Do animals dream

A.� Dreams aren't fully understood even in humans, but where experiments have been carried out, the answer seems to be: yes, animals do dream.

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Q.� Why do�animals and people dream
A. No one knows for sure. To be able to understand the possible reasons why animals dream let's first look at the theories regarding why humans do it. We all dream every night, but don't always remember what about. Our dreams are usually based in familiar surroundings and feature people we know.�

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One theory is that dreams are a way of sorting all the things that happened to us that day. Conversely, another theory suggests that dreams are a way of correcting our memory and what we dream about is the false bits of memory which are 'thrown away'.

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One theory as to why we dream is so that the brain receives essential constant stimulation. When we're asleep our brains don't get the same stimuli as when we're awake. Dreams may help maintain brain function during sleep.

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Q.� Do babies dream

A.� Babies and little children spend half of their sleep cycle in REM sleep, more than twice as long as in adults. This suggests that babies dream more than adults do, leading some scientists to believe that dreaming in babies is important in developing their nerves and pathways in the brain.

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Q.� When do we dream
A.� There is only a 30-minute period when most people do their dreaming, during REM (rapid eye movement). REM normally occurs when we have been asleep for an hour or so.

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Q.� Do animals have REM sleep
A.� Yes, many vertebrates and all mammals exhibit the signs of REM.

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Q.� How do we know animals dream
A.� Researchers have long known that animals go through the same types of sleep phases that people do, including rapid eye movement sleep or REM sleep, which is when people dream. But determining whether animals dream is difficult.

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Experiments with sleeping rats found that cells in the animals' brains fire in a distinctive pattern identical to one that occurred when awake and trying to learn their way around a maze. Researchers concluded that the rats were reviewing what they had learned while awake to consolidate the memories. These findings back the theory that humans dream to consolidate memory and learning.

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To ask more questions about animals and nature, click here

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by Lisa Cardy