Experiments have been carried out to investigate the connection between intentionally inflictedpain and dreaming. For example, a sleeper pricked with a pin perhaps dreams of fighting a battle and receiving a severe sword wound.Although the dream is stimulated by the physical discomfort, the actual events of the dream depend on the associations of the discomfort in the mind of the sleeper.
人们进行了不少试验来研究故意施加的肉体之痛与做梦之间的关系。比如说,遭受针刺的睡眠者也许会梦见打仗并遭受严重创伤。尽管这个梦是因身体的不适感刺激产生的,实际的梦境却取决于这一不适在睡眠者大脑中引起的联想。
A dreamer's eyes often move rapidly from side to side. Since people born blind do not dream visually and do not show this eye activity, it is thought that the dreamer may be scanning the scene represented in his dream. If a sleeper is roused every time his eyes begin to move faster, actually depriving him of his dreams, he will make more eye movements the following night. Thus, a certain amount of dreaming seems to be a human requirement.
做梦人的眼睛常常左右快速移动。生下来双目失明的人不会做有视觉形象的梦,也没有这种眼睛的活动,因而人们认为做梦人或许是在扫描梦中显现的场景。要是睡眠者每次眼睛开始快速移动时便被叫醒,让他做不成梦,第二天夜晚他的眼睛就会移动得更甚。由此看来,一定数量的梦似乎是人类的一种需要。
People differ greatly in their claims to dreaming. Some say they dream every night, others only very occasionally. Individual differences probably exist, but some people immediately forget dreams and others have good recall.
人们关于做梦的说法各不相同。有人说自己每天晚上做梦,有人则偶尔做梦。也许的确存在着个别的差异,不过有的人是梦过即忘,而有些人则能清晰地记住自己的梦。
Superstition and magical practices thrive on the supposed power of dreams to foretell the future. Instances of dreams which have later turned out to be predicting have often been recorded, some by men of the highest intellectual integrity. Although it is better to keep an open mind on the subject, it is true that the power of dreams to predict future events still remains unproved.
迷信和巫术由于据认为梦有预示未来的力量而兴盛。 事后表明是预示未来的梦例常被记录下来,有些还是由才智非凡的人所记录。尽管对这个问题以不抱成见为宜,但无可置疑的是,梦能预示未来这一点迄今仍未得到证实。