The __________ theory says that dreams permit information that is critical for our daily survival to be reconsidered and reprocessed during sleep. A. Wish fulfillment B. Activation-synthesis C. Survival instinct D. Dreams for survival?

The so called survival instinct theory states that dreams allow information critical for our daily survival to be reconsidered and reprocessed during sleep.

• Daily Concerns

According to this theory, dreams represent key concerns within an individual's daily life. Uncertainties, fears, worries, desires and indecision are reprocessed and reconsidered by the subconscious mind during dreams.

• Sleep Over It

This saying is based on that very theory. As an individual goes to sleep, things that have bothered them during the day are still active within the mind. They are played out through dreams, often ultimately leading to a solution, or at least helping in prioritizing concerns.

• Sleep Deprivation

The mind needs to have this dream period in order to keep sane. Sleep deprivation not only has physical effects, but will also seriously affect a person's mind. The inability to dream will eventually lead to a kind of overload, where it becomes impossible to cope.

• Facing the World

Dreaming about concerns enables a person to deal with the reality of daily life. Without the ability to work things out through dreaming, therefore relieving some of the stresses put onto a person during the day, the person would eventually go mad.

• Survival Instinct

Just as a person instinctively holds their breath when plunging into water, so the brain instinctively reacts to daily pressure by creating dreams. It is a basic survival mechanism, serving to assist a person in solving daily problems through subconsciously working them out while there are no other distractions.

This information has been gleaned in snippets from a range of sources and put together in a hopefully reasonably sensible order. Unfortunately it has not been possible to find more coherent information. Although the survival instinct theory is mentioned in connection with dreams, it is not adequately explained anywhere we could find.