According to neuroscientist and author of The Oracle of the Night: The History and Science of Dreams, Sidarta Ribeiro, Ph.D., this process evolved over millions of years due to selective pressures facing mammals. In rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, we have our most vivid dreams. Throughout the night, the brain goes through four sleep stages, each with its own function. While the jury is still out on whether dreams actually "mean" anything (scientifically speaking), they do seem to help us work through difficult emotions, uncover truths about ourselves, and even spark creativity-anecdotally, at least. "So when we're in REM sleep, you're still thinking-but since your brain is working differently, instead of thinking in linear thoughts and words, you're now thinking in symbols and emotions, metaphors," she says. And then, of course, we must take into consideration the idea of dream interpretation, which has been a part of cultures for generations.Īs professional dream interpreter Lauri Loewenberg explains, dreaming is still a "thinking" or neurobiological process. This can explain why we have recurring dreams, she adds, as deeply emotional events like trauma or grief can take a while to process. The most widely accepted theory for why we dream is that dreams function as mechanisms for emotional regulation and consolidation of memory, therapist and dream expert Leslie Ellis, Ph.D., tells mbg.ĭreams help us "process the emotion-laden events of the day and then store these memories in our associative web of memories," she notes.
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