Why We Dream
The Science, Creativity and Transformative Power of Dreams
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- €6.99
Publisher Description
We all dream, and 98 per cent of us can recall our dreams the next morning. Even in today’s modern age, it is human nature to wonder what they mean. With incredible new discoveries and stunning science, Why We Dream will give you dramatic insight into yourself and your body. You’ll never think of dreams in the same way again . . .
Groundbreaking science is putting dreams at the forefront of new research into sleep, memory, the concept of self and human socialization. Once a subject of the New Age and spiritualism, the science of dreams is revealed to have a crucial role in the biology and neuroscience of our waking lives.
In Why We Dream, Alice Robb, a leading American science journalist, will take readers on a journey to uncover why we dream, why dreaming matters, and how we can improve our dream life – and why we should. Through her encounters with scientists at the cutting edge of dream research, she reveals how:
- Dreams can be powerful tools to help us process the pain of a relationship break-up, the grief of losing a loved one and the trauma after a dramatic event
- Nightmares may be our body’s warning system for physical and mental illness (including cancer, depression and Alzheimer’s)
- Athletes can improve their performance by dreaming about competing
- Drug addicts who dream about drug-taking can dramatically speed up their recovery from addiction.
Robb also uncovers the fascinating science behind lucid dreaming – when we enter a dream state with control over our actions, creating a limitless playground for our fantasies. And as one of only ten per cent of people with the ability to lucid-dream, she is uniquely placed to teach us how to do it ourselves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this intriguing and accessible pop science investigation, New York magazine science columnist Robb explores the significance of dreams for one's health and well-being, the history and current state of research into the field, and possible avenues for future study. Robb considers early theories from the ancient Greeks, later ones from Freud and Jung, and the possible benefits of dreaming, from sparking creative inspiration to providing "threat-simulation" allowing people to "work through our anxieties in a low-risk environment." She recounts the fascinating career of sleep scientist Stephen LaBerge, who revolutionized the understanding of lucid dreaming, and, in the final, most illuminating chapter, attends LaBerge's Hawaiian retreat for a crash course on the process. Robb also visits a scientist at MIT who is mapping out how dreams work to enhance problem-solving skills in rats and travels to the Netherlands to attend a meeting of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. She even has the fortitude to partake in "group analysis," allowing six friends and a therapist to interpret a bizarre scenario featuring a line-dancing Hillary Clinton. Though Robb's reiteration of certain points results in the occasional redundancy, she provides an engaging overview of sleep science and effectively argues for its significance.
