We dream because our brain is busy while we sleep. Imagine your brain as a painter, and during the night it paints pictures made of memories, feelings, and random things you saw or heard that day. These paintings are what we call dreams. The most colorful parts of these paintings happen in REM sleep, when your eyes move quickly behind your closed eyelids. During this time, our brain feels almost awake but still has a soft blanket of sleep over it.
Examples
- While you're sleeping, your brain paints a picture using memories from today, like that time you spilled juice on your shirt.
- You dream about flying because your brain mixed up the feeling of running and the memory of flying in a video game.
- Your favorite character from a book shows up in your dream because you thought about them a lot during the day.
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See also
- What Makes Some Foods Go Bad Faster Than Others?
- Why Do We Need Sleep?
- What are antibiotics?
- Why Do Some People Fall Asleep Easily and Others Struggle?
- Why Do People Talk in Their Sleep?
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Categories: Health · sleep,brain function,neuroscience