Why do we dream?
We might think of our brain as a big factory that works nonstop all day long. The brain does not shut down when we go to sleep. But it functions at a lower level, with the brain's decision-making region taking a vacation. This is the moment when our dreams come true and our imaginations take over. All of the things that happened during the day are stored in our brains, and when we go to sleep, our brains combine these memories to create a mental movie! Dreams are useful in addition to being enjoyable. They can help us control our emotions and serve as an inspiration for writing or artistic expression. For example, a happy dream can leave us in high spirits upon waking, while a scary dream may leave us feeling down. In essence, dreams are the brain's way of processing memories, and the outcome is the mental movie that we experience while we sleep.
How do we dream?
Since the production of dreams involves a complicated interplay between our memories and brain activity, scientists have long been baffled by this phenomenon. Our brain stores the events we have throughout the day, and as we sleep, the brain starts to organise and classify these memories. While some memories are kept in the brain's short-term storage area, others may be placed in the long-term storage section. When you are in the rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep period, this activity takes place. Our brain is quite active at this time, quickly organising memories. Snippets of these memories are sorted through by the brain and become visual representations that we interpret as dreams.While some dreams can last up to 20 minutes, others might just last a few minutes. Thus, the next time you find yourself losing yourself in a dreamlike state, keep in mind that your brain is actively building a different reality for you to discover.
How we control our dreams?
Have you ever had a dream in which you felt in complete control of what you did? That's known as lucid dreaming, though! It's a phenomenon that happens when your consciousness realises you are dreaming while your brain is digesting memories during REM sleep. You may be able to control and change the dream's trajectory with this understanding. You can tell yourself to get something different, for example, if you find yourself dreaming about ordering the dish you detest. Although the precise method for taking control of your dreams is still unknown, lucid dreaming has been documented in the past in books like Aristotle's On Dreams. Anybody can have a lucid dream, albeit those under the age of 25 experience them more frequently. Hence, the next time you find yourself in an interesting dream, keep in mind that your brain is hard at work creating something special only for you; you never know, you might even be able to take control!
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