• Question: What happens when we dream?? :)

    Asked by madsmith98 to Anil, Blanka, Cees, Emma, Mike on 25 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by partypoison, niaisrandomlol.
    • Photo: Blanka Sengerova

      Blanka Sengerova answered on 25 Jun 2012:

      The reasons for why we dream are still not entirely understood. Most dreams occur during the so called REM (rapid eye movement) phase of your sleep which is when you’re only lightly asleep and brain activity is high and almost similar to when you’re awake.

      Some theories suggest that dreaming is a link to our subconscious (there is experimental evidence that suggests that you solve many problems subconsciously, much faster than you would with conscious thought) and allows us to solve problems during our sleep. But more work still needs to be done, I suppose…

      Here’s something I wrote about a talk by a sleep specialist which might be of interest:
      http://www.scienceoxford.com/news/have-i-got-snooze-for-you-a-review/

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