They also noted that dreaming plays a pivotal role in enhancing the possibility to create a “virtual world” during sleep that helps to generate more efficient predictions while awake. “Hence, dreams not only can contribute to the consolidation of memories with a great emotional load, but can also represent a mechanism to simulate the real world as a sort of problem-solving based on emotional coping strategies,” wrote researchers.

3. Dreams protect mental health

Each stage of sleep plays a crucial role in our health, but REM is particularly important for protecting the brain.

In research from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, it was found that REM sleep “silences the siren of the brain”. A lack of quality REM sleep – and dreams – was shown to undermine people’s ability to overcome emotional distress, raising their risk for chronic depression or anxiety.

Researchers said it was down to the amygdala, a part of the brain activated when upset. REM sleep was shown to ‘switch off’ the amygdala and reduce its activation to similarly distressing events the following day.

The health benefits of dreaming, from improving memory to processing emotions