In his book This Is Why You Dream, neurosurgeon and neurobiologist Dr. Rahul Jandial dives into one of the brain’s most fascinating mysteries—dreaming. With years of experience in brain surgery, Jandial combines scientific research and real-world insights to explore why we dream and what it reveals about our waking lives.
What Happens in the Brain During Sleep?
When we sleep, our brain switches into a different mode. The logical, decision-making part (often referred to as the executive network) powers down, while the imagination network (known as the default mode network) stays active. Chemicals like GABA and glycine stop us from physically acting out our dreams, and during the REM phases of sleep, stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol drop.
Why Do We Dream?
Dreaming is surprisingly energy-intensive, so why do we do it? Jandial explores four key theories:
1. Rehearsing social situations
2. Simulating threats
3. Keeping the brain’s systems running
4. Boosting creativity
He suggests they all these theories contribute in different ways to explaining the purpose of dreams.
When and How Do We Dream?
While we often associate dreams with REM sleep, Jandial shows that dreams can happen in all sleep stages—though they’re most vivid during the REM. As the night goes on, REM phases get longer, and dreams become more emotionally intense.
Children dream differently too. Their dreams are more vivid and frequent, partly because they’re still developing a sense of self. Interestingly, dream themes are similar around the world, suggesting that dreaming serves an important biological function.
Dreams and Mental Health
Dreams are more than just mental movies. They’re now studied as part of diagnosing and treating conditions like PTSD. For example, Image Rehearsal Therapy helps people change recurring nightmares by mentally rewriting them while awake.
We also have more influence over our dreams than once thought. Lucid dreaming—being aware that you’re dreaming while still in the dream—can be trained. It’s even been used to help PTSD sufferers rewrite distressing dream content in real-time.
Dreams and Creativity
Dreams have long been linked to creativity. The double helix structure of DNA, and even some famous song lyrics, were inspired by dreams. Today, techniques like dream incubation (planting ideas before sleep) are being used to boost creativity and personal growth.
Final Thoughts
Jandial concludes that dreams serve many purposes—emotional processing, creativity, problem-solving, and more. They’re a window into our inner world and can even serve as a measure of our mental health.
He suggests a simple way to reflect on your dreams:
1. Focus on the emotion you felt during the dream.
2. Think of the main image as a metaphor—your brain might be linking it to past emotions or experiences.
Ultimately, Jandial encourages us to pay more attention to our dreams. They’re not just random—they’re a powerful part of being human.