Of all the components of a good night’s sleep, dreams seem to be least
within our control. In dreams, a window opens into a world where logic is
suspended and dead people speak. A century ago, Freud formulated his
revolutionary theory that dreams were the disguised shadows of our unconscious
desires and fears; by the late 1970s, neurologists had switched to thinking of
them as just “mental noise” — the random byproducts of the neural-repair work
that goes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are part of the
mind’s emotional thermostat, regulating moods while the brain is “off-line.” And
one leading authority says that these intensely powerful mental events can be
not only harnessed but actually brought under conscious control, to help us
sleep and feel better, “It’s your dream,” says Rosalind Cartwright, chair of
psychology at Chicago’s Medical Center. “If you don’t like it, change it.”
Evidence from brain imaging supports this view. The brain is as active
during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep — when most vivid dreams occur — as it
is when fully awake, says Dr, Eric Nofzinger at the University of Pittsburgh.
But not all parts of the brain are equally involved; the limbic system (the
“emotional brain”) is especially active, while the prefrontal cortex (the center
of intellect and reasoning) is relatively quiet. “We wake up from dreams happy
or depressed, and those feelings can stay with us all day.” says Stanford sleep
researcher Dr. William Dement.
The link between dreams and emotions show up among the patients in
Cartwright’s clinic. Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the
night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they
are working through negative feelings generated during the day. Because our
conscious mind is occupied with daily life we don’t always think about the
emotional significance of the day’s events — until, it appears, we begin to
dream.
And this process need not be left to the unconscious. Cartwright believes
one can exercise conscious control over recurring bad dreams. As soon as you
awaken, identify what is upsetting about the dream. Visualize how you would like
it to end instead; the next time is occurs, try to wake up just enough to
control its course. With much practice people can learn to, literally, do it in
their sleep.
At the end of the day, there’s probably little reason to pay attention to
our dreams at all unless they keep us from sleeping or “we waken up in a panic,”
Cartwright says. Terrorism, economic uncertainties and general feelings of
insecurity have increased people’s anxiety. Those suffering from persistent
nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, the brain has
its ways of working through bad feelings. Sleep — or rather dream — on it and
you’ll feel better in the morning.
31. Researchers have come to believe that dreams ________.
[A] can be modified in their courses
[B] are susceptible to emotional changes
[C] reflect our innermost desires and fears(A)
[D] are a random outcome of neural repairs
32. By referring to the limbic system, the author intends to show
________.
[A] its function in our dreams
[B] the mechanism of REM sleep
[C] the relation of dreams to emotions(C)
[D] its difference from the prefrontal cortex
33. The negative feelings generated during the day tend to ________.
[A] aggravate in our unconscious mind
[B] develop into happy dreams
[C] persist till the time we fall asleep(D)
[D] show up in dreams early at night
34. Cartwright seems to suggest that ________.
[A] waking up in time is essential to the ridding of bad dreams
[B] visualizing bad dreams helps bring them under control
[C] dreams should be left to their natural progression(D)
[D] dreaming may not entirely belong to the unconscious
35. What advice might Cartwright give to those who sometimes have had
dreams?
[A] Lead your life as usual.
[B] Seek professional help.
[C] Exercise conscious control.(A)
[D] Avoid anxiety in the daytime.
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