1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Vogel bum here with another classic for 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: you today. Dreams can be pleasant, or painful or downright perplexing. 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,280 Speaker 1: My least favorite ones are the mundane ones where I 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: do dishes or fold laundry and then wake up and 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,439 Speaker 1: it's not done. But why do we have dreams at all? 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: And what do they mean? Welcome to brain Stuff from 8 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,559 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works, Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bam here, 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: the human brain is a mysterious little ball of gray matter. 10 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: After all these years, researchers are still baffled by many 11 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: aspects of how and why it operates like it does. 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: Scientists have been performing sleep and dream studies for decades now, 13 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: and we still aren't a hundred percent sure about the 14 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:53,239 Speaker 1: function of sleep or exactly how and why we dream. 15 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:55,319 Speaker 1: We do know that our dream cycle is typically most 16 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: abundant and best remembered during the R E M stage 17 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: of sleep. It's also pretty commonly up did among the 18 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: scientific community that we all dream, though the frequency in 19 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: which dreams are remembered varies from person to person. The 20 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: question of whether dreams actually have a physiological, biological, or 21 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: psychological function has yet to be answered, but that hasn't 22 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: stopped scientists from researching and speculating. There are several theories 23 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: as to why we dream. One is that dreams work 24 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 1: hand in hand with sleep to help the brain sort 25 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: through everything it collects during the waking hours. Your brain 26 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: is met with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of 27 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: inputs every day. Some are minor sensory details, like the 28 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: color of a passing car, while others are far more complex, 29 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 1: like the big presentation you're putting together for your job 30 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: or class. During sleep, the brain works to plow through 31 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: all of this information to decide what to hang onto 32 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,960 Speaker 1: and what to forget. Some researchers think that dreams play 33 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: a role in this process. It's not just a stab 34 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: in the dark. Though. There is some research to back 35 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: up the ideas that dreams are tied to how we 36 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: form memories. Studies indicate that as we're learning new things 37 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: in our waking hours, our dreams increase while we sleep. 38 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: Participants in a dream study who are taking a language 39 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: course showed more dream activity than those who were not. 40 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: In light of such studies, the idea that we use 41 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: our dreams to sort through and convert short term memories 42 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: into long term memories has gained some momentum in recent years. 43 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,359 Speaker 1: Another theory is that dreams typically reflect our emotions during 44 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: the day. Our brains are working hard to make connections 45 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: to achieve certain functions. When posed with a tough math problem, 46 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: your brain is incredibly focused on that one thing, and 47 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: the brain doesn't only serve mental functions. If you're building 48 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: a bench, your brain is focused on making the right 49 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: connections to allow your hands to work in concert with 50 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: the saw in the wood to make an exact cut. 51 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: The same goes for simple tasks like hitting a nail 52 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: with a hammer. Have you ever lost focus and smashed 53 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: your finger because your mind was elsewhere. Some researchers have 54 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: proposed that while sleeping, everything slows down. We aren't required 55 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: to focus on anything during sleep, so our brains make 56 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: very loose connections. It's during sleep that the emotions of 57 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 1: the day battle it out in our dream cycle. If 58 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: something is weighing heavily on your mind during the day, 59 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: chances are you might dream about it, either specifically or 60 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: through some kind of imagery. For instance, if you're worried 61 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 1: about losing your job due to company downsizing. You may 62 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: dream that you're a shrunken person living in a world 63 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: of giants, or that you're wandering aimlessly through a great 64 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: desert Abyss. There's also a theory, definitely the least intriguing 65 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: of the bunch, that dreams don't really serve any function 66 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: at all, that they're just a pointless byproduct of the 67 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: brain firing wallaby slumber. We know that the rear portion 68 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: of our brain gets pretty active during r M sleep, 69 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: when most dreaming occurs. Some think that it's just the 70 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: brain winding down for the night, and that dreams are 71 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: random and meaningless firings that we don't have when we're 72 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: awake at the end of the day. As long as 73 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: the brain remains such a mystery, we probably won't be 74 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: able to pinpoint with absolute certainty exactly why we dream. 75 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Charles W. Bryant, Yes Chuck 76 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: and produced by Tristan McNeil and Tyler Playing. Or more 77 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: on this and lots of other dreamy topics at how 78 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I 79 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Or more podcasts in my heart Radio, visit 80 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 81 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows,