Dreams can be wacky, but they may actually help you learn or cope.

Source: The Washington Post

By Jason Bittel

Dreams are weird. Most of them seem to contain a mixture of familiar faces or places and an absolute mishmash of brain confetti. One minute you’re flying through the halls of your school, and the next you’re riding a roller coaster full of monkeys.

So why do our brains produce these nightly hallucinations, which most often occur when we’re deep in a kind of sleep known as rapid eye movement, or REM? And are dreams good for anything?

“There are a lot of theories,” said Alice Robb, science writer and author of the book “Why We Dream.” “One thing that’s happening with dreams is that we’re working through anxieties. We’re sort of going over and rehearsing things that we’re stressed about.”

Got a big test coming up? A trip to the dentist? Get in a fight with a friend? Don’t be surprised if your dreams start to echo those ideas, but in bizarre, dreamy ways.

Read Further

Suggested reading

Neurobiology of Dreams and Revelation

Revealing Dreams of Scientists

10 Dreams That Changed Human History – Lucid Dreaming