Intro
Welcome to my page!
Here I will talk about my daydreaming as well as my dreams, since these experiences seem quite peculiar and interesting I want to share them here. I also want to do some research on these topics and write down all the information that I've learnt.
Let's see what dreams and daydreams are like.
Daydreaming
It is a stream of consciousness that detaches from current external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. It has been shown by participants in a large-scale study that 47% of our waking time is sped daydreaming on average. This activity meets the criteria for mild dissociation.
Unfortunately, as much as I, and maybe others, like daydreaming, there are more cons than pros to daydreaming.
It has been shown in various studies there is a negative correlation between daydreaming frequency and reading comprehension performance. To be specific, there are costs associated with daydreaming during reading and the costs include deficits of item-specific comprehension and model-building ability. Disruptive daydreams or spontaneous daydreaming are present in people with attention deficit disoreder(ADHD). Negative moods are also associated with daydreaming. People reported having lower happiness during daydreaming. If the daydreams were positive, the happiness rating stays the same in comparation to external tasks.
On the positive note, daydreaming offers a place where people can reflect on their past, memories or even goals they want to achieve in life.
Maladaptive daydreaming
It is a proposed diagnosis of a disordered form of dissociative absorption associated with excessive fantasy that is not recognized by any major medical or psychological criteria. It can result in distress, can replace human interactions and interfere with normal functioning such as social life or work.
These daydreams are very vivid to the point where an individual can feel like they are present in the imagined enviroment. This experience has been reported to be extremely rewyrding to the point where some people develop a compulsion to repeat it. It can be described as an addiction. One of the main symptoms is extremely vivid fantasies with "story-telling" characteristics, such as characters, locations, plots, settings, etc. It has not been identified as a pyshiatric disorder, though it has online support groups.
Maladaptive daydreaming has been identified to potentionally have comorbidity with a number of already recognized mental disorders like ADHD, anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder and obssesove-compulsive disorder(OCD).
Dreaming
It is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and function of dreams are not fully understood, although they have been a topic of scientific, philosophical and religious interest throughout recorded history. Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep—when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. The length of dreams vary, from a few seconds to half an hour. Approximately drams last 20-30 minutes. A person usually has 3-5 dreams per night, but it can go up to 7. Dreams related to waking-life experiences are associated with REM theta activity, which suggests that emotional memory processing takes place in REM sleep.
Lucid dreaming
It is a conscious perception of one's state while dreaming. In this state the dreamer may often have some degree of control over their own actions within the dream or even the characters and the environment of the dream. Dream control has been reported to improve with practiced deliberate lucid dreaming, but the ability to control aspects of the dream is not necessary for a dream to qualify as "lucid" — a lucid dream is any dream during which the dreamer knows they are dreaming.
Nightmares
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. People can have problems falling asleep after waking up in distress.
Night terrors
A night terror, also known as a sleep terror or pavor nocturnus, is a parasomnia disorder that predominantly affects children, causing feelings of terror or dread. Night terrors should not be confused with nightmares, which are bad dreams that cause the feeling of horror or fear.