Psychologist Sigmund Freud said, ‘Dream is the royal road to the unconscious mind’. It is surprising to know that an average person has 3 to 5 dreams per night yet we remember only bits and pieces, and the rest is off our memory. Ignoring dreams would be ignoring a significant portion of our lives that is full of insights and imagination. Naturally, we can’t remember all our dreams, therefore journaling is the best idea to document all your dreams.
Let’s get to the science behind dreams to understand the concept better. Dreams mainly occur during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, at that time brain activity is almost as high as it is when you’re awake. Eight hours of sleep a day equates to a third of your day being spent asleep. And approximately two hours goes by dreaming, so it is natural to be concerned about your mind during this time.
What are the Benefits of Journaling Your Dreams?
- Access to Your Subconscious Mind: Whatever is going on in your subconscious mind reflects on your dreams. Your dreams are a reflection of your thoughts and ideas. There is also a common culture of dream interpretation, which is more of a cultural and historic approach and has no scientific justification. By journaling your dreams you’re opening the opportunity to get familiar with your subconscious thoughts that you might be ignoring all along.
- Self-awareness: Your dream says a lot about you as a person. What are your thoughts? What are the deep thoughts that your brain still continues even when you’re sleeping? If your dreams show positive things and goals you want to achieve in life, it means you are a determined person.
- Creative Thought Patterns: Dreams can often be wild and unrealistic. It’s your own fantasy world where animals can speak, you can probably fly or possess any unrealistic power. A lot of people from the creative world like writers and directors take inspiration from their wildest dreams for their creative contents.
- Dream Recall: Dream journaling is used to induce lucid dreaming and it improves the possibility of dream recall. When you have consciousness while dreaming, they are referred to as lucid dreams.
- Comparing Your Journey: Our emotional or personal journey can be reflected through our dreams. Your dream pattern on days when you’re joyful and happy will not be the same on days when you’re sad or scared. Your mental health can also be interpreted by your dream.
How Do You Start Dream Journaling?
Have a designated journal for your dreams, make sure to update your journal every day. Like any journal, a Dream journal can be a physical journal or any digital tool like notion. Whatever is low effort and more convenient to you, as you don’t need to waste extra time on it. Write down as soon as you wake up because you will lose memory as the day goes on.
Someone who is fascinated by human psychology and the human mind, dream journaling might be a fun activity for him/her. It’s not necessary that dreams will always have meaning, but who knows you might get possible answers to a puzzle that you’re solving.
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Writer
Sayeda Jannatun Nahar
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE