Why do we dream? – Quiz

1.  Read the text and answer the questions. 

1. Why is dreaming described as strange?
Because you might hallucinate and believe impossible things.

2. What does the brain do with memory when you are asleep?
The brain decides what information you should move to your long-term memory and what should be unlearnt.

3. True or false? In a 2010 experiment, participants were better at an activity if they hadn’t had a nap.
False. Participants were better at attempting to get out of a maze if they had had a nap and dream of the maze .

4. How did researchers find out that emotional themes from the day could be replicated in dreams?
Participants wrote a diary of the day’s events and a dream journal and these were compared.

5. What example of a children’s nightmare is given?
Being chased by wolves.

2.  Choose the appropriate words or phrases to complete the following sentences.

1. The two companies are planning to merge into one. 

2. If you’re tired, why don’t you take a nap ?

3. There was a power struggle between the two owners of the company.

4. Don’t wake the baby! She’s finally asleep .5. His health problems stemmed from an accident he had when he was a child.  

Why do we dream?

There are no clear answers to the question of why we dream, but there are different theories. Dreaming is extraordinary and strange: you hallucinate, believe impossible things, and people you know may merge into one another. And then, to top it off, you will likely forget all about it.

Memory storage could be one reason for why we dream. When you are asleep, the brain decides what information you should move to your long-term memory and what should be unlearnt. In a TED Talk, psychologist Amy Adkins described a 2010 experiment involving participants studying how to get out of a complex 3D maze. It was found that they were much better at attempting it if they had had a nap and dreamt of the maze.

Another purpose of dreams could be the processing of our daily emotions, which may add to emotional memory consolidation. In 2003, the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience published research that experimented with the idea of dreams being a replication of our daily lives. Diary entries and dream journals of 29 healthy young adults over a two-week period were compared, and it was discovered that emotional themes from the day were replicated in dreams 35-55% of the time.

Antti Revonsuo, a Finnish scientist, has suggested that dreaming helps us to prepare for and deal with stressful situations. He studied children’s nightmares, giving an example of being continuously chased by wolves. He believes dreams like this stem from our ancestors and could be a rehearsal for daily struggle and survival. In modern times, dreams and nightmares may be preparing us for social situations such as having a fight with a friend, going on a date or having a job interview.

With such a variety of theories on why we dream, it seems that more research is needed before we can completely understand their purpose.