Why do we dream?

Answer 1

We dream to sort out complicated thoughts and feelings, to store important memories, and to get rid of unimportant memories. We might have nightmares because we anxious, worried, or it's a reaction to a medication

Answer 2

The contemporary modern theory of dreaming is that: dreaming reflects the action of the sleeping mind trying to make rational sense out of the random bits of information your subconscious is moving around in storage areas of the brain (memory.)

According to this theory, without sleep and dreams our short term memory could become full, leading to confusion and the odd behavior typical of sleep deprivation. Dreams are also heavily influenced by the emotions of the dreamer. Since it is not entirely understood how memory works, it is possible that the brain stores information based more on emotion and loose concepts rather than logistical order.

While sleeping our brains use a chemical and electrical process to sort and file this information into long term storage. How this is done is not fully understood but can be tracked to a degree with various types of brain imaging and monitoring the difference between awake states, sleep states and the transitions between them.

For example in some people with certain types of brain damage it has been monitored that they either do not dream or rarely dream; those types of injuries have lead to people with no long term memory who forget everything (or most) of what they have learned since their prior sleep cycle.

The Contemporary Theory of Dreaming also holds that the process is not entirely random; however, and that it is instead guided by the emotion.

For example when one clear cut emotion is present, the dreams are often simplistic. A common trend with people who experience trauma -- such as an escape from danger, an attack or a rape -- often have a dream something like, "I was falling to my death."

This type of case is a paradigm. It is obvious that the dreamer is not directly reliving the traumatic event, but is instead picturing the emotion, "I am terrified. I am scared I might die." When the emotional state is less clear, or when there are multiple emotions at once, the dream becomes more muddled and complicated. There are statistics showing that such intense dreams are indeed more frequent after trauma. Its also been shown that the intensity of the central dream imagery (which can be rated reliably) appears to be a measure of the emotional arousal of the dreamer; while the contents are subjective but often only vaguely related to the real world experiences of the person.

It should also be noted that while dreams may seem to last a long time; brain mapping has shown that the portions of the brain which could create the sights and sounds are only active in the few seconds transitioning between sleep and awake. What little of our dreams that we view are the residual thoughts sliding away while our active mind takes over control.

Answer:

Humans dream about every half hour, but remember only a few of these dreams. Dreams provide a way to relieve emotional stress. Nightmares and dreams that we may remember are in the last few seconds before you wake up even though you feel you have been in the nightmare or dreams for a long while.

Answer:

One reason for dreaming is that our brains may be working through the events of the day ,storing memories, making sense of our emotions and preparing us for the next day.

Lucid Dreaming:

It's also been shown that with practice some people are able to maintain the transitional state for longer periods of time. This state is called lucid dreaming in which the dreamer is able to take direct control and manipulate their dreams. This practice has been shown to reduce nightmares and relieve stress.

Some people experience a form of partial lucid dreaming sometimes called 'day dreaming'; though the term is often misused (on people that are just not paying attention), true day dreaming is when someone is just on the verge of sleep and their imagination and dreams slip partially into what they think is reality.

Additional information:

There are multiple explanations as to why we dream, but currently it is believed that dreams are a safety valve for the subconscious mind that helps to maintain mental stability when we are awake.

Dreams are just a natural process that occurs during the lightest stage of sleep. They seem to have a role in learning, consolidating memories, and helping regulate emotions. It is possible that you are constantly streaming images through your brain all the time, but you only notice them during REM sleep, hallucinations, or deliberate attempts to view them.

One model for understanding dreams is that of defragmenting a computer hard drive. As the thoughts, feelings, information, and memories get moved around in the brain, you may experience them. We do know that when people are prevented from having dreams they tend to forget things, and their emotions tend to be more extreme. So dreaming may make mental storage more efficient.

Dreams may also have some cathartic effects. So dreams may serve as a vent for strong emotions. Extreme emotions may come out during dreams so you don't have to deal with them during the day.