What happens when we dream that we die?

Dreams are widely debated and studied because they arouse a lot of curiosity. Did you know, for example, that we dream from birth and every nights? So it is! Dreaming is also not something exclusive to the human race, since studies indicate that animals – such as rats, monkeys, cats, dolphins and dogs – also dream.

Read more: Can fever cause negative dreams and hallucinations?

What happens when we dream that we die?

In ancient times, more specifically in Greece, dreams were seen as a way to communicate with the gods. That is, a link between the gods and mortals. Morpheus, the god of sleep in Greek mythology, had the ability to transform into anyone or anything just to enter other people's dreams.

You probably don't remember all the ones you've had, but some are pretty shocking and scary. Others are even too crazy for us to forget about them so quickly. If you don't remember yours, don't worry, as a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry says that 95% of dreams are forgotten.

We only remember if the dream was particularly vivid and if we wake up during or immediately after these visions. When we dream that we are about to die, we tend to wake up. That's because we can only dream about things we already know, with the experiences we've been through and with what we've concretely lived. Dreams in which we die provide an adrenaline rush.

This is what makes it impossible for us to continue in a state of sleep. So, we wake up!

Dreams occur when we enter the REM sleep phase (Rapid Eye Movement or Rapid Eye Movement), a stage only slightly deeper than the first non-REM stage, so it's not that difficult to wake up at this point.

And not only those in which we died are able to make us suddenly wake up and remember what was dreamed of! Some Nightmares more threatening or frightening also trigger a release of adrenaline even during sleep, this is because our brain understands that you are in a “fight or flight” situation.

We also wake up promptly, sometimes even very scared, so we have greater difficulty going back to sleep due to all that adrenaline discharged.

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