Dreams
Dreams can be terrifying, erotic, bizarre or even banal. But what are dreams to the human mind? Are they, as Sigmund Freud suggested, messages from our unconscious mind? Are we opening our mind to new ideas, or simply trying to remember what we've learned that day?
We've come a long way since Freud's early theories of dream interpretation. Our dreams might be startling, but often we remember very little — sometimes nothing — of the two or more hours we dream each night.
But while we may not recall our nocturnal visions, scientists increasingly believe our dreams play an important role in memory and learning. And what we remember or learn varies throughout the sleep cycle.
