The Story Behind Your Dreams By Ben Slivnick 2018 Have you ever wondered what a dream meant or why you had it? In this informational text, Ben Slivnick discusses why people dream. As you read, take notes on the different theories scientists have for why people dream.

(1) You walk into school and realize you forgot your math homework. Then, the teacher starts the lesson. Some of it makes sense, but some parts leave you scratching your head. You turn to the student next to you for help and realize it’s your best friend who moved away in second grade. Then, you wake up. You were dreaming.

Dreams can be exciting or terrifying. Often, they are complicated and confusing. And for much of human history, we’ve tried to make sense of them. The ancient Egyptians believed that dreams were messages from the gods. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that dreams showed prophecies, or visions of the future. Later, in the 1800s, early psychologists believed that dreams centered on thoughts that people wanted to avoid, windows into what they called the “unconscious mind.”

Why We Dream

Today, scientists still aren’t exactly sure why we have dreams, but a number of theories have emerged. One idea is that we dream to “practice” responding to problems. This is called “threat simulation theory” and might explain why our dreams so often involve stressful events such as forgetting your homework. Scientists believe that your brain might be preparing for how it would respond if you really do forget your homework. These scientists point out that humans aren’t the only animals who dream; if you’ve ever seen a dog moving its legs while it’s sleeping, it’s probably dreaming about running.

Another theory says that dreams play an important role in keeping people asleep. Scientists have long known that sleep produces a number of benefits for people’s moods and long-term health. Dreams might allow people to get the sleep they need, theorizes South African scientist Mark Solms. He compares dreams to Saturday morning cartoons; your dreams keep your mind entertained so that the brain can do important work in the background — just like how cartoons keep small children entertained so that their parents are free to complete work around the house.

The second half is in my next question