• Question: why/how do we dream?

    Asked by Hayden on 14 Jan 2022.
    • Photo: Samuel Ellis

      Samuel Ellis answered on 14 Jan 2022:

      In short, we do not know for sure! In history dreams were often associated with predicting the future or visions from gods.

      Most modern theories suggest it has something to do with how our brains process and store all the information it has recently received. Others that is a way for our mind to ‘practice’ what to do in imaginary scenarios, or that it is a side-effect of the visual part of the brain going a bit haywire with our eyes closed.

    • Photo: Valerie Vancollie

      Valerie Vancollie answered on 14 Jan 2022:

      This is one of the really fascinating questions for which we don’t yet have an answer. As Samuel has said, there are a lot of theories, but not concrete answers just yet.

      What we do know is that everyone tested does dream. Even when people who say they don’t dream are brought into a sleep lab, scientists have found that they do dream and can actually remember doing so if they are woken up during the dream or immediately after. Why they don’t remember later on is unknown.

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