夢境之所以神秘，是因為我們對夢了解得太少，也由此產(chǎn)生了許多關于夢的誤解。本文盤點了最常見的5個誤解，并一一揭示科學真相。

1. MISCONCEPTION: EATING CHEESE BEFORE BED CAN GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES.

誤解一：睡覺前吃奶酪會做噩夢

At one point in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge dismisses a ghostly encounter as being just as likely from the crumb of cheese he had before bed. It sounds a bit odd, but cheese has historically gotten a bad rap for its ability to conjure nightmares. It's unlikely that a little cheddar is the root of your nighttime terrors, though.

查爾斯·狄更斯的《圣誕頌歌》有這樣一段情節(jié)：埃比尼澤·斯克魯奇在遇見鬼魂后不以為然，認為是他睡覺前吃的奶酪碎屑在作祟。這聽上去有點詭異，但是歷史上奶酪一直有招來噩夢的壞名聲。然而，吃一點切達干酪就讓你做噩夢是不太可能的。

In 2005, the British Cheese Board funded a study to debunk the myths about cheese causing nightmares. As part of the experiment, 200 participants snacked on 20 grams of cheese a half-hour before bedtime. Sixty-seven percent of cheese eaters reported remembering their dreams, but none of them recorded nightmares. The dreams they did have, however, were pretty funky. One participant detailed dreaming about a vegetarian crocodile who was distressed about not being able to eat children, while another dreamed of soldiers who fought with kittens instead of guns.

2005年，英國奶酪委員會資助了一項研究，旨在揭穿吃奶酪導致做噩夢的誤解。研究開展了一項實驗，讓200個參與者在睡覺前半小時每人攝入20克奶酪。這些吃奶酪的人有67%報告稱記得自己做的夢，但是沒有人自稱做了噩夢。不過他們的夢相當夸張。一名參與者夢見一條吃素的鱷魚因為無法吃小孩而感到苦惱，另一名參與者則夢見用小貓而非槍支打仗的士兵。

2. MISCONCEPTION: WE ONLY DREAM DURING REM SLEEP.

誤解二：我們只在快速眼動睡眠期間做夢

There’s a lot we don’t know about dreams, but for a long time, we were certain they only occurred during REM sleep. Now, it has been proven that we actually dream during different stages of sleep. We’re just more likely to remember the dreams we have during REM sleep. These REM sleep dreams tend to be more vivid, exciting, and just plain weird. Non-REM sleep dreams, on the other hand, are simpler and less emotional.

我們對夢不了解的地方還有很多，但是長時間以來，人們堅信只有快速眼動睡眠期間才會做夢。如今事實證明，我們在睡眠的不同階段都會做夢。我們只是更容易記住在快速眼動睡眠期間做的夢。在這期間做的夢通常更生動、更刺激，而且更詭異。不在快速眼動睡眠期間做的夢則更簡單，也更平淡。

3. MISCONCEPTION: DREAMS ARE ENTIRELY MEANINGLESS.

誤解三：夢是毫無意義的

While it may be difficult to draw conclusions from any one particular dream, research suggests that dreams are more than just a random montage of scenes that flit through our brains at night. Recurring patterns in dreams often accurately reflect concerns people have about their daily lives. And those dreams you had about being unprepared for a test or showing up to class in your underwear aren’t limited to your high school days. A person is likely to have those dreams long after they’ve graduated, as they often crop up during times of stress. So, if you’re feeling extra anxious in the days leading up to a job interview, don’t be surprised if your subconscious revives that old math test nightmare.

盡管根據(jù)某個特別的夢得出結(jié)論或許很難，但是研究表明，夢不只是我們的大腦在夜里閃過的隨機畫面組合。反復做的夢通常準確地反映出人們在日常生活中的憂慮。并不是只有在高中時代才會做那種來不及備考或穿著內(nèi)衣出現(xiàn)在課堂上的夢。一個人可能在畢業(yè)很久之后還會做這種夢，他們通常在壓力大的時候夢見這些。因此，如果你在求職面試前夕感覺特別焦慮，那么就不要奇怪你的潛意識喚醒了那個數(shù)學考試的可怕舊夢。

4. MISCONCEPTION: REMEMBERING YOUR DREAMS IS AN INDICATOR OF GOOD SLEEP.

誤解四：記得夢說明你睡了個好覺

Some people say that remembering your dreams in the morning is an indication of a good night's sleep, but that's not true. In fact, people with poor sleep are more likely to remember their dreams. According to a 2014 report in Cerebral Cortex, study participants who remembered their dreams had twice as much "wakefulness," which could be taken to mean they woke up more often. People who remember their dreams also have higher activity in the temporoparietal junction, a part of the brain that processes information and emotions. They also reacted more strongly to sounds, which could help explain their interrupted sleep patterns. Basically, people who are sleep-deprived tend to have greater sleep intensity during the precious few hours they manage to sleep, which leads to more vivid dreams.

有些人說，早上醒來記得夢說明你睡了個好覺，但這種說法是錯的。事實上，睡眠差的人更可能記得自己的夢。2014年發(fā)表在期刊《大腦皮層》上一篇研究報告稱，記得自己夢的研究參與者“失眠程度”是其他人的兩倍，這意味著他們更頻繁地醒來。記得自己夢的人大腦中處理信息和情感的顳頂交界處的活動水平更高。他們對聲音的反應也更強烈，這有助于解釋為什么他們的睡眠頻頻被打斷?；旧希哒咴趯氋F的幾小時睡眠時間內(nèi)睡眠強度更大，從而導致他們的夢更生動。

5. MISCONCEPTION: NOT EVERYONE DREAMS.

誤解五：不是每個人都做夢

A 2015 French study published in the Journal of Sleep Research sought to find whether or not everyone dreams. The researchers studied individuals with REM sleep behavior disorder, which causes people to act out their dreams while they’re sleeping. Fewer than 4 percent of the study’s participants claimed they never dreamed. But the researcher’s analysis says otherwise. They observed the participants while they slept, and found that even those who denied dreaming still moved in a way that suggested they were, in fact, dreaming. It’s more likely people just don’t remember their dreams. Though adults average four to six dreams per night, most people forget between 95 to 99 percent of them.

2015年發(fā)表在《睡眠研究雜志》上的一項法國研究想弄清楚是否每個人都做夢。研究人員對快速眼部活動睡眠行為紊亂者進行了研究，這些人在睡眠期間會一邊做夢一邊亂動。不到4%的研究參與者自稱從不做夢。但是研究人員的分析卻發(fā)現(xiàn)不是如此。他們在參與者睡覺時對他們進行了觀察，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)即使是那些否認做夢的人仍然會做出一些動作，表明他們事實上在做夢。所以更可能的情況是，人們只是不記得自己的夢。盡管成年人每夜平均睡4到6小時，但多數(shù)人會忘記95%到99%的夢。

英文來源：Mental Floss

翻譯&編輯：丹妮