• Question: why do we dream???

    Asked by anon-180436 to Viren, Abby, Amy, Noel, Sam on 13 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Abby Hunter

      Abby Hunter answered on 13 Jun 2018:

      I don’t know this topic well, and I don’t think researchers know for sure why we dream. I think people dream every night when they are in deep sleep but we don’t always remember our dreams. People are more likely to remember their dreams when they are stressed, anxious or depressed. I do know that when I have been stressed (e.g. exam period) or I am worried about something I have really vivid dreams

    • Photo: Noel Brick

      Noel Brick answered on 13 Jun 2018:

      I’m not an expert, but actually, dreams are not completely understood even by experts. We know that dreaming is healthy. It happens during a deep stage of sleep (REM sleep), and if we don’t get enough REM sleep, it can have negative effects on our physical and mental health and well-being.
      Dreams can help us to solve problems, to form memories, and to process events that happened through the day. Sometimes we remember our dreams, and sometimes we don’t. So if you wake up and can’t remember dreaming, that doesn’t mean you didn’t have one.

      Dreams can also be really powerful. Sometimes we can physically react to a dream as if the event is really happening. Apparently I sometimes move like I am running in my sleep! But in Sport Psychology, we use a skill called imagery. So, a sports person might imagine themselves perform a skill in their mind, like a golfer imagining themselves playing a specific golf shot. Brain scans have shown that parts of the brain that are active when we physically perform the skill are also active when we imagine ourselves perform the skill. These include areas important for planning and initiating physical movements. So this might explain why we move about in our sleep based on the things we are dreaming about.

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