Are we able to feel pain in dreams?
The answer will surprise you
A new study has tried to test - when a rock falls on us in a dream, can our body feel pain?
And if so - what affects the level of pain we can experience from a dream?
Here are all the details
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20/12/2021
Monday, 20 December 2021, 02:07 Updated: 02:11
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Five facts about dreams ("Do not miss" system)
From time to time we have dreams in which we experience pain, but how much of that "dream pain" do we really feel? If we scream in pain in a dream while a rock is crushing us or a vehicle is crushing us - does this feeling remain only within the dream or is our body really able to feel the pain? This topic has won quite a number of studies that have all come to a general consensus: yes, we can feel pain in dreams, although the question of whether this pain is triggered by the dream or by something physical happening in our body - it is already a complex neurological minefield.
One of the reasons we can feel pain in dreams is that something really hurts us in the body - for example, if a wasp stings us, this pain can manifest in the dream in different ways and remind us of its existence. This type of pain in dreams was investigated in a 1993 article in which blood pressure handcuffs were used to induce pain while participants were in the rapid eye movement (REM) phase of sleep. The pains experienced by the participants mimicked the real-life pain caused by the tightening sleeve.
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Pain from a dream differs from "real" pain in that its source is the content of the dream and not a stimulus from real life. For example, someone might dream of torture in a way they have never experienced in real life. However, the trauma in the dream is still recorded as pain, apparently inspired by learned perceptions of painful situations. Pain from a dream usually passes as soon as the dreamer wakes up. "I argue that even real pain is a kind of 'everything in my head,'" Erin Wemsley, an assistant professor of psychology at Forman University in South Carolina, told Vice, "Pain is in a sense a mental experience. In the affected part of the body. "
Brain pain appears as the activation of pain-related areas in our cortex - triggered by information from pain receptors in the peripheral nervous system. When pain occurs in a dream, our brain probably does not receive pain messages from parts of our body, but draws from memories of past pains.
Gif of a man moving out of sleep (Photo: Giphy)
What affects the level of pain that results from our dreams?
When it comes to our likelihood of experiencing pain at night, it seems that our general health condition plays a role in the frequency and nature of the pain.
A 2017 study found that about one percent of healthy people experience pain in dreams compared to about 30 percent of people who suffer from acute and severe pain.
"In patients, painful dreams may be triggered by actual pain whereas for healthy people, painful dreams may be painful memories (pain experienced by themselves and / or watching painful people)," the study authors wrote.
"Future research should clarify how pain is processed during sleep. Because patients with chronic pain experience negative-hued dreams, it would be helpful to ask chronic pain patients about their dreams, and if necessary offer specific treatment options like guided imagery therapy."
So in conclusion, can we feel pain in dreams?
The answer is yes, but it is our general health condition that probably predicts whether it is a real or only dream pain.
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Sleep
Dreams
Pains