Why do we dream?我们为什么会做梦

Why do we dream?

我们为什么会做梦？

Well, we dream for at least several different reasons.

我们做梦有几个不同的原因。

One key benefit is creativity.

做梦给我们带来最大的好处是：创造力。

Sleep, including dream sleep, is associated with an enhanced ability to solve next-day problems.

睡眠，包括梦境中的睡眠都和第二天问题解决能力是否增强有关。

It's almost as though we go to sleep with the pieces of the jigsaw, but we wake up with the puzzle complete.

就好像我们带着散乱的拼图入眠，第二天却抱着完成的拼图醒来。

The second benefit of REM-sleep dreaming is emotional first aid.

快速眼动睡眠的第二个好处是情感急救。

REM sleep takes the painful sting out of difficult emotional experiences so that when we come back the next day, we feel better about those painful events.

快速眼动睡眠将我们从痛苦的情绪里解救出来，这样当第二天醒来时，我们不会感到特别难受。

You can almost think of dreaming as a form of overnight therapy.

你大可以把做梦当成一种夜间疗法。

It's not time that heals all wounds, but it's time during dream sleep that provides emotional convalescence.

治愈一切的不是时间，而是睡眠中那段做梦的时间在帮助我们平复情绪。

Now, it's not just that you dream. It's also what you dream about that seems to make a difference.

这种改变不只取决于做梦，还取决于梦境的内容。

Scientists have discovered that after learning a virtual maze, for example, those individuals who slept but critically also dreamed about the maze were the only ones who ended up being better at navigating the maze when they woke up.

科学家发现，例如，那些在玩过虚拟迷宫后睡着，并且在睡梦中梦到迷宫的人，是为数不多的在醒来后能更好地走迷宫的人。

And this same principle is true for our mental health.

这个原则同样适用于我们的心理健康。

For example, people going through a difficult or traumatic experience such as a divorce, and who are dreaming about that event, go on to gain resolution to their depression relative to those who were dreaming but not dreaming about the events themselves.

举个例子，经历过困境或创伤，比如离婚，并且在梦中情景重现的人，相比于那些做无关梦的人更容易消除内心的抑郁。

All of which means that sleep and the very act of dreaming itself appears to be an essential ingredient to so much of our waking lives.

这些都意味着睡眠和做梦这个行为本身，似乎是我们现实生活中不可缺少的部分。

We dream, therefore we are.

我梦，故我在。