What are dreams?

A simple walk through what science and ancient traditions understand by dreaming, and why every culture has given dreams importance.

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Every single night, the human brain tells stories. We call them dreams, and although we sometimes forget them before breakfast, they always happen: sleep studies estimate we spend about two hours per night dreaming, which adds up to several years over a lifetime.

Science describes dreaming as a natural activity of the brain during rest, especially intense in the phase called REM, when the eyes move quickly under the eyelids. In those moments the brain sorts memories, processes emotions and rehearses situations, like someone tidying the house after the guests have left.

Ancient traditions saw in dreams something more than biology: a language. Egyptians, Greeks, Hebrews and the first peoples of the Americas left records of dreams read as messages, warnings or visits. There is no need to choose between the two views; they can live together. Science explains the how, and traditions have spent centuries on the what is it telling me.

On this site we take dreams seriously and serenely. No alarmism and no mockery: every dream is a chance to know oneself a little better and, sometimes, to find comfort.