'You can inherit your parents’ dream patterns', says neuroscientist
'You can inherit your parents’ dream patterns', says neuroscientist .      Rahul Jandial explains why we dream, what happens in the brain during this process, how these patterns remain constant across generations, and what nightmares can tell us If you had to guess what your ancestors dreamed about, what would it be? Carriages, churches, wild animals, isolated tribes... According to American neurosurgeon and neuroscientist Rahul Jandial, our dreams are much more similar to theirs than we might imagine.
Nasa: How scientist Rosaly Lopes put a Saturn moon on radar for extraterrestrial life search
In english: Read more stories on O GLOBO's website
The doctor has compiled decades of research in the book "This is why you dream" (published in Brazil by Sextante) to attempt to unravel more
Jornal O Globo
If you had to guess what your ancestors dreamed about, what would it be? Carriages, churches, wild animals, isolated tribes... According to American neurosurgeon and neuroscientist Rahul Jandial, our dreams are much more similar to theirs than we might imagine.

The doctor has compiled decades of research in the book "This is why you dream" (published in Brazil by Sextante) to attempt to unravel more of this universe we enter each night without knowing what to expect. In an interview with O GLOBO, he also discusses what happens to our brains during this process and what nightmares can tell us about ourselves.

Why do we dream?

The answer to why we dream is based on what is released in that brain state. Every night, this process occurs. The electricity when we dream is as robust as when we're awake. The glucose being used is robust. It's not a peaceful moment for the brain. The brain does not rest; the body rests. The brain shuts the body down so it can release the dream. Why we dream has to do with what's unique about it. It's hyper-emotional, hyper-imaginative. So, I think we dream to keep every corner of our mind, every neuron, accessed. A high-intensity rehearsal or training, if you will, for our imagination, our emotions. I believe this keeps us creative, imaginative, and open-minded while we wake up and face the world as individuals and as a species. So, my grand theory is that we dream to keep our minds emotionally and imaginatively optimized and available.

Does this mean some people need to dream more than others?

Regardless of what we do, for thousands of years, all 8 billion brains on the planet have to enter this process every night. Consider the example: if you don't move your arm and keep it in a sling for a long time, it will become stiff; that flexibility will disappear. Similarly, if we only use the parts of the brain we need, the rest of the brain, the emotional, the subconscious, the imaginative will also lose some of its capacity. So, I think dreaming is high-intensity training for our brain, so it's available to the maximum with the utmost creativity and emotional depth as we navigate life. The fact that we need to dream—and we even put ourselves at risk to do so—clearly shows it is fundamental. We dream to keep our brain as agile as possible, to keep our mind as flexible as possible.

Are there theories that suggest dreaming is a rehearsal for threats or a cleansing moment?

Yes, some people theorize that dreaming is a rehearsal, a nighttime therapist, or serves to clean memories. It's a very narrow view because it's not always one thing or the other. I think it's all of these, and these are subcategories of something bigger happening. Emotion and imagination are free; not every thought needs to be intelligent. We don't have to stick to every thought we have when daydreaming, just as dreams shouldn't be boxed as if there were a single answer. I don't dismiss any of these theories, but when you look at the state's brain and see that whether awake or dreaming, it's always active, but different areas are activated, and it happens on a 24-hour cycle, it seems there is a yin-yang, a fluctuation rather than an on/off switch. It's not a computer that slows down, and then we bring it back to life. It's always on, but in a different state. For example, when you ask thousands and thousands of people what they dream about, very few mention mathematics. You begin to see that logic and reason are limited in dreams, while emotion and imagination are unleashed. Thus, certain dream patterns make sense.

Are these patterns common dreams, like falling?

There are common dreams that occur across various cultures over hundreds of years, suggesting the brain is creating this pattern; it's not completely random. Europeans born 100 years ago would describe dreams of falling as much as someone in Asia born today. So, by putting all these pieces together—brain activation, dream patterns, consistent dreams across generations—this is constructed and follows an evolutionary purpose. Burning all this glucose for something trivial wouldn't have survived evolutionary pressures. There's no doubt for me that dreaming is essential, energetically costly, puts us at risk, happens to all of us (even if we don't want them), and we share patterns with our great-grandparents.

How are these dreams transmitted in this way?

This means we inherit not only our height and hair from our ancestors; we inherit a pattern of thought, a dream pattern. Not from two generations ago, but from 20 generations ago, 200 generations. There's a field called cognitive archaeology or evolutionary psychology that evaluates how the way we think is related to what was happening 100,000 years ago, because those are the true ancestors, right? So, perhaps when the brain exploded, this is just an idea, when woolly mammoths were around, something was set in our dreams, and that's why we dream of these things and not puppies. You can inherit a dream pattern from your parents.

And nightmares, specifically? I've read that you say a nightmare is just a dream, but for your brain, are they the same as other dreams?

A nightmare is a dream, but the rarest kind of dream. Perhaps we should have nightmares; maybe they have a function. I have some ideas about that. It's powerful that I've inherited patterns of day and night thoughts from my ancestors. See, it's not learning, listening; it's inheritance. It's something worth exploring; it's not random, it happens universally, it happens in children, and nightmares cluster in families, which means we need to look at this.

Can nightmares indicate something is wrong?

Just as if you have a headache once in a while, it's fine, but if you have pain that won't go away, gets stronger or more frequent, you should pay attention. More intense and progressive nightmares are linked to depression and suicidal ideation. It doesn't mean you'll do these things, but what I find interesting is that this can happen while you're still feeling fine during the day. So, before you feel bad in your waking life, you have your nightmares as a warning sign. Another concrete example, and it's important for people to know, is that changes in our dream patterns, with increased nightmares in your 50s, can indicate Alzheimer's and other neurological issues.

What about children?

Children need to be reminded that it's just a nightmare because, for a while, they don't know the difference between waking thoughts and dreams. We have to teach them it's okay, that they're being chased by a monster, their body is sweating, their brain is racing, but it's not happening in real life; it's happening in their brain. It's quite an amazing thing that happens to all children, between the ages of three and seven, no matter how good their life is. And even without having seen a monster, they don't dream of the pet; they dream of these creatures. Maybe this is leading to cognitive maturation, meaning they're learning to walk and talk, but their mind is also maturing. Erotic dreams are almost universal around ages 10 to 12, and certain nightmares are universal between ages 3 and 6. For me, when universal things happen in the mind, they're there for a reason.

How do you view dream interpretations?

The dreams that I think might have some meaning are those that are hyper-emotional and hyper-visual. So when you have a dream with a long emotional residue or a strong central image, I think those are the ones worth analyzing. This is a unique kind of dream, so ideally, you would wake up in the morning and reflect on your dreams, waking up slowly. This doesn't mean you'll find meaning every time, but for me, it's a valuable glimpse of yourself. Interpretation is sometimes obvious. But I think interpretation should only be done by you because it came from your brain, and only you know your own emotions, imagination, and memory, although many people need guidance in this reflection.

Do you believe in something spiritual related to dreams? Especially those related to the end of life?

I have patients facing cancer who, when the end is near, start having dreams of reconciliation and forgiveness. It seems to be common. Given what they're going through, chemotherapy, surgery, stress, loss of independence, you'd think they'd have nightmares, but their dreams are much more positive, so that's interesting. End-of-life dreams tend to be good. I'm just trying to point out a pattern, and I view with hope and optimism the dreams of this phase of life. Another interesting thing is that studies are showing that one to two minutes after the heart stops beating, the brain's electricity not only persists but explodes, while other organs wane. This burst of energy has many parallels with memory and the dreaming brain. In other words, the last two minutes of your brain's life are possibly a big dream, an intense dream activity. Your best dream is ahead of you.
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2024-12-08
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     Rahul Jandial explains why we dream, what happens in the brain during this process, how these patterns remain constant across generations, and what nightmares can tell us If you had to guess what your ancestors dreamed about, what would it be? Carriages, churches, wild animals, isolated tribes... According to American neurosurgeon and neuroscientist Rahul Jandial, our dreams are much more similar to theirs than we might imagine.
Nasa: How scientist Rosaly Lopes put a Saturn moon on radar for extraterrestrial life search
In english: Read more stories on O GLOBO's website
The doctor has compiled decades of research in the book "This is why you dream" (published in Brazil by Sextante) to attempt to unravel more of this universe we enter each night without knowing what to expect. In an interview with O GLOBO, he also discusses what happens to our brains during this process and what nightmares can tell us about ourselves.
Why do we dream?
The answer to why we dream is based on what is released in that brain state. Every night, this process occurs. The electricity when we dream is as robust as when we're awake. The glucose being used is robust. It's not a peaceful moment for the brain. The brain does not rest; the body rests. The brain shuts the body down so it can release the dream. Why we dream has to do with what's unique about it. It's hyper-emotional, hyper-imaginative. So, I think we dream to keep every corner of our mind, every neuron, accessed. A high-intensity rehearsal or training, if you will, for our imagination, our emotions. I believe this keeps us creative, imaginative, and open-minded while we wake up and face the world as individuals and as a species. So, my grand theory is that we dream to keep our minds emotionally and imaginatively optimized and available.
Does this mean some people need to dream more than others?
Regardless of what we do, for thousands of years, all 8 billion brains on the planet have to enter this process every night. Consider the example: if you don't move your arm and keep it in a sling for a long time, it will become stiff; that flexibility will disappear. Similarly, if we only use the parts of the brain we need, the rest of the brain, the emotional, the subconscious, the imaginative will also lose some of its capacity. So, I think dreaming is high-intensity training for our brain, so it's available to the maximum with the utmost creativity and emotional depth as we navigate life. The fact that we need to dream—and we even put ourselves at risk to do so—clearly shows it is fundamental. We dream to keep our brain as agile as possible, to keep our mind as flexible as possible.
Are there theories that suggest dreaming is a rehearsal for threats or a cleansing moment?
Yes, some people theorize that dreaming is a rehearsal, a nighttime therapist, or serves to clean memories. It's a very narrow view because it's not always one thing or the other. I think it's all of these, and these are subcategories of something bigger happening. Emotion and imagination are free; not every thought needs to be intelligent. We don't have to stick to every thought we have when daydreaming, just as dreams shouldn't be boxed as if there were a single answer. I don't dismiss any of these theories, but when you look at the state's brain and see that whether awake or dreaming, it's always active, but different areas are activated, and it happens on a 24-hour cycle, it seems there is a yin-yang, a fluctuation rather than an on/off switch. It's not a computer that slows down, and then we bring it back to life. It's always on, but in a different state. For example, when you ask thousands and thousands of people what they dream about, very few mention mathematics. You begin to see that logic and reason are limited in dreams, while emotion and imagination are unleashed. Thus, certain dream patterns make sense.
Are these patterns common dreams, like falling?
There are common dreams that occur across various cultures over hundreds of years, suggesting the brain is creating this pattern; it's not completely random. Europeans born 100 years ago would describe dreams of falling as much as someone in Asia born today. So, by putting all these pieces together—brain activation, dream patterns, consistent dreams across generations—this is constructed and follows an evolutionary purpose. Burning all this glucose for something trivial wouldn't have survived evolutionary pressures. There's no doubt for me that dreaming is essential, energetically costly, puts us at risk, happens to all of us (even if we don't want them), and we share patterns with our great-grandparents.
How are these dreams transmitted in this way?
This means we inherit not only our height and hair from our ancestors; we inherit a pattern of thought, a dream pattern. Not from two generations ago, but from 20 generations ago, 200 generations. There's a field called cognitive archaeology or evolutionary psychology that evaluates how the way we think is related to what was happening 100,000 years ago, because those are the true ancestors, right? So, perhaps when the brain exploded, this is just an idea, when woolly mammoths were around, something was set in our dreams, and that's why we dream of these things and not puppies. You can inherit a dream pattern from your parents.
And nightmares, specifically? I've read that you say a nightmare is just a dream, but for your brain, are they the same as other dreams?
A nightmare is a dream, but the rarest kind of dream. Perhaps we should have nightmares; maybe they have a function. I have some ideas about that. It's powerful that I've inherited patterns of day and night thoughts from my ancestors. See, it's not learning, listening; it's inheritance. It's something worth exploring; it's not random, it happens universally, it happens in children, and nightmares cluster in families, which means we need to look at this.
Can nightmares indicate something is wrong?
Just as if you have a headache once in a while, it's fine, but if you have pain that won't go away, gets stronger or more frequent, you should pay attention. More intense and progressive nightmares are linked to depression and suicidal ideation. It doesn't mean you'll do these things, but what I find interesting is that this can happen while you're still feeling fine during the day. So, before you feel bad in your waking life, you have your nightmares as a warning sign. Another concrete example, and it's important for people to know, is that changes in our dream patterns, with increased nightmares in your 50s, can indicate Alzheimer's and other neurological issues.
What about children?
Children need to be reminded that it's just a nightmare because, for a while, they don't know the difference between waking thoughts and dreams. We have to teach them it's okay, that they're being chased by a monster, their body is sweating, their brain is racing, but it's not happening in real life; it's happening in their brain. It's quite an amazing thing that happens to all children, between the ages of three and seven, no matter how good their life is. And even without having seen a monster, they don't dream of the pet; they dream of these creatures. Maybe this is leading to cognitive maturation, meaning they're learning to walk and talk, but their mind is also maturing. Erotic dreams are almost universal around ages 10 to 12, and certain nightmares are universal between ages 3 and 6. For me, when universal things happen in the mind, they're there for a reason.
How do you view dream interpretations?
The dreams that I think might have some meaning are those that are hyper-emotional and hyper-visual. So when you have a dream with a long emotional residue or a strong central image, I think those are the ones worth analyzing. This is a unique kind of dream, so ideally, you would wake up in the morning and reflect on your dreams, waking up slowly. This doesn't mean you'll find meaning every time, but for me, it's a valuable glimpse of yourself. Interpretation is sometimes obvious. But I think interpretation should only be done by you because it came from your brain, and only you know your own emotions, imagination, and memory, although many people need guidance in this reflection.
Do you believe in something spiritual related to dreams? Especially those related to the end of life?
I have patients facing cancer who, when the end is near, start having dreams of reconciliation and forgiveness. It seems to be common. Given what they're going through, chemotherapy, surgery, stress, loss of independence, you'd think they'd have nightmares, but their dreams are much more positive, so that's interesting. End-of-life dreams tend to be good. I'm just trying to point out a pattern, and I view with hope and optimism the dreams of this phase of life. Another interesting thing is that studies are showing that one to two minutes after the heart stops beating, the brain's electricity not only persists but explodes, while other organs wane. This burst of energy has many parallels with memory and the dreaming brain. In other words, the last two minutes of your brain's life are possibly a big dream, an intense dream activity. Your best dream is ahead of you.
The translation of this text into english was carried out by Project Irineu, O GLOBO's initiative to develop artificial intelligence tools. Here is the link to the original report.
'You can inherit your parents’ dream patterns', says neuroscientist