Review of WHEN BRAINS DREAM

The new science of why we sleep and dream

Nearly all of us dream (and those that claim they do not most likely just don’t remember that they did). We go to sleep and we experience varying degrees of what scientists call dreaming. Seeming hallucinations of sorts where we are either watching or are the active participant is typically bizarre scenes. We wake and begin to share our dream with someone, realizing it makes little sense, defying reality.

Why does this happen? What function, if any, does dreaming serve? And why are dreams so bizarre? These questions are not new. People, scientists, and philosophers have been trying to understand our dreams for as long as we’ve had ways to communicate with others about them. And in When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep by Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold, we are closer to clear answers.

When I was an undergraduate, I worked as a research assistant in a sleep lab. One of the big studies we were running at the time was to test how napping after learning could boost memory. It was interesting, but being only an undergraduate, I didn’t fully appreciate the science and theory underlying the hypothesis. Until now.

When Brains Dream is centered on the authors’ framework for the function of dreaming called NEXTUP. NEXTUP proposes that dreaming is a form of sleep-dependent memory processing, and specifically explores weak associations between memories. What this means is that the brain takes memories and events from the day, and searches our brain for weakly associated memories to connect them too. The result is enhanced memories that are “processed” but also potentially novel, insightful, or creative solutions related to the memories that were processed.

The NEXTUP model is not only interesting but can also explain several dream related phenomena. It explains why dreams are so bizarre: the purpose of dreams is to connect concepts, ideas, and events that our waking brain wouldn’t normally connect. It explains why “sleeping on” big decisions or tough problems can result in clarity the next day. And it also explains why sleep is so central in unresolved PTSD: the NEXTUP models suggests that PTSD results in dysregulation of memory processing during sleep, resulting in continued vivid memories of traumatizing events, since healthy sleep lessens the emotional memory of events.

Although the core of When Brains Dream is the NEXTUP model, the book covers many other topics. The authors cover the history of sleep and dream research, which goes far beyond Freud, who should not at all be taken as an authority on sleep and dreaming (or anything at all for that matter). It also covers the content of dreams, and how people can potentially leverage their dreams to solve problems and become more lucid dreamers.

Overall, this is a fantastic book that I would highly recommend. It answers so many questions about sleep and dreaming along with debunking some myths (such as “we only dream during REM sleep,” which is untrue). It’s well written and should make it on to your TBR.

Published: January 2021

Publisher: W. W. Norton

Format: Hardcover

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If you think this sounds interesting, bookmark these other great reads:

• The Exquisite Machine: The New Science of the Heart by Sian Harding (2022) | Read my review

• The Invention of Tomorrow: A Natural History of Foresight by Thomas Suddendorf, Jonathan Redshaw, and Adam Bulley (2022) | Read my review

• Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation by Christopher Kemp (2022) | Read my review

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