Our dreams sometimes include physical sensations experienced during sleep due to the activation of certain parts of the brain that can trigger real sensations while the body is in a state of muscle paralysis during the REM sleep phase.
When we sleep, several regions of the brain come into play to associate physical sensations and dreams. During REM sleep, also known as paradoxical sleep, the areas responsible for sensory and emotional processing become particularly active, which facilitates the integration of bodily feelings into our dream scenarios. The somatosensory cortex, which normally interprets stimuli from the awake body, also lights up, even though we remain still. As a result, certain real movements or sensations transform into dreamed events. For example, if you have a numb arm during the night, your brain may integrate this strange sensation by making you dream that your arm is stuck or glued somewhere. At the same time, the brainstem cuts off the connection to the muscles to prevent you from moving in reality. These neurological processes explain why your actual bodily sensations easily blend with the content of your dreams.
When we sleep, our brain continues to monitor our environment, much like a standby alarm. If an external stimulus occurs (a noise, a light, or even a physical sensation), it can slip directly into our dream. For example, if we sleep in an uncomfortable position with a numb arm, the dream may incorporate that sensation in the form of a situation where our arm is trapped or paralyzed in the dream scenario. Similarly, hearing a distant alarm ringing can lead to a dream where someone is ringing the doorbell or calling us on the phone. In short, our brain draws from what it picks up from the outside and mixes it with the images and scenarios already present in the dream, giving rise to strange yet very real sensory experiences for the sleeping person.
During REM sleep, your brain is operating at full capacity, almost as much as when you are awake. This particular stage of sleep triggers significant activation of regions involved in emotions, sensations, and memory, such as the amygdala and sensory cortex. But strangely, despite all this activity, your body is usually paralyzed: this is what is called muscle atonia. As a result, your brain interprets these strange internal signals, which is why you sometimes experience ultra-realistic physical sensations in your dreams, like the feeling of falling or flying. Essentially, your mind constructs an entire scene, solely based on the internal sensory information your body and brain send during this phase of sleep.
During sleep, the brain and the body do not completely ignore each other. There is a constant dialogue between real physical sensations and the world of dreams. For example, pain, a cramp, or a feeling of hunger can subtly enter into nightly adventures. The mind spontaneously tries to integrate these bodily sensations into the narrative of our dreams in order to preserve sleep. It's as if your brain improvises scenarios to make sense of the signals received from the body without needing to fully wake up. This connection is essential because it allows the body and mind to stay in sync while ensuring optimal recovery.
Not many recent studies show that when we dream, our brain can integrate real physical sensations captured during sleep. A Swiss team observed that certain sensory areas of the brain actually activate when we dream of touching or moving. And Japanese researchers have just revealed that even the neural activity related to muscle movement appears during dreams in which we run or jump, even if our muscles are immobile. Thanks to functional MRI, we can now see how the brain reproduces these sensations in dreams, which explains why we feel things so realistically. In short, it seems that our brain is a remarkable simulator of nighttime virtual reality, skillfully blending imagination and real sensory signals.
Some researchers suggest that people who are blind from birth have dreams devoid of images, but extremely rich in tactile, auditory, or emotional sensations, thanks to the brain's plasticity compensating for the absent visual sense.
Lucid dreaming allows one to be aware that they are dreaming and even sometimes to voluntarily influence the content of their dreams, including the physical sensations experienced during those dreams.
The odors emitted during sleep can positively or negatively influence the emotions experienced during dreams, without necessarily causing a wake-up.
Sleep paralysis is a normal state necessary to prevent the body from physically acting out our dreams. When this mechanism is temporarily disrupted, it can lead to strange experiences of conscious awakening accompanied by an inability to move.
Some individuals train their minds to have lucid dreams, where they become aware that they are dreaming, which allows them to influence the sensations experienced. However, the intensity and exact precision of such sensations remain limited by the altered state of consciousness typical of sleep.
It is common to experience pains or physical sensations in dreams that are not necessarily triggered by direct external stimulation. The brain can transpose certain real bodily sensations or physical discomforts felt during sleep into dream scenarios.
During REM sleep phases, intense brain activity can trigger physiological reactions similar to those experienced while awake. A stressful or captivating dream can therefore increase heart rate, accelerate breathing, or even cause sweating.
The brain generally distinguishes these sensations through various specialized cortical and subcortical regions involved in sensory interpretation. However, during REM sleep, these regions can activate similarly to their behavior when awake, which explains why certain dreamed sensations feel so real.
Yes, the environment in which we sleep can sometimes influence our dreams. For example, a cold room can create a sensation of cold in dreams, while external auditory stimuli like a doorbell can be incorporated into the dream scenario.
This sensation, called a hypnic jerk, often occurs during the transition to sleep. It happens due to a sudden neurological reaction when muscle activity decreases sharply, leading to the feeling of falling.
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