July 01, 2021

Can You Read in Your Dreams? Scientific Reason

Short answer: No Reason? Read ahead

From physics marvel Nikola Tesla to Larry Page at Google, dreams have shown many people what they couldn't have a perspective of when present in the waking world. From seeing yourself flying to having a glimpse of future events, a lot can happen when we are in a lucid dream. But one thing is said almost never to happen: Reading in dreams

This article will tell you about the connection between reading and our brain. We will also share a workaround by which you will be able to read in your dreams. Let's get started.

What's Really Happening in Our Brains When We Dream?

What happens in our brain when we are dreaming

Simply put, reading is the function of the left side of our brain while the right side governs dreams. Dream research has revealed that different parts of the brain become less active when we fall asleep, disabling normal brain function. Thus remembering the specifics of a conversation you had with your friends in dreams or reading something and being able to recall it is quite rare.

While the left hemisphere handles language processing ability, some people have this attribute in their brain's right side. In addition, the optic nerve also plays an important role in visual data interpretation. Thus, we can conclude that many language processing parts of the brain are involved when people dream.

The scientific link between lucid dreaming and our brain

Broca's area and Wernicke's area are two regions of our brain that help decode the visuals we see. The first area helps our brain make sense of the visual data while the other handles grammar and syntax. Unfortunately, Wernicke's area is temporarily disabled for the vast majority of people while they are in the dream state.

Another interesting fact is that though most people fail to process emotions and language-related cues in dreams, especially poets and writers were able to decipher and even recall multiple sentences that they read in their dreams.

This happened due to their close connection with words in their waking life. Of course, thinking about the language much more than a normal individual could also be a factor. But if you fall among the other 99% of the people, you should enjoy the rest you are being offered instead of stressing about dreams. Fortunately, there's a workaround to enhance your reading capabilities when sleeping: Lucid Dreaming.

What is lucid dreaming?

What is lucid dreaming, woman in deep sleep

When lucid dreams happen, you are much more aware of what goes around in your dreams than normal dreams. In addition, researchers found that the subconscious mind is much more active during lucid dreaming. Hence, processing emotions and controlling the actions in your dreams becomes easier, allowing you to interpret and remember your dreams at the same time.

Lucid dreamers are generally aware of the fact that they are dreaming. Here are some tips to know that you are dreaming :

1. The dream test method

This can make your brain self-aware of its sleep state. This can be done by performing acts that involve trying to read something (picking up a book, looking at the clock, etc.).

If these words look distorted and fuzzy as opposed to real-life books, then you are dreaming.

2. Looking at the mirror

Looking at the mirror and finding yourself staring in a blank space or a blurry shadow is another sign of being in a dream state.

How to have a lucid dream?

Keeping a dream journal and logging it in with everything you saw during your dream helps you recognize different patterns in your dream. The earlier you'll know about your usual surroundings, the easier it will become to reach a rem sleep state.

Make sure you follow proper sleep hygiene and sleep in a cold and comfortable environment. Using earplugs to block out noise or using masks to block ambient light may also help. The ideal temperature for sleeping ranges between 62-67 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using mnemonic induction by telling yourself that you are aware of your dream state can help foster increased brain activity while sleeping. You can chant phrases such as "I know that I am dreaming" continuously before falling asleep.

Now that you have all the answers you needed let us sum up this article with some interesting facts that you didn't know about dreams.

More about dreams

Threat simulation theory

Children who lived in an environment that made them feel threatened had a highly activated left hemisphere, causing them to dream better. People suffering from grief often reported seeing the same dream. These dreams are also traumatizing in nature and may stick in your long-term memory.