You Probably Had No Idea This is Why We Dream

Dreams have fascinated mankind since we first gained the ability to say “hey, what did you dream last night?” They can feel realistic or be downright absurd, reference your daily life or just reference nothing at all. Some people would find deeper, hidden meanings in the analysis of dreams, but that’s not what we’re here to do.

While we don’t particularly care for what we dream or how we dream, today we’re going to dive a bit deeper into why we dream.

Mental Health

Unless you have severe nightmares or sleep paralysis, dreams have a positive effect on our mental wellbeing. They can reduce anxiety and depression, which seems like a pretty good deal. Note that it doesn’t make you immune to these conditions, but at least you’ll generally be happier and more stress free.

Concentration

Dreaming helps us sort of reset the brain, which has positive effects on our concentration and coordination. This will allow us to be more productive and focused during the day, which will probably make your boss very happy.

Weight

While this may sound weird, research has shown that people that weren’t allowed to dream actually gained more weight than people that were. While this doesn’t mean that sleeping is now a viable diet, it does mean that sleep and dreaming has a positive effect on your metabolism.