• Question: Why when i sleep do i have dreams? Is it part of the brains? or something...Mystical?

    Asked by britishmcawesome to Antonia, Douglas, Hugh, Matt, Tom on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Matthew Hurley

      Matthew Hurley answered on 13 Jun 2010:

      It could be both – I don’t think we know. We probably dream in the early part of sleep when the brain is most active (REM sleep – Rapid Eye Movement). Why? – I don’t know. Some pretty wierd things can happen during sleep too – when some people go to sleep or when they wake up they can have hallucinations (see things) and others can be unable to move their arms and legs for a short time. Why is it when you dream, you dream about people you know? Why when you’re worried do you sleep badly and have bad dreams? and why when you’re excited (like Christmas eve) can you just never get to sleep?!

    • Photo: Antonia Hamilton

      Antonia Hamilton answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Yes, dreams happen because your brain is resting and not getting any input from your body. So it makes things up instead. Sometimes dreams (and sleep in general) can help people learn. Other times, they are just random. There is no scientific way to interpret dreams, and they probably don’t have any deep meaning.

    • Photo: Douglas Blane

      Douglas Blane answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Scientists don’t know yet why we dream. There are two theories. One is that it’s exercise for the brain cells and the paths between them. The other is that it’s to help us sort out problems and emotions we’ve had during the day.

      Two very different theories and there’s some evidence for both.

      To decide between explanations, a scientist figures out an experiment that would give a different answer depending on which is true. So there’s a job for you – dream up an experiment to decide between these two theories of dreams.

      There was a cool new discovery about dreams about a week ago. Scientists have found that the rapid eye movements (REMs) during dreams are because you’re following the action in your dream, as if you were watching a film.

      No one had a clue what REMs were for until these scientists did their experiments. Here’s what the lead scientist, Isabelle Arnulf, said:

      “Rapid eye movements are not random. If you are kissing someone in your dream, your eyes are directed towards the person you are kissing. The dream world is just fantastic.”

Comments