S2E2: Tore Nielsen & Mark Blagrove - Part 1 - What we dream and why we need to

Sleep Science Podcast

In this episode, we talk to Professor Tore Nielsen from the University of Montreal and Professor Mark Blagrove from Swansea University.
In part 1 of this two part episode, we talk about how both our guests became interested in the world of sleep and dreams and then discuss what we actually dream about, from emotional REM dreams to non-rem dreams. We also talk about the different methods of collecting dream reports and the positives and negatives of these methods.
We go on to discuss Tore's fear extinction theory of nightmares, which proposes we dream about our fears in order to make them less frightening. We also explore the sensitivity theory which suggests more sensitive people have more nightmares when they are stressed.
If you would like to find out more about either Tore's or Mark's work, you can find the links to the pages below.
Tore's page here and Mark's page here .
Here are links to some of the studies mentioned in the podcast:

o Fear Extinction Model of Nightmares
o Smelling and Tasting in our dreams
o Emotions in our dreams
o Susceptibility framework
Glossary of terms
Lucid Dreaming - This is a type of dreaming where the dreamer is aware they are dreaming. The dreamer in some cases can have control over the dream content.
Metacognition - Where one is aware of their own thinking and thoughts.
Alexithymia - Term used to describe difficulty in describing one's own emotions and feelings.
****If you think we need to add a term or two here, please let us know****.
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Episode produced by Sophie Smith