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Why do we dream? |
Scientists have lots of ideas about why we dream, and why we dream about the things in our dreams!
Did you know that sleep had stages? These stages start with lighter sleep and progress to deeper levels of sleep, and in one night people generally go through several cycles of these stages. While dreaming can occur in any of the stages, it most commonly happens in the deepest sleep stage, known as “REM Sleep.”
Experts like scientists and psychologists have lots of ideas about why it is that we dream. Some think that dreaming gives our brains time to process and store away our memories! Others believe that dreaming is a way of helping us to understand or express things we’ve been thinking about lately. For example, if you have a dream where the Popsicle stick tower you just built breaks in half, it might mean you’re worried that you didn’t use enough glue!
Some scientists also believe that we dream because our brains need to “keep themselves busy” while our body is resting all night long! During the day, your brain is constantly sending and receiving messages so you can talk, learn, play, sneeze, laugh, and more! At night your brain needs something else to do -- so, you dream!
Pretty dreamy!
What’s the silliest dream you’ve ever had? Were you able to remember the whole thing? Sometimes it’s hard to remember your dreams the next day, or it’s easy to remember only certain parts.
Lots of people say the best time of day for remembering your dreams is immediately after you’ve woken up. Right after you get up, draw a picture or do something to remind yourself of what was in your dream night before -- this might increase you chance of remembering the whole dream!
