Do Bad Dreams Also Come True???

by Vasundhara Sawhney, senior editor

If there’s one thing my kid has taught me (apart from a whole lot of patience), it’s that being curious — about EVERYTHING — is a good thing.

Where does the sun go to sleep at night, Mama?

Did your belly button pop when I came out? Did it hurt?

Why is it even a word if it’s bad and I can’t say it?

How do we reach the sky when we die?

I was a curious kid, too. My mother tells me I was full of questions. But somewhere between adolescence and adulthood, I started to take things for granted, and my sense of wonder escaped me.

Looking back, I realize I just got impatient. I began to value the answers more than the questions. All the encyclopedias and answers to Tell Me Why collected dust in my childhood home until years later when my own kid was born and my thirst for knowledge was renewed. When I was looking for “quick ways to calm a baby,” I was also trying to understand why my baby was crying in the first place. When my pediatrician asked me to avoid sugar until he turned one, I grew curious about the effects sugar has on our bodies.

One night, after putting him to bed, I rushed towards the study to deliver an important message to my husband. In the few seconds it took to walk down the hall, I forgot what I meant to tell him.

“How could I forget something so important?” I thought. “Was something wrong with me?”

I couldn’t let it go.

I Googled “why did I forget what I had to say” and discovered a study that says walking through doorways causes us to forget things. It’s known as the Doorway Effect. Turns out, walking through a door creates a mental block in our brains and resets our memories to make room for whatever episode is about to happen next.

Curiosity, I’ve learned, is a great trait to have (and hone). Research shows that it’s associated with higher levels of positive feelings, lower levels of anxiety, and greater psychological well-being. When we encounter something new, our brain releases dopamine and other feel-good chemicals, making us happier. Curiosity also helps us be more empathetic and can strengthen our relationships.

With that many benefits, it’s a steal!

Thankfully, I get to explore various kinds of research for the work I do, and it feeds my curious mind. Recently, I’ve learned why our brains dwell on unfinished tasks and that there is such a thing as toxic positivity. I also read weird research about how staring at cute cat images can increase our attentional focus.

Curious to know more? Here's a research-based piece I recommend: Why Do We Try to Dodge Difficult Decisions? by Vasundhara Sawhney.

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