Most dreams are actually less bizarre than people think. When we dream, the logic centres of our brain – the frontal lobes – go dark, and chemicals associated with self-control, like serotonin and norepinephrine, drop. At the same time, the emotion centres light up: we have a perfect chemical can...

People are compelled to talk about dreams. It is a natural impulse because dreams are emotional, affect moods, feel profound. 

What is unusual is that we live in a culture where we’re expected to forget our dreams. We have this cliche that it is boring to talk about dreams.

Dreams offer the opportunity to think in a different way and show new answers to problems, 

They show us blind spots and help us home in on things we might be neglecting in our personal lives.

Dreams are an opportunity to work through things that frighten us in real life, to play out worst-case scenarios in an environment where they have no consequences. 

Dreaming helps us consolidate new memories: we replay salient experiences from the day, reinforcing new pathways in our brains. 

In one study, people enrolled in a French-language intensive course had an increase in REM sleep and dreams while they were studying: their brains were ...