梦境之所以神秘，是因为我们对梦了解得太少，也由此产生了许多关于梦的误解。本文盘点了最常见的5个误解，并一一揭示科学真相。

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

误解一：睡觉前吃奶酪会做噩梦

At one point in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge dismisses a ghostly encounter as being just as likely from the crumb¹ of cheese he had before bed. It sounds a bit odd, but cheese has historically gotten a bad rap for its ability to conjure² nightmares. It's unlikely that a little cheddar is the root of your nighttime terrors, though.

查尔斯·狄更斯的《圣诞颂歌》有这样一段情节：埃比尼泽·斯克鲁奇在遇见鬼魂后不以为然，认为是他睡觉前吃的奶酪碎屑在作祟。这听上去有点诡异，但是历史上奶酪一直有招来噩梦的坏名声。然而，吃一点切达干酪就让你做噩梦是不太可能的。

In 2005, the British Cheese Board funded a study to debunk³ 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 funky⁴. One participant detailed⁵ dreaming about a vegetarian⁶ crocodile who was distressed⁷ about not being able to eat children, while another dreamed of soldiers who fought with kittens instead of guns.

2005年，英国奶酪委员会资助了一项研究，旨在揭穿吃奶酪导致做噩梦的误解。研究开展了一项实验，让200个参与者在睡觉前半小时每人摄入20克奶酪。这些吃奶酪的人有67%报告称记得自己做的梦，但是没有人自称做了噩梦。不过他们的梦相当夸张。一名参与者梦见一条吃素的鳄鱼因为无法吃小孩而感到苦恼，另一名参与者则梦见用小猫而非枪支打仗的士兵。

2. MISCONCEPTION: WE ONLY DREAM DURING REM SLEEP.

误解二：我们只在快速眼动睡眠期间做梦

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 weird⁸. Non-REM sleep dreams, on the other hand, are simpler and less emotional.

我们对梦不了解的地方还有很多，但是长时间以来，人们坚信只有快速眼动睡眠期间才会做梦。如今事实证明，我们在睡眠的不同阶段都会做梦。我们只是更容易记住在快速眼动睡眠期间做的梦。在这期间做的梦通常更生动、更刺激，而且更诡异。不在快速眼动睡眠期间做的梦则更简单，也更平淡。

3. MISCONCEPTION: DREAMS ARE ENTIRELY⁹ MEANINGLESS.

误解三：梦是毫无意义的

While it may be difficult to draw conclusions from any one particular dream, research suggests that dreams are more than just a random¹⁰ montage of scenes that flit through our brains at night. Recurring¹¹ patterns in dreams often accurately¹² 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 subconscious¹³ revives that old math test nightmare.

尽管根据某个特别的梦得出结论或许很难，但是研究表明，梦不只是我们的大脑在夜里闪过的随机画面组合。反复做的梦通常准确地反映出人们在日常生活中的忧虑。并不是只有在高中时代才会做那种来不及备考或穿着内衣出现在课堂上的梦。一个人可能在毕业很久之后还会做这种梦，他们通常在压力大的时候梦见这些。因此，如果你在求职面试前夕感觉特别焦虑，那么就不要奇怪你的潜意识唤醒了那个数学考试的可怕旧梦。

4. MISCONCEPTION: REMEMBERING YOUR DREAMS IS AN INDICATOR¹⁴ OF GOOD SLEEP.

误解四：记得梦说明你睡了个好觉

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 Cerebral¹⁵ 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 junction¹⁶, 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 intensity¹⁷ during the precious few hours they manage to sleep, which leads to more vivid dreams.

有些人说，早上醒来记得梦说明你睡了个好觉，但这种说法是错的。事实上，睡眠差的人更可能记得自己的梦。2014年发表在期刊《大脑皮层》上一篇研究报告称，记得自己梦的研究参与者“失眠程度”是其他人的两倍，这意味着他们更频繁地醒来。记得自己梦的人大脑中处理信息和情感的颞顶交界处的活动水平更高。他们对声音的反应也更强烈，这有助于解释为什么他们的睡眠频频被打断。基本上，失眠者在宝贵的几小时睡眠时间内睡眠强度更大，从而导致他们的梦更生动。

5. MISCONCEPTION: NOT EVERYONE DREAMS.

误解五：不是每个人都做梦

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 disorder¹⁸, 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年发表在《睡眠研究杂志》上的一项法国研究想弄清楚是否每个人都做梦。研究人员对快速眼部活动睡眠行为紊乱者进行了研究，这些人在睡眠期间会一边做梦一边乱动。不到4%的研究参与者自称从不做梦。但是研究人员的分析却发现不是如此。他们在参与者睡觉时对他们进行了观察，结果发现即使是那些否认做梦的人仍然会做出一些动作，表明他们事实上在做梦。所以更可能的情况是，人们只是不记得自己的梦。尽管成年人每夜平均睡4到6小时，但多数人会忘记95%到99%的梦。