What actually happens in our brains when we dream? Just in time for World Brain Day, it’s worth taking a look at one of the most fascinating books about our most complex organ. In *When Brains Dream*, psychologist Antonio Zadra (Université de Montréal) and Harvard psychiatrist Robert Stickgold present a theory that is as compelling as it is fascinating: dreams are not a nocturnal by-product of our consciousness, but a central component of memory formation.
Whilst we sleep, the brain processes our experiences, links new information to existing knowledge and transfers it to long-term memory. To do this, it enters a state of extraordinary creativity – a space where even the most absurd thoughts are permitted, because that is precisely where new connections are formed. Dreams thus become a creative laboratory for our brain.
A clever, scientifically sound and, at the same time, surprisingly entertaining book that shows just how closely memory, creativity and sleep are intertwined. A reading recommendation that you should – quite literally – take to heart.
→ wwnorton.com
World Brain Day
When Brains Dream