Why do we dream?

To have an experience, to get what we want or don't get it. And to learn from it, our dreams change who we are. For some reasons we need this

I'm not sure anyone really knows the answer on why we dream. But the way I always thought about it based on my very limited understanding of the biology of sleep would be something like this:

The necessity of sleep is to 'clean' our brain of metabolite and waste products it produces during its normal function. As the brain does not have a lymphatic system, draining of waste products is a lot harder for this organ compared to most other organs in our bodies. Considering that the brain uses up a relatively huge amount of energy, there are bound to be a lot of waste products generated that way.

I think there is a pretty amazing TED talk on this, they outlined the hypothesis that during sleep your brain cells expell fluid (and thereby effectively shrink a little). This results in a lot more space between the brain cells, which is then filled by a relatively large volume of fluid. The scientists who conducted this research had given this fluid a fluorescentdye, allowing them to visualize this as a green color using a microscope. They then could show that during sleep, this fluid seemed to flow through the brain in waves, and these waves seemed to be following the outside of the bloodvessels that run through the brain. Their conclusion was that this was very likely how waste products are removed from our brain during sleep.

So considering that, my thinking is that this seems to make a lot of sense. We all know that when we stay awake for too long, our brain function starts diminish. Thinking becomes slower, coordination becomes harder, it is much harder to focus and it feels like alltogether a kind of fog falls over you. When considering that the buildup of waste products accumulates during waking hours, it kind of makes sense that more waste products will negatively impact your brain function. Which also shows the absolute necessity for sleep.

As for dreams, these are thoughts that happen during sleep, when your braincells are shrunk down and are exposed to fluids waving around in your brain. Quite a different situation from when you are awake, no wonder the function of brain cells will be impacted by this. As I don't think any of us are really able to 'turn off' our braincells, during our sleep they probably just keep working and as a result they keep generating thoughts.

Taking this all together, my conclusion would be that therefore I don't think there is a real purpose or reason behind dreams, they are merely a by-product of how the organ works. A very funny, confusing and often puzzling one.

Just my 2ct. And as a disclaimer, I am not a neuroscientist.

I dream of Jeannie.

Some of us still do. lol

Maybe it was a Jungian slip. Sometimes a Jeannie is just a Jeannie.

Hello everybody,
i quite don´t understand if the basis of the sentence, or question ...why do we dream?
is
A/ about biological dreaming connected with sleep OR
B/ mental dreaming, something to reach, somebody to get, something to receive...
if it is A, the body needs to have a rest at the end of the day and brain too. The brain processes the experiences got during the day in special way, sometimes fantastic stories.
if it is B, the soul desires for the fulfilling, sense of life, to reach the goal.