolving around the idea of “repressed longing -- the desires that we aren't able to express in a social setting. Dreams allow the unconscious mind to act out those unacceptable thoughts and desires. For this reason, his theory about dreams focuses primarily on sexual desires and symbolism. For example, any cylindrical object in a dream represents the penis, while a cave or an enclosed object with an opening represents the vagina.” (3) Of course, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and what may be an allegory for sexual innuendo might be something else entirely.


Carl Jung, on the other hand, views dreams as a way to psychoanalyze people and their suppressed personalities, or Shadows. “Dreams are proof of the existence of the subconscious. Dreams and the unconscious are very closely related” (4)
Jung’s dream research involved him asking about his patients’ dreams, recording their dreams and his own. Dreams happen because of the mind, which Jung theorized is the mind’s ability to adapt, or "power of conscious and unconscious compensating for each other". (4) In other words, he believed our dreams allowed us “reflect on our waking selves and solve our problems or think through issues” (3)
Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley theorized that “the brain during sleep gave them the idea that dreams were simply the result of random electrical brain impulses that pulled imagery from traces of experience stored in the memory. They hypothesize that these images don't form the stories that we remember as our dreams. Instead, our waking minds, in trying to make sense of the imagery, create the stories without our even realizing it -- simply because the brain wants to make sense of what it has experienced.” (3) This is known as the action-synthesis hypothesis.

Why we dream:
Physiological theories are based on the idea that we dream to learn certain neural connections. Dreaming, in a way, helps us sort our problems, from events of the day to projects that require a lot of attention (2). That’s why the phrase “sleep on it” is popular.

Types of dreams cont. (4):
Compensatory: dreams that are based on things that you are aware of and help you think about them.
Non-Compensatory: dreams that can help you to sort out potential problems from external source, thus don’t work on the conscious mind. Also a Complete dream (dreams that your unconscious delivers to the conscious)
Reiterative: shows back memories.
Physiological: dreams you have because of physical influences on your body while you're sleeping (I.E. you’re dreaming about being in the desert because the room you’re sleeping in is hot)
Prophetic: can sometimes see into the future, but there’s no way to know how or why these exist.

Interpreting dreams:
Say you have a dream you see your dad as a lizard or a Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. That image of your father might be something you perceived unconsciously, or may just be a generic image. If you want to know if the image makes sense to you or not, consider “association”. Ask yourself what personal experiences you had with the image.

“Just as dreams are stories created by the unconscious for the individual...He took notice that there were stories created by the unconscious for "the collective." Those stories are "ancient mythology." He advocated the method of comparing dreams to myths. This is known as "amplification." If a dream in question is hard to interpret by personal experience, looking at similar myths may lend a hint about its meaning. Not only myths, but fairy tales and the like are also used...Using these past examples and archives, you would supplement the dreams and interpret them.” (4)
(side note: Persona 4 is part of a long running spinoff game series from Shin Megami Tensei and the company Atlus. One of the main gimmicks in both games is to fight Shadows and other mythical lore creatures while using said mythical creatures to save the world. Most of the Persona games are about drawing power from the collective unconsciousness)

Further notes on Jung’s psyche analysis:
Ego Level: meaning the "I" or our sense of a self-identity. (2)
Personal Unconscious: experiences once conscious now either forgotten or repressed; the "Freudian level." It contains "complexes," our hang-ups. They are especially powerful and difficult when they attach to the Archetypes in the collective unconscious, discussed below. "Little" dreams come from this level if we don't have too many pressing complexes; these little dreams are then continuous with waking thoughts. (2)
Collective Unconscious: The deepest level of the psyche; it consists of hundreds of archetypes, in-born predispositions to think or act in certain ways. Archetypes are image patterns with energy charges built into them; archetypes need to be expressed and integrated with each other; archetypes are expressed in dreams, myths, mystical practices, beliefs about aliens and flying saucers. The collective unconscious is the product of the repeated experiences of the human species. (2)
The Five Sleep Stages (3)
1.	Light sleep. Easy to wake up.
2.	Slightly deeper sleep. Brain activity starts to slow down
3.	Deep sleep begins. Delta brain waves start being made.
4.	Very deep sleep.
5.	Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. Dreams occur.
“During REM sleep, several physiological changes also take place. The heart rate and breathing quickens, the blood pressure rises, we can't regulate our body temperature as well and our brain activity increases to the same level (alpha) as when we are awake, or even higher. The rest of the body, however, is essentially paralyzed until we leave REM sleep.” (3)
Originally it was thought no REM sleep meant no dreams, but that’s proven untrue. They seem to affect learning, and the lack of REM dreams may hinder learning rather than dreams. That, and dreams can be done outside of REM sleep.
Dream Trivia (3):
•	Most dreams last anywhere from five to 20 minutes.
•	People don't only dream in black and white, as was once believed.
•	Even though they may not remember them, everyone dreams several times a night. In fact, during a typical lifetime, we spend about six years dreaming.
•	People who have been blind from birth have dreams that are formed from their other senses (e.g., touch, smell, sound).
•	When people are snoring, they're not dreaming.
•	Elephants (and some other animals) sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.
•	Dreams are still possible even after suffering brain damage (1)
•	Young children from at least 3 start to dream, but also have trouble remembering. At around 15 they start having more adult-like dreams in complexity and content. (1)
•	One person usually has the same kind of dreams even years later. They tend to be about friends/family, activities (like a sport) and social interaction (even sexual). (1)
We forget dreams quickly within a few minutes after waking up. But why? According to Freud, it’s possible they were our repressed thoughts (our Shadows even) and don’t want to remember them. Fellow dream analysist L. Strumpell believed it was a combination of physical sensations being forgotten and the direct opposite of association and repetition. We humans learn more from doing the same thing over and over again, and as dreams are unique experiences they can be hard to remember, let alone control.
Ways to help you recall dreams better:
•	Keep a journal/notepad and pencil nearby to write stuff down
•	Before going to bed, tell yourself you will remember your dreams. (The author of this article (3) stated that this personally helped them.)
•	Set your alarm to go off every hour and half so you'll wake up around the times that you leave REM sleep -- when you're most likely to remember your dreams. (Alternatively, drink water so you’ll have to get up)
•	Try to wake up slowly to remain within the "mood" of your last dream

Sources
1 – Dream Research http://sleep.lovetoknow.com/Dream_Research
2 - Classroom Lecture Notes: Jung on Dreaming http://www2.ucsc.edu/dreams/Library/lecture_notes_jung.html
3 – How Dreams Work https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/dream.htm
4 – Persona 4 Golden Lets Play Lesson 9 Interpreting Dreams https://lparchive.org/Persona-4-Golden/Update%20154/