Brain Surgeon Explains The Science Behind Erotic Dreams And Their Deeper Meanings

Whether you want to admit it or not, most of us have experienced waking up after an erotic dream and wondering what on earth sparked that.

It might be that you’re having a dry spell, acting out a fantasy in your mind, or perhaps your subconscious is more sexually active than you think.

But according to one brain surgeon, there’s actually more to it than meets the eye.

Dr Rahul Jandial has been looking into the science behind why we experience these strange and intimate dreams.

His aim is to reveal the secrets of what our brains are really up to when we’re asleep, and it turns out that these steamy dreams may have deeper roots than many of us might assume.

Dr Jandial appeared on Lewis Howes’ podcast, The School of Greatness, earlier this year in April, where he shared some fascinating insights into why our brains often seem to create these intimate dream scenarios.

He explained how the most complex and vital organ in our bodies generates these visions that go beyond what we might think.

The science behind sex dreams

The neuroscientist, who focuses on advanced surgical treatments for cancer patients, highlighted that our understanding of eroticism doesn’t come pre-installed like other human capabilities.

It actually develops as we grow older. “That capacity develops in the human brain around the time of 11, 12 and 13,” Dr Jandial explained. “You don’t go through bodily puberty and then say, ‘I think I’m turned on.'”

“It’s different – your brain develops the ability to be turned on, I believe, through erotic dreams,” the expert stated.

“It’s not prepubescent, it’s not there. It must come at a certain time. It’s not the body saying, ‘I like it, let’s think more about it’.”

“I think it’s the other way around.”

Dr Jandial suggests that our brains essentially go through some kind of sexual awakening at an undetermined point in our development.

He has a theory that this is when we all become naturally attuned to intimacy and procreation after reaching a specific age.

The brain surgeon explained that this awakening process doesn’t align with the usual neurodevelopmental pathways, which are typically built into us and later refined as we grow.

“Here, it arrives,” Dr Jandial added. “Erotic dreams…like in that J Cole song, ‘Wet Dreamz’, he says, ‘I think I’m smashing but I’m sleeping.'”

“So before he has his first intimate relationship with this person, he’s rapping about performing the act in his dreams, in his erotic dreams, before they even happened in real life.”

“That’s not the usual order of how the brain and nerves work, so again, my humble opinion is erotic dreams are the embodiment of desire.”

When someone drops a J Cole reference, you know they might be onto something interesting.

What do sex dreams actually mean?

He explained to Howes that when we’re asleep, our minds can access areas of ourselves that are otherwise unavailable during waking hours.

Then, he dug into what these intimate dreams might signify. “If we look at what is happening in the dreaming brain, it’s hyper emotional, it’s hyper visual, and this is some real profound stuff,” he continued.

“Your brain is at it’s most emotional – metabolically, electrically – in dreaming.”

“So then it says to me, if there is a meaning, if I can gain further insight into myself, I must look at the way my dreaming brain is exceptional.”

“I’m not going to look at my dreaming brain for a math solution, but I might look at my what my dream brain is putting forth for an emotional solution, an emotional insight.”

“When people have injury to these areas [of the brain], they can’t even make any decisions. Decision making requires emotion, instinct requires emotion. There’s some brilliance to emotion.”

The neuroscientist said: “Don’t get me wrong, you’ve got to wake up, you’ve got to go to work, you got to get it done, and that takes the waking brain – but if you want insights that can’t be gained through always focusing outward, then you are getting glimpses of your own brain, your own life’s hyper emotional states through dreaming and I think there’s insight to be found in that.”

Dr Jandial believes that the information we receive from our dreams plays a crucial role in the decisions we make when we’re awake.

Those erotic dreams may reflect our deepest desires or longings that we haven’t fully recognized, revealing emotional needs or aspirations in our lives.

Perhaps, according to his insight, these dreams might indicate a desire for more excitement or a closer connection with the person who featured in the dream.

At the end of the day, it all ties back to our core desires.