• Question: Why do we dream?

    Asked by Chante to Eleni, Hannah, Jenny, Oli, Steven on 14 Nov 2016. This question was also asked by doomes day, callum, maddy21.
    • Photo: Steven Street

      Steven Street answered on 14 Nov 2016:

      Hi Chante,

      A good question! I think in short, scientist still haven’t worked out exactly why we dream yet! They normally occur when we are in the deepest portion of sleep, called REM sleep though. Either way, I’m glad that we do because I love the escapism that it offers!

      Steve

    • Photo: Eleni Vikeli

      Eleni Vikeli answered on 15 Nov 2016:

      Hi Chante,

      One of the theories is that we dream because dreams work hand in hand with sleep to help the brain sort through everything it collects during the waking hours.

      If that is the case, that would explain why I usually get so tired after a long dream!!
      My tip is to have a notebook next to you and the moment you wake up after a dreamful night, note down what you saw , with as many details as possible!

      You will be surprised with the complexity of the dreams and you won’t forget them immediately!
      Eleni

    • Photo: Hannah Bolt

      Hannah Bolt answered on 16 Nov 2016:

      Hi Chante,

      There are lots of theories about why we dream, but scientists still aren’t really sure.

      Some ideas are:

      – Dreams help us to work through or solve problems
      – Dreams help to consolidate memories
      – Dreams help us to cope with or process emotions

      Myself, I think dreams do all three. What do you think?

      Hannah

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