There are many types of dreams such as lucid dreams, nightmares, healing dreams, recurring dreams or false premonitions, among others. When we sleep we can have 5 to 6 dream episodes in one night and they can all be different. Dreams are manifestations of the subconscious mind when it tries to externalize memories, emotions and feelings that are experienced during wakefulness.
It was the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud who first described dreams as the royal "path" to understanding the subconscious. Although it is not a proven science, the interpretation of dreams can suggest the answer to many longings, goals or repressed feelings. In this Psychology-Online article, we tell you in detail the types of dreams and their characteristics.
Index
- What are dreams and how to classify them
- recurring dreams
- Prophetic or precognitive dreams
- false dreams or false awakenings
- Lucid dreaming
- Nightmares
- common or conventional dreams
- day dreams or daydreams
- creative dreams
- metaphorical dreams
- healing dreams
What are dreams and how to classify them.
dreams are mental and sensory experiences that occur during sleep, that is, when the body enters rest and leaves wakefulness. Generally, they are episodes associated with vivid images, sensations, emotions, and thoughts. Dreams can vary widely in content, duration, and intensity, and are experienced by most people during different stages of sleep.
There are many types of dreams and different approaches to classify them. Studies from around the world indicate that 65% of dream content has to do with experiences and emotions that people experience in waking hours, because the brain never turns off, and during sleep it continues to process data and information.
During REM sleep, or “rapid eye movements”, the brain processes all the sensations experienced during the day and dreams take place. What happens or is projected in oneirisms can involve everyday situations, past events, desires, fears, unconscious thoughts and personal symbols. sometimes the dreams may seem confusing or surreal, since the thought process during sleep is different from that of wakefulness.
Now that you know what dreams are, here are the most common types of dreams and their characteristics.
recurring dreams.
Recurring dreams are very common and, as the name implies, are repeated over and over again, either during the same night or on different days. Its main characteristic is that in oneirism the same scenario is presented, as well as the same plot or events, so it is a repetitive dream with almost no variations.
Some experts say that these types of dreams occur because the sdreamer tries to evade some memories or circumstances lived, or that it is the unconscious manifestation of fears or unresolved problems. If it happens to you, in this article you will find information about the types of conflicts and their resolution.
Prophetic or precognitive dreams.
This kind of dreams is very particular because people see future events that have not yet occurred in real life. Although many believe that these are predictive dreams, other people argue that it is the brain preparing to react to different scenarios who you can deal with.
Prophetic dreams can occur in different ways. We see them below:
- Shared dreams: two different people share the same dream at the same time
- visitation dreams: Some deceased or distant person appears in the dream.
- telepathic dreams: some information is received from another person.
False dreams or false awakenings.
In false dreams, the person believes that they have woken up, but they are still asleep. Usually, yesand associated with sleep paralysis and occurs during REM sleep. The usual thing is that the dreamer believes that he has woken up and begins his usual routine, without realizing that he is still asleep. In this article, we tell you more about the sleep paralysis: causes, consequences, symptoms and treatment.
Lucid dreaming.
The lucid dreaming it is what the person is aware that he is dreaming and may have some degree of control over the content and development of the dream. It is one of the most common types of dreams and you can see how you are immersed in the dream and control it, as if it were real life.
Some scholars affirm that lucid dreams are related to the functioning of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is associated with the state of consciousness.
Nightmares.
Do you want to know another of the most common types of dreams? Nightmares are dreams that induce fear and terror. These episodes involve negative emotions and sensations that are usually caused by thoughts disturbing, painful memories, or other types of difficult situations that are mishandled during the vigil. In this article we talk about why do you have recurring nightmares.
Common or conventional dreams.
One of the most common kinds of dreams, in which the dreamer review what happened to you during the day. These can be dreams about what happened at work, about a call, a personal meeting, etc. They are oneirisms in which the person who dreams takes control of the context, although it is usual that when waking up they forget this type of dream.
In other words, they are those who reflect situations of daily lifesuch as interacting with familiar people, facing everyday challenges, or doing regular activities.
Day dreams or daydreams.
The American psychologist specialist in dreams, Dan Ford, assures that the daydreams occurs during the day when a part of the brain sleeps, while other parts remain in a waking state. It is one of the most difficult types of dreams to understand, and there are those who say that they are not exactly oneirism.
Day dreams are like a kind of trance in which the person receives almost imperceptible images and with a very short duration wave.
creative dreams.
Creative dreams are oneirisms that bring with them certain ideas or revelations that help the dreamer to complete projects or start new plans. They are a type of dreams that offer solutions to dilemmas that we have while awake. The researchers think that They are dreams that seek to answer the concerns, since they arise when the brain is at rest, and during the waking state it is difficult for it to conceive some responses.
metaphorical dreams.
Metaphorical dreams use images and symbols to represent ideas, emotions or conflicts underlying the mind of the dreamer. It is said that they are dreams in which the dreamer tries to respond to her emotions by considering that they are metaphors of her own memories. For example, dreaming of clean water is associated with purity and calm, while dreaming of stagnant water is associated with anguish and worries. Find more information about what does it mean to dream about water in this article.
Healing dreams.
If we talk about kinds of dreams and meanings, the healers are those in which dream about having powers to heal other people through telekinesis or telepathy. They are very vivid dreams and are a way of expressing wishes to help other individuals heal. Although it also has to do with the need to heal ourselves on a mental or spiritual level.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Types of dreams and their characteristics, we recommend that you enter our category of Dreams meaning.
Bibliography
- Aguirre-Navarrete, R. (2007). Anatomical and physiological bases of sleep. Rev. Equat. neurol, 15(2). Madrid, La Paz University. Sleep study.
