Cyou like to wake up with the sensation of having experienced something intense, almost real. A dream that stays with us, or confused fragments that escape as soon as we open our eyes. But where do dreams really come from? A new Italian study, reported by the news agency, tries to answer this question Adnkronoswhich analyzed thousands of dream experiences to understand what really influences our “nightlife”. And the result is clear: dreams are not random, but tell much more than we imagine.
They are not fantasies: dreams talk about us
The research, conducted by scholars of IMT School of Advanced Studies Lucca and published on Communications Psychologyanalyzed over 3,700 stories of dreams and waking moments collected from people between 18 and 70 years old.
What emerges is that what we dream depends on a precise combination of factors: daily experiences, personality traits, quality of sleep, and even how our minds tend to wander during the day. In other words, dreams are a form of profound reworking of our identity.
The mind does not copy: it transforms
However, there is an even more interesting aspect. Dreams are not a simple reproduction of reality. It’s not like watching a movie from the day you just had. During sleep, the brain reorganizes information, mixes different contexts and creates new scenarios. A familiar place can become unrecognizable, experienced situations can re-emerge in completely different forms. It’s a creative process: the mind takes pieces of reality and transforms them into something new.
Because some dreams are more vivid
We don’t all dream the same way. Those who tend to wander a lot with their mind during the day often have more fragmented and faster dreams. Those who attribute value to dreams and consider them important tend to experience them in a more intense way, with more vivid and engaging images. This suggests that our relationship with waking thoughts continues during sleep.
When reality enters dreams: the case of lockdown
The study also analyzed dreams during the lockdown period. In those months, many people reported more emotionally charged dreams, with images related to limits, restrictions and loss of control. Over time, these contents have attenuated. An important signal: dreams change with us and the way we adapt to life events.
Dreams and identity: a continuous dialogue
According to researchers, dreams are not just reflections of the past. They are a dynamic process that integrates what we have experienced, what we are feeling, and what we imagine or fear. As the researcher Valentina Elcedreams are «shaped by who we are and what we experience».
The role of artificial intelligence
To analyze dreams, researchers have used advanced language processing techniques. Artificial intelligence was able to identify patterns and meanings in dream stories with similar precision to that of human experts. An important step forward for the study of the mind, memory and psychological health.