Empirical dream research
Christian Rœsler
Routledge eBooks May 21, 2025 DOI: 10.4324/9781003492078-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key findings | The chapter argues that empirical dream research supports treating dreams as meaningful rather than random, citing the importance of REM sleep for the organism, the "activation-synthesis theory", continuity between waking and dreaming, and meaningful connections between waking life and dream content, and presents these as relevant to psychotherapy. |
Abstract
Parallel to the development in psychoanalytic theories of dreaming, based on the discovery of rapid eye movement in sleep, a vast body of empirical findings in the field of empirical dream research has accumulated. The chapter provides an overview of these findings as they refer to the field of psychotherapy and working with dreams in psychotherapy. Among these concepts are the following: REM sleep is important for the organism; “activation-synthesis theory”; dreams are not meaningless foam; continuity between waking and dreaming; meaningful connections between waking life and dream content.