Dream On
Flying like Superman. Showing up unprepared for a high school exam years after you鈥檝e graduated. Being chased through the streets of your hometown.
From our wildest fantasy to our worst nightmare, dreams keep our brains engaged while we sleep. But why do we dream? Here, CAS psychology professor and neuropsychologist Bryan Fantie explains seven things to know about one of science鈥檚 greatest mysteries.
We all dream.
While some people claim they don鈥檛 dream, scientific proves that everyone does鈥攁nd for of two hours each night.
鈥淲hat they should say is that they don鈥檛 remember that they dream,鈥 Fantie said. 鈥淣ot remembering dreams is really common.鈥
He said you can remember more of your dreams by training yourself to wake up and make notes听in as soon as possible after the dream ends. Research indicates that if you don鈥檛 reach consciousness a few minutes after having a dream, the chances of are slim.
Why we dream may be rooted in evolution.
Humans sleep less than other primates and spend the highest ratio of time in rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep鈥攖he slumber state when dreams occur and the brain is most active.
In 2015, Duke University researchers David Samson and Charles Nunn suggested this is because of the or 鈥渢he need to fulfill sleep needs in the shortest time possible.鈥
According to Samson and Nunn, early humans developed these about two million years ago to survive predators and interact socially. Thus dreaming may be an evolutionary spandrel鈥攁 byproduct passed down in humans. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a function of who and what we are,鈥 Fantie said.
Dreams can help us process emotions.
Our most common dreams feature falling or floating, a chase, childhood memories, deceased family members, and ghosts of relationships past, according to a .
鈥淭hings that happened recently and might be emotion-provoking are more likely to come up [in dreams],鈥 Fantie said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what happens when you鈥檙e awake as well. If you鈥檙e sitting down and there [are issues] going on in your life, they鈥檙e going to pop into your head.鈥 听
We don鈥檛 know exactly why some dreams are nonsensical.
Have you ever woken up from a fever dream and suddenly realized it made no sense? We don鈥檛 know why the plot of a dream can be like a Mad Lib gone wrong, but our brain plasticity helps make sense of it in the moment.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always trying to order things,鈥 Fantie said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we look at clouds and we see horses, dragons, and faces. Our brain鈥檚 function is to make sense out of the universe.鈥
Our brain plasticity is also why we remember more dreams when we鈥檙e younger and fewer and our brains are less flexible.
Dreams help us categorize and recall memories.
Research that sleep strengthens the neural connections that form memories. 鈥淵ou need sleep to do the housekeeping in your brain,鈥 Fantie said.
Those memories also explain why we may dream about certain experiences鈥攍ike losing a tooth or getting lost. Our brains can pull from those experiences.
Dreams have inspired some of the world鈥檚 most notable works.
German chemist August Kekul茅 claimed to have discovered the structure of benzene, a core for plastics, pharmaceuticals, and more, after a
The impetus for the periodic table of elements, analytical geometry, Stephanie Meyer鈥檚 Twilight Saga, Mary Shelley鈥檚 Frankenstein, and James Cameron鈥檚 also 听
Inception鈥檚 depiction of dreaming isn鈥檛 all fake.
While infiltrating dreams and implanting ideas into someone else鈥檚 subconscious is Hollywood fiction, it is possible to learn .
The skill touted in the 2010 Christopher Nolan film requires you to learn how to become aware of your consciousness and explore and control dreams while still asleep.
鈥淵ou have to want to do it,鈥 said Fantie, who started lucid dreaming as a kid. 鈥淎nd you have to develop a habit of doing it. Once you鈥檝e done it a few times, it starts to become a habit and very natural.鈥