Unit5DreamsAreYouaDreamer?Dreams—whydowehavethem?Dotheymeananything?Istheresuchathingasadreaminwhichtheeventsseenbythedreamercometrue?Suchquestionshaveinterestedpeopleforthousandsofyears.Scientificadvancesinthepastfewdecadeshaverevealedmoreaboutthephysicalprocessofsleep,buttheystilldon'tofferanyfinalanswerstothemanyquestionsaboutdreamsthatcontinuetopuzzleus.Everyonedreams—it'sjustthatsomeofuscan'trememberdoingso.Recordingsofhumanbrainwavesshowthatweallgointodreammodewhenwefallasleep.Wedreamformostofthenight,butwe'reonlyabletorememberourdreamsifwehappentowakeupwhilewearestillinREM(RapidEyeMovement)sleep.Thisiswhenwedream.WehavefourorfiveREMstagesofsleepduringthenight,thefirstoccurringabout90minutesafterwefallasleep.Afterthat,ourdreamingperiodsrecurevery90minutesandlastbetween15to45minutes,gettinglongerasthenightprogresses.Themainpurposeofsleeping(apartfromgivingusrest)maybetoallowustodream—toreviewourlives,ourworriesandhopesinatotallydifferentway,andtogetanunconsciousviewofourselves,gettingridofmaterialfromourmemoriesthatwenolongerneed.Somedreamsmayhaveasimplephysiologicalcause.Dreamingofwalkingonhotcoals,forexample,maywellbecausedbysleepingwithyourfeettooclosetoaheater.Andthefrustratingdreaminwhichyoutrytorunbutyourlegswon'tmovemaybeexplainedbybeddingthatistootight.Anyonewhosleepsthroughtheiralarmmaywelldreamofdoorbellsortelephonesringing.Allaresimpleexamplesofhowtheunconsciousworkswithourconsciousmindtoguideandadviseus.Butsuchphysiologicalexplanationsarenotenoughtotelluswhywedream.Somepeoplebelievethatdreamsaretotalnonsense,merelytheresultofthemisfiringofelectricalimpulsesinthebrain,whileontheotherhand,somereadgreatimportanceintoeventhesimplestofdreams.Somedreamsreflectinnerfearsthatareinstantlyrecognizable.Dreamingoflosingyourjoborhousecanreflectrealfears,eveniftheyareonlysubconscious.Mostofushavedreamedthatwehadtotakeafinalexamforadifficultcourse,whichwehadnevertaken,orinwhichwehaddonepoorly.Butwhatofthedreamsthatdonothavesuchanobviousmeaning?Forcenturies,bothmenandwomenhavesoughttheanswersinso-calleddreamdictionaries,possiblytheoldestofwhichdatesbackto5000BC.Accordingtothesedictionaries,adreamaboutdrinkingwinemeantashortlife,whereasadreamaboutdrinkingwaterpredictedalonglife.ByAD200,dreamdictionarieshadlostnoneoftheirpopularity,andtheancientGreekArtemidoruswroteafive-volumeinterpretationofmorethan3,000dreams,listingsuchsymbolsasrighthand(meaningfather),lefthand(meaningmother),anddolphin(agoodomen).Today,therearecountlessbooksofferingdreaminterpretationsinlibrariesandbookshops.They'reaspopularaseverwithdreamenthusiasts,butmostexpertswarnthattheyshouldbereadwithcare.PsychoanalystandauthorKennethSaundersexplains,"Dreamsarecloselytiedupwithanindividual'smindandanalysisissoopentomistakesorerrors.Ibelieveyoucanonlydiscoverthetruemeaningofadreamifyouknowthepersonwhohadthedream."你做夢嗎？夢，我們為什么會做夢？夢有意義嗎？真的有夢中所見的事成為現實這種事嗎？幾千年來這些問題一直讓人們感興趣。過去幾十年的科學發展對睡眠的自然過程有了較多的認識，然而對于與夢有關的諸多問題依然沒有提供最終的答案，這些問題還要繼續困惑我們。人人都做夢——只不過有些人不記得做過夢罷了。人類腦電波的記錄顯示我們所有人入睡后就進入夢境。整個夜晚的大多數時間我們都在做夢，但只有當我們處在REM(眼睛迅速轉動)睡眠階段時醒來，才會記住所做的夢。眼睛迅速轉動階段便是我們做夢的時候。每晚我們有四、五個REM睡眠階段，第一次出現在入睡后的90分鐘左右。此后，夢期每90分鐘復現一次，每次持續15到45分鐘，持續時間隨著夜晚的深入逐漸增長。睡眠的主要目的(除讓我們休息外)也許就是讓我們做夢——讓我們以一種截然不同的方式回顧我們的生活、我們的憂慮和希望，以及在潛意識中觀察自我，把不再需要的資料從記憶中剔除。有些夢可能是由簡單的生理原因引起的。例如，夢到在灼熱的煤塊上行走很可能是因為睡眠時腳太靠近取暖器。而夢到想跑但兩腿卻動彈不了這種令人沮喪的境況，也許是被子裹得太緊的緣故。鬧鈴響了而依然熟睡的人則很可能會夢到門鈴或電話鈴響。所有這些都是潛意識和意識共同引導和啟示我們的簡單例子。不過這些從生理的角度進行的解釋尚不足以說明為什么我們會做夢。有些人認為夢純粹是無稽之談，僅僅是人腦中電脈沖無的放矢的結果，然而，有些人則認為最簡單的夢都具有重要的含義。有些夢反映的內心憂慮是立即可以識別的。夢見失去工作或者沒了房子，也許是反映了真實的憂慮，即便這些憂慮只是潛意識的。我們大多數人都夢見過必須參加一門很難的課程的期末考試，也許是一門從未修過的，或許是學得很糟的課程。但是，有一些夢并沒有這樣明顯的含義，這是怎么回事呢？多個世紀以來，男男女女都從所謂的解夢字典中尋找答案，這類字典最早的可以追溯到公元前5000年。根據這些字典，夢見喝酒意味著短命，而夢見喝水則預示長壽。一直到公元200年，解夢字典受歡迎的程度仍絲毫未減。當時，古希臘的阿爾米多魯斯寫了一部長達五卷的書，解析了3000多個夢，列舉了一系列的象征，諸如右手（表示父親），左手（表示母親），以及海豚（表示好兆頭）。如今，圖書館和書店里有無數的書籍為夢做解析。對于那些熱衷于探討夢的人來說，它們依然深受歡迎。然而，多數專家警告說，讀這些書時要非常謹慎。心理分析家兼作家肯尼思?桑德斯解釋說：“夢與每個人的思維密切相關，因此分析往往容易出現錯誤和偏差。我認為，只有當你了解了做夢的人時，才能發現夢的真正含義。”DreamsThatCameTrueOnthenightofNovember7,1965,MaryDaughteryhadanightmare.Shecannotforgetthatdreamnorcanherhusband,George.Shetellsofitlikethis:“IdreamedIwasonahillatnight.Lightningflashedandthunderrolled.ThenIsawabrightlightinthesky.TherewasaloudimpactandIheardscreamseverywhere.”Marysaysthatthenshesawahandlyingontheground.Shehadasenseofdread,butshewentcloser.Thenshesawanarmandthentheshatteredbodyattheendofthearm.Shesaysthatinherdreamshescreamed,“Somebodypleasehelp!”Thenshesawsomemenwithalargebasketmadeofwicker.Theyputthebodyintothebasketandwentaway.Marywasstillscreamingwhenshewokeup.“Mary!”Georgewasbendingoverher,shakingher.“Whatisthematter?”heasked.Marytoldhim,“Ijustsawyoukilledinaplanecrash.OhGeorge,pleasedon'tgoonthatplanetoCincinnati.”Marybeggedhimnottogo,butGeorgewouldnotletherstophim.Butashedrovetotheairport,Georgebegantofeelstrange.Thenhesawaplaneflyingoverhead,andhisheartbegantothumpwithfear.Thenheknewhecouldnotgetontheplane.Hecalledtheairportandtoldthemtocancelhisticket.ThenhecalledMaryandtookthetraintoCincinnati.Thatnight,Flight383ranintoabadstormwhenittriedtolandinCincinnati.Theplanecrashedintoahill.Marysawthenewsreportontelevision.Itwasjustlikeherdream.Shesawmenwithbasketscometocarryawaybodies.ButsheknewGeorgewassafe.Hewassafebecauseoftheomenofherdream.JohnBradleyalsohadadreamlikethis.HelivedinEnglandandwasateacher.Hewasalsoanaturalist.Helikedtotakehisclassonfieldtripstolearnaboutnature.Onenighthehadadream.Itcametohimaweekbeforeoneofthefieldtripshehadplanned.Hedreamedhewasleadinghisclassalongacountrylanebesideachurchyard.Inhisdream,Bradleytoldtwooftheboystoleadthewaythroughthechurchyard.Hewouldwalkattheotherendofthelinetokeepthesmallchildrenmoving.Butastheywentthroughthechurchyard,Bradleyfeltthegroundshake.Thenheheardaloudcrackingandrippingsound.Thensomethinghugeanddarkrushedtowardshim.Itwasahugeelmtree.Itcrasheddownrightontopofthelineofchildren.Bradleywasveryupsetbyhisdream.Hethoughtheshouldcancelthetrip.Hetoldhisclassaboutthedream,buttheylaughedathim.Andtheydidnotwanttocalloffthetrip.Eventheotherteacherslaughedathimandtoldhimheshouldnotspoilthechildren'sfun.SoBradleyagreedthattheywouldgo.“Butyoumustpromise,”hetoldthem,“togoonlywhereItellyoutogo.”Sothefieldtripwentahead.Whentheycametothelane,Bradleywouldnotletthechildrentakeadetourthroughthechurchyard.Someofthemthoughtthiswassilly,buttheydidwhattheyweretold.Attheendofthelane,theycametoabridgeacrossariver.Theolderboyscametoahaltandasked,“Whichwayshallwego,sir?Shallwecrosstheriverorstayonthepathbesideit?”Bradleystopped.Hehadafunnyfeelingaboutthefootpath.“Crossthebridge,”hetoldthem.Sothechildrenbegantowalkacrossthebridge.ThenBradleyheardthesameterriblecrackingsoundhehadheardinhisdream.Helookedback.Ontheveryedgeofthefootpath,hesawahugeelmshakeandtremble.Thenitfelltotheground.Hispremonitionhadcometrue.Thechildrenstaredateachotherandthenattheirteacher.Iftheyhadwalkedalongthefootpath,theywouldhavebeenattheveryspotwherethetreehadfallen.成為現實的夢1965年11月7日的晚上，瑪麗?都特瑞做了一個噩夢。她忘不了那個夢，她的丈夫喬治也忘不了。她是這么講述自己的夢的：“我夢見夜里自己在一座山上。電閃雷鳴。然后我看見天上一道亮光。巨大的撞擊聲，然后我聽到四處都是尖叫聲?！爆旣愓f，她接著看見地上有一只手。她感到有些害怕，但還是走上前去。然后她看見了一只胳膊，胳膊的那頭是疏疏落落的尸體碎塊。她說，她在夢里尖叫起來：“快來人哪！”然后她看見一些人抬著一個大柳條筐。他們把尸體放進筐里，就走了?，旣愺@醒時還在叫喊著。“瑪麗！”喬治俯下身，推推她。“怎么了？”他問?，旣惛嬖V他：“我剛才夢見你飛機失事死了。噢，喬治，求求你不要坐那趟去辛辛那提的航班?！爆旣惽笏灰?，但是喬治不聽她的勸阻。然而，在他開車去機場的路上，喬治開始感到有點不對頭。接著他看見一架飛機從頭頂飛過，心慌得砰砰直跳。于是他明白自己不能坐那趟飛機了。他給機場打電話，取消了機票。然后他給瑪麗打電話，接著乘火車去了辛辛那提。那天晚上，383次航班試圖在辛辛那提降落時遇上了暴風雨。飛機撞上了一座山?，旣愒陔娨暽峡吹搅擞嘘P的新聞報道。那情形就同她夢見的一模一樣。她看見人們拿筐運走了尸體。但是她知道喬治沒事。因為有了她那夢的預兆，喬治得以安然無恙。約翰?布雷德利也做過類似的夢。他住在英格蘭，是一位教師。他還是一位博物學家，喜歡帶他班上的學生到校外考察旅行，了解大自然。一天晚上，他做了一個夢。這是在他安排了一次校外考察旅行之前一個星期發生的事。他夢見自己領著班上的學生走在一條鄉間的小路上，邊上就是教堂墓地。在夢里，布雷德利讓兩個男孩帶隊穿過教堂墓地。他自己走在隊伍的末尾，以便讓小一些的孩子保持前進。然而，就在他們穿過教堂墓地的時候，布雷德利感到地面在震動。接著他聽見了巨大的斷裂聲。然后，有個黑乎乎的龐然大物朝他砸過來。那是一棵巨大的榆樹，正好兜頭砸在孩子們的隊伍上。這個夢使布雷德利非常不安。他覺得應該取消這次外出。他把這個夢告訴了班上的學生，但是他們都覺得他很可笑，而且都不愿意取消這次旅行。甚至其他老師也笑話他，跟他說不應該讓孩子們掃興。于是布雷德利同意出行。“但是你們必須答應我，”他跟他們講，“往哪兒走你們只能聽我的。”于是，他們出發了。當他們走到那條小路時，布雷德利不讓孩子們改道穿過教堂墓地。有些孩子覺得這樣做很蠢，不過他們還是按老師說的做了。走到小路的盡頭，他們面前是一座過河的橋。年紀大一些的男孩子停了下來，問：“老師，我們應該走哪條道？過河呢，還是走沿河的小路？”布雷德利停住腳步。他對那條小路有一種古怪的感覺。“過橋，”他告訴他們。于是孩子們開始過橋。接著，布雷德利聽到了可怕的斷裂聲，同自己在夢中聽到的完全一樣。他回頭一看，只見就在那條小路邊上，一棵巨大的榆樹搖搖晃晃，倒在了地上。他的預感應驗了。孩子們面面相覷，然后看著自己的老師。如果剛才他們走那條小路的話，那么他們就正好在那棵榆樹倒下來的位置上。DreamingUpaGoodMoodAccordingtonewstudies,dreamscanfixyourbadmoodseachnight—andifyou'redepressed,dreamsmaypredictwhetheryou'llrecovermorequickly.Itisnaturaltowakeupinthemorningwithasunnyoutlook,relievedofthepreviousevening'sworries.Infact,studiesshowthatasolidnightofsleepimprovesmoodsinhealthyindividuals.Butsleep'seffectsonhealthyanddepressedpeopleareasdifferentasnightandday.Peoplewhoareseriouslydepressedactuallyfeelworseaftersleeping,sincetheyhavemoreabstract,confusingdreams.ResearchledRosalindCartwright,Ph.D,directoroftheSleepResearchCenteratRush-Presbyterian-St.Luke'sMedicalCenterinChicago,towonderhowdreamsallowourbrainstorepairourmoods—andwhythisfeel-goodmechanismdoesn'tseemtoworkintheseriouslydepressed.Inthefirstoftwostudies,Cartwrightgaveamoodtesttonormallyhealthyparticipants,recordedtheirsleepinalaboratoryforonenight,thengavethemasecondmoodtestwhentheyroseinthemorning.Duringthenight,thevolunteerswereawakenednowandthenandaskedtodescribethecontentoftheirdreams.Subjectsweredividedintotwogroups:onehavingneutralfeelingsbeforebedtimeandonewithbadmoods.Cartwrightfoundthatsubjectswhohadbeeninneutralmoodsbeforesleepinghadlittlechangeinattitudewhentheywoke.Subjectswhoweregenerallynotdepressedbutwenttobedinabadmood,however,reportedfeelingmuchbetterafteragoodnight'ssleep.Thischangewasreflectedintheirdreams:peoplewhosemoodsimprovedovernightreportedexperiencingmorenegativedreamsatthebeginningofthenightandprogressivelyfewerandfewerassleepwenton.Subjectsinneutralmoodshadnochangeinthecontentoftheirdreams.“Thestudyshowsthatmooddoesgetadjustedovernight,”saysCartwright.“Ifyougotosleepinabadmood,yourbraingoestoworkrightawayonnegativedreammaterialatthebeginningofthenightsoyourbadmoodisreducedbytheendofthenight.”Next,Cartwrightrepeatedtheexperimentusingcoupleswhoweredepressedbyarecentmarriageseparation.Whilesomeunhappypatientsdreamedlessaboutseriousemotionalcontentandmoreaboutlightertopicsasthenightprogressed,othershadmoredisturbingdreamsjustbeforewakingthanatthebeginningofsleep.Assumingthattheformergroupwasdreamingawaytheirnegativefeelingseachnight,theresearcherspredictedthattheywouldeventuallyworkthroughtheirdepression.Andtheywereright—afollow-upstudyshowedthat72%ofthesubjectsinthatgrouphadfewersignsofdepressiononeyearlater.“Thelastdreamofthenightistheonethatpatientsaremostlikelytoremember,”explainsCartwright.Whilethefirstgroupwasactivelyworkingthroughtheirblues,resultinginmorepleasantdreamsattheendofthenightandabrightermorningmood,thosewhosedreamsbecameincreasinglyunpleasantweremorelikelytofeellowwhentheywoke.Still,thisfindinghasapositiveaspect.Itallowssleeptherapiststopredictwhichofthedepressedpersonsneedthemosthelp.Italsotellsthemthetopicsthatdisturbtheirpatientsmost.“Ifpatientsrememberabaddream,”notesCartwright,“thenwhateverthatdreamisabout,that'swhattherapistsshouldfocustreatmenton.Thepatientclearlyisn'tabletoadjusthisorhermood,andtherapistsshouldworkonthat.”—thusturningtroubledv