"Harmful is not to dream": what benefits we bring dreams Bashny.Net

The benefits of air zamkovMechty and fantasy were never considered a useful exercise, but recent research in psychology show that they are extremely useful for the emotional, intellectual and social life. Here is a translation of an article leading the University of Pennsylvania psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, who tells about the real benefits of castles in the air.





The habit to indulge in dreams often been condemned. The researchers, of course, and really connect "gaps attention" from memory lapses and depression, but there is one caveat: Not all dreams are creating gaps. Of course, when you need to pay attention to reality, inner monologue is useful mute. And yet, a significant part of the life we ​​spend alone, alone with his own thoughts, fantasies and aspirations. It would be strange if the work of the imagination, which we devote nearly 50% of life is the dream state, was not adaptive.

Of course, when we are talking about dreams, plays an important role context. A new approach to their research allowed to say that a habit has many advantages, but they all depend on what the person seeks, on the content of dreams and individual differences. In other words, dreams can become disconcerting force or an invaluable source of support, depending on the current objectives (to listen to a boring lecture - or to imagine the plot of the new novel) character traits (neurosality - or the ability to be open to new spiritual experience) and the nature of the thoughts (passive aimless thinking - or the formation of a positive attitude).

Many of us are faced with aimless intrusive thoughts, from which you want to get rid of. This may help non-judgmental awareness - psychological practice that allows us to see and accept the reality in every detail. But in fact, most people are not dreaming aimlessly - it is a way of coping with anxiety, to relax and to forget about the desired objectives, which have not yet been achieved. The important thing is that all these fantasies often include images of other people.

Psychologists from the University of Sheffield (UK) in a study recently found out that the process of goal-setting and boundaries most people connected with the life of society, including "love, intimacy and sexuality" and "friends and communication with the environment." And specialists from the University of York (UK) found out: 73% of people are inclined to say that the images of other often or always appear in their dreams. However, only 1% of respondents said that other people never became a part of their fantasy. Studies of fundamental processes occurring in the brain, also confirm this relationship: according to scientists, for the creation of dreams and perceptions of other people answer the same area.

Psychologists have found that dream associated with human relationships, cause a feeling of love and kinship and literally make a person happy h4> This can not be called an accident. Professor of psychology at the University of Michigan (USA) Christopher Peterson stated in his work that other people "mean a lot for us in regard to our goals." Development of social relations play an important role in the maintenance of health and the possibility to lead a happy, full meaning of life. In fact, they are our fundamental driving force.

This raises a fascinating question: do we need real people to ensure that we have felt the influence of someone else? What is the contribution to our socio-emotional activity to work with an imaginary reality of your own? For most of the day, we still usually take place outside the active implementation of social functions. Even if we have the opportunity to chat with colleagues, we can not be with your loved one or loved ones. If you maintain contact with them has advantages for our mind, it encourages the habit of dreaming.

As part of its work, experts from the University of Sheffield studied the effect of "social dreams" for short feelings. Each participant scholars to four times a day, was asked to tell about what and non fantasies with other people arose in him lately. This gave the opportunity to assess the feelings with which they are associated - and to consider the qualitative indicators of man's relationship to his dreams.

Psychologists have found that dreams are associated with human relationships, cause a feeling of love and kinship, and literally make a person happy. But dreams are not diverted to bear on members of such an effect. Advantages of dreams appeared directly related to their content: the researchers noticed that the dream of a family, significant others are a real "conductor" of well-being. In fact, the growth of positive emotions was observed only when the imagination were connected with those who played the most important role of life of the subjects.

This study was a continuation of the work, in which the British psychologists have tried to evaluate one of the most important aspects of the social community. They relied on a well-known fact: the various forms of social interaction in different ways affect the feelings and communicate with loved ones entails more positive emotions. However, the experiment allowed to find out that even the imagined interaction with these people is the same feeling of love and kinship.

Fantasies about loved ones, seem to be adaptive emotion regulation strategy, which allows the company to compensate for the gap between everyday life. "Imagination shapes our everyday feelings associated with other people - the researchers say. - Dreams and imagination along with the reality of communication becomes a resource for the formation of positive emotions directed at others ».

This is consistent with the first study, which showed that the dreams of those who are far away, fueling a sense of loneliness, while the dream of a family increases the sense of satisfaction from life. In other studies psychology at the University of Sheffield say that fantasies have other advantages: they facilitate the boredom, become a source of comfort in difficult times, deepening the learning ability and creative skills, helping to create emotional coping strategies and manage negative feelings associated with the upcoming stress facilitate voltage produced by unpleasant memories. Nevertheless, the advantages of dreams still basically remained on the roadside of life in society. Maybe it's time to pay attention to them?

via theoryandpractice.ru/posts/10649-daydreaming