• Question: why do we dream?

    Asked by rosieflett to Iain, Jo, Mariam, Leo, Gioia on 21 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by barney.
    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      A difficult question, and nobody knows the answer for sure. There are lots of theories out there. The two I find most plausible is (1) its a consequence of your brain healing itself when you aren’t using it as much and (2) it is a consequence of your brain assimilating all the data gathered during the day, and putting it in the context of your past experiences.

      Ultimately, however, nobody really knows. Animals dream too though!

    • Photo: Mariam Orme

      Mariam Orme answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      We dream because our brain is active even when we’re asleep: dreams are just brain activity. We don’t really understand whether dreaming is important; there are theories that the brain activity leading to dreaming is crucial for laying down long-term memories, but I don’t think it’s clear whether or not that’s really true.

    • Photo: Leo Garcia

      Leo Garcia answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      The purpose of dreaming isn’t fully understood by scientists. Some theories for why we dream are:

      – To strengthen memories in our brains
      – To sweep away unnecessary memories and neurological connections
      – To help regulate our moods
      – To help deal with distressing experiences

      You can read more here:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream#Neurology_of_dreaming

      And, if you like, study dreams when you get older here:

      http://med.stanford.edu/
      http://psych.ucsc.edu/dreams/

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