• Question: Why do we dream?

    Asked by anon-193404 to Emma, Carl, Heidi, iainstaniland, Jamal, Morwenna on 10 Nov 2018. This question was also asked by anon-193397.
    • Photo: Heidi Gardner

      Heidi Gardner answered on 10 Nov 2018:

      This is such a good question! At the moment scientists aren’t actually sure why we dream – there are a lot of things about sleep that we don’t know and dreaming is definitely one of those things that’s still a bit of a mystery.

      Dreaming is actually super interesting too – research suggests that simple dream imagery is formed in the brain stem and is then sent to the sensory cortex, which translates the dream into a longer, more complex story and fills the dreams with weird and wonderful things that can make them more emotional.

    • Photo: Emma Crawford

      Emma Crawford answered on 11 Nov 2018:

      There are many theories about why we dream, but no one knows for sure. Some researchers say dreams have no purpose or meaning and are nonsensical activities of the sleeping brain. Others say dreams are necessary for mental, emotional, and physical health.
      I found a really interesting TED talk about some of the theories of why we dream, why not give it a watch and let me know what you think? 🙂

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