Why do we Dream?

 In the 4th  millennium, Asian Egyptians wrote a dream book listing over a hundred common dreams and their meanings and in the years since we haven't paused in our question to understand why we dream? So after a great deal of scientific research, technological advancements and persistence we still do not have any definite answer but we have some interesting theories. Lets us look at some of the theories that may answer our question of why do we dream:

1. We dream to fulfil our wishes:

In the early 1900s, Sigmund Freud proposed that while all of our dreams including our nightmares are a collection of images from our daily conscious life. They also have symbolic meaning  (like if you see a shoe, in your dream then it is a sign of power, security and strength) which relate to the fulfilment of our subconscious wishes. Freud theorized that everything that we remember when we wake up from a dream is a symbolic representation of our unconscious primitive thoughts, urges and desires. Freud believed that by analysing those remembered elements the unconscious content would be revealed to our conscious mind and psychological issues stemming from its repression could be addressed and resolved.

2. We dream to remember:

To increase performance on certain mental tasks sleep is good but dreaming while sleeping is better. In 2010 researchers found that people were much better at getting through a complex 3D maze if they had napped and dreamed of the maze before their second attempt. In fact, they were up to 10 times better at it than those who only thought of the maze while awake between attempts and those who napped but did not dream about the maze. Researchers theorize that certain memory processes can happen only when you are asleep and our dreams are a signal that these processes are taking place. 

3. We dream to forget:

There are about 10 thousand trillion neural connections within the architecture of our brain, they are created by everything you think and everything you do.  In 1983 neural biological theory of dreaming called Reverse Learning holds that while sleeping and mainly during REM sleep cycles your cortex reviews these neural connections and dumps the unnecessary ones. Without this Reverse Learning process which results in your dreams, your brain could be over-run by useless connections and parasitic thoughts could disrupt the necessary thinking that you need to do while you are awake. 

4. We dream to keep our brains working:

The Continual Activation Theory proposes that your dreams are results from your brains need to constantly consolidate and create long term memories to function properly, so that when external inputs fall below a certain level like when you are asleep your brain automatically triggers the generation of data from its memory storages which appear to you in the form of thoughts and feelings that you experience in your dreams. 

5. We dream to Rehearse:

Dreams involving dangerous and threatening situations are very common and the Primitive Instinct of Rehearsal Theory holds that the content of a dream is significant to its purpose. Whether it's an anxiety-filled night of being chased by a lion in the woods or fighting with a ninja in a dark alley, these dreams allow you to practice your instincts to keep them sharp and dependable in case you need them in real life.

6. We dream to heal:

Stress neurotransmitters in the brain are much less active during the REM stage, even during dreams of traumatic experiences. Some researchers have theorized that one purpose of dreaming is to take out all the painful experiences to allow for psychological healing. By viewing traumatic events in our dreams with less mental stress may grant you a clearer perspective and enhanced ability to process them in psychologically healthy ways. People with certain mood disorders and PTSD often have difficulty sleeping, leading some scientists to believe that lack of dreaming may be a contributing factor to their illnesses. 

7. We Dream to solve problems: 

Unconstrained by reality and the rules of conventional logic, in dreams, your mind can create limitless scenarios to help you grasp problems and formulate solutions that you may not consider while you are awake. Charles Steinbeck called it the Committee of Sleep and researchers demonstrated the effectiveness of dreaming on problem-solving. The renowned chemist August Kekula discovered the structure of the Benzene molecule while sleeping, and this is the reason sometimes the best solution to a problem is to sleep on it. 

These are just a few of the most prominent theories, as technology increases our capacity for understanding the brain, one day we may discover the definitive reason for them but until that time comes we just have to keep on dreaming.