When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep
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- Create Date：2021-12-03 09:50:55
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Antonio Zadra
- ISBN：1324002832
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Summary
Questions on the origins and meaning of dreams are as old as humankind， and as confounding and exciting today as when nineteenth-century scientists first attempted to unravel them。 Why do we dream？ Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity？ What purpose do dreams serve？
When Brains Dream addresses these core questions about dreams while illuminating the most up-to-date science in the field。 Written by two world-renowned sleep and dream researchers， it debunks common myths; that we only dream in REM sleep， for example—while acknowledging the mysteries that persist around both the science and experience of dreaming。
Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold bring together state-of-the-art neuroscientific ideas and findings to propose a new and innovative model of dream function called NEXTUP—Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities。 By detailing this model’s workings， they help readers understand key features of several types of dreams， from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams。
When Brains Dream addresses these core questions about dreams while illuminating the most up-to-date science in the field。 Written by two world-renowned sleep and dream researchers， it debunks common myths; that we only dream in REM sleep， for example—while acknowledging the mysteries that persist around both the science and experience of dreaming。
Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold bring together state-of-the-art neuroscientific ideas and findings to propose a new and innovative model of dream function called NEXTUP—Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities。 By detailing this model’s workings， they help readers understand key features of several types of dreams， from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams。
Reviews
William Berry
，
I bought this book because I teach a class about dreams and dreaming， and the text we use is old。 I was hoping I could sub this one in。 Unfortunately it doesn't go to deeply （and often not at all） to theories of dream interpretation other than theirs。 Though science seems to indicate much of dream interpretation isn't scientifically backed， maybe I'm old school but I think there is something to be gained from people saying what they think objects and events in their dream might represent。 On the I bought this book because I teach a class about dreams and dreaming， and the text we use is old。 I was hoping I could sub this one in。 Unfortunately it doesn't go to deeply （and often not at all） to theories of dream interpretation other than theirs。 Though science seems to indicate much of dream interpretation isn't scientifically backed， maybe I'm old school but I think there is something to be gained from people saying what they think objects and events in their dream might represent。 On the positive side there theory is becoming more well known。 Additionally， the authors supported a lot of what was in the other text， which considering it was written in the 70's and sometimes comes across as if someone might have been under the influence of psychedelics wrote it。 But this book backed， or at least did not dismiss， some of the more non-materialist claims。 Overall the book is a good read if you're interested in dreaming and what it all might mean。 。。。more
Andrew
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Interesting book about what our bodies do during sleep and the studies that led up to what we know。If you have an interest in the science behind sleep， give it a read。 If you’re looking for definitive answers though， the science isn’t there yet。
Rudi Pauwelijn
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4，5 sterren ， op sommige stukken was het wat door kauwen en op het ijs glijden ，。。。dromen。。。 de opslag ， verwerking ， verwerving van informatie via het （universele？） bewustzijn naar nieuw gevormde cellen ， die bestaan uit ; 0
James P。
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Robert Stickgold， although not listed in this books title on Goodreads， is co-author。An up-to-date overview of the current state of dream research。 Humans dream for a variety of reasons （memory consolidation is one）， and we have come a long way since Sigmund Freud。Unfortunately， Freud's influence continues to overshadow popular conceptions of why brains dream （we're not the only life forms that do）。 Thankfully， Zadra and Stickgold parse the facts from the fiction and effectively present workable Robert Stickgold， although not listed in this books title on Goodreads， is co-author。An up-to-date overview of the current state of dream research。 Humans dream for a variety of reasons （memory consolidation is one）， and we have come a long way since Sigmund Freud。Unfortunately， Freud's influence continues to overshadow popular conceptions of why brains dream （we're not the only life forms that do）。 Thankfully， Zadra and Stickgold parse the facts from the fiction and effectively present workable models that can be used for developing a better understanding of our dreams。As for the science， I had a difficult time during parts of book， getting the gist of the more technical aspects of the authors' approach。 Just the same， I learned a few things and have begun to look at my dreams in a different light。 。。。more
Beth
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Interesting and well written with good science， but I just couldn't get into it。 Might go back to it。 Interesting and well written with good science， but I just couldn't get into it。 Might go back to it。 。。。more
John Majerle
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I have been searching without success for a science based book on this topic for several years。 Finally one has been published and， even better， I found it incredibly well researched and well written。 My only disappointment is that scientific dream research has been neglected for so long。 I was hoping to learn a lot more about this fascinating topic that affects all of us every day only to find that there are many more questions than answers。 I applaud the authors for not making wild unsubstanti I have been searching without success for a science based book on this topic for several years。 Finally one has been published and， even better， I found it incredibly well researched and well written。 My only disappointment is that scientific dream research has been neglected for so long。 I was hoping to learn a lot more about this fascinating topic that affects all of us every day only to find that there are many more questions than answers。 I applaud the authors for not making wild unsubstantible explanations。 I was fascinated to discover how the research is performed and how they debate the result of their experiments。 。。。more
Kimathy
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Great！ Lots of facts and science and I love to share tidbits like i’m a smart person with my friends。 Would listen again to absorb more information。 I love to learn。 Especially about something like dreaming because we literally don’t understand what it is。 What the fuck is it？ What are our little brains doing all night？？？
donna_ehm
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While the topic is inherently interesting， I found Robert Stickgold's narrative style distracting。 He delivers the content in a very neutral tone， like a prime-time newscaster reading from a teleprompter。 This is fine when you're watching/listening to the news as the content is structured into short chunks with the narration often broken up by video clips or interviews （"And now， over to you， Bob。"） And also， it's appropriate in that role to project calmness and come across as an objective third While the topic is inherently interesting， I found Robert Stickgold's narrative style distracting。 He delivers the content in a very neutral tone， like a prime-time newscaster reading from a teleprompter。 This is fine when you're watching/listening to the news as the content is structured into short chunks with the narration often broken up by video clips or interviews （"And now， over to you， Bob。"） And also， it's appropriate in that role to project calmness and come across as an objective third party。 But maintaining that objectivity and neutrality over a nine hour audiobook is taxing for a listener， I think （certainly it was for me）。 The format requires a lot more variation and spark to maintain interest。 Stickgold is not narrating in a monotone - he speaks clearly and concisely， and uses inflections where appropriate which does serve to give a little lift to his reading。 But there is not much personality seeping into his delivery。I got to thinking of a few narrators I consistently enjoy， like Robert Petkoff or Xe Sands， both of whom narrate with a lot of warmth and come across as being genuinely interested in what they're reading。 Stickgold himself may have quite enjoyed the book， but you couldn't tell that from his voice。 Stickgold also spoke very quickly and I struggled to focus on what he was saying。 This wasn't helped by the fact he rarely paused when a different section of a chapter started。 He'd read a section title like it was the next sentence in the paragraph he just finished。 It would take me a second to realize that what he was saying wasn't a continuation of what had come before， so mentally I'd have to stop and re-calibrate what I was hearing， just that internal switch of "Okay， we're starting something else now。" But by then he was already several sentences into the section and inevitably I'd have to skip back to catch up。 This was when I turned the speed down a notch or two， which helped。I'll have to come back to this one as a book。 。。。more
جاسم كلمد
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"What dreams are， where they come from， what they mean， and what they are for。" "What dreams are， where they come from， what they mean， and what they are for。" 。。。more
Kalyan Turaga
，
I liked the book。 Its to the point， no filler material or digression from original theme。 Learnt new things and liked the way authors put what they do not know as do not know。 I would not recommend this book for general public， it for those who have interest in the topic or want to do some related research。 Good job ！ Authors。
HEATHER
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First couple of chapters describe the History， Theories and Research to set the stage for What We Now Know。 Read like a Thesis paper but stuck with it hoping to get answers。 It’s never easy to detail science as can be understood by the layperson but I grew impatient with needing answers for my own dream life。 Those come almost half way through to the end。 Stick with it - this book is the Everything you ever wanted to know about your brain in dreamland！ A Key Chapter for me was What do we dream a First couple of chapters describe the History， Theories and Research to set the stage for What We Now Know。 Read like a Thesis paper but stuck with it hoping to get answers。 It’s never easy to detail science as can be understood by the layperson but I grew impatient with needing answers for my own dream life。 Those come almost half way through to the end。 Stick with it - this book is the Everything you ever wanted to know about your brain in dreamland！ A Key Chapter for me was What do we dream about？ And Why？” which taught how to explore and understand your dreams。 I was happy to learn that Psychiatrists use methods of cognitive behavioral therapy to assist PTSD sufferers and this should be valuable for some。 “Things that go bump in the Night” explains Sleep Disorders- nightmares， recurrent dreams and lucid dreaming。 。。。more
Devi
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A pretty solid and interesting literature review of dream & sleep research， but was hoping for a bit more in the sections on creativity and problem solving
PottWab Regional Library
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E
Diana
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When Brains Dream: Exploring The Science & Mystery of Sleep [2021] - ★★★This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021。 In this book， the authors， Professors of the Université de Montréal and Harvard Medical School respectively， have a goal to explain the “dreaming brain” and start with the early research into dreams done by some Greek philosophers before talking about the dreaming theories of Freud and Jung。 The authors then go on to explain REM （rapid eye movement） sleep and the discov When Brains Dream: Exploring The Science & Mystery of Sleep [2021] - ★★★This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021。 In this book， the authors， Professors of the Université de Montréal and Harvard Medical School respectively， have a goal to explain the “dreaming brain” and start with the early research into dreams done by some Greek philosophers before talking about the dreaming theories of Freud and Jung。 The authors then go on to explain REM （rapid eye movement） sleep and the discovery of it by Aserinsky and Kleitman in 1953。 What follows are the explanations of some well-known theories about dreaming， for example those that relate to （i） memory; （ii） evolutionary advantage （“role-play”）; （iii） problem-solving; （iv） creativity and （v） emotions。 Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold then move on to sleep disorders in their book， talking about narcolepsy and sleep paralysis。 The major issue in these book sections is that they are filled with too many obvious statements that could have been edited out。 There are so many of these obvious statements in the book that it often reads like a sleep and dream manual series for “complete dummies”。 For example， I certainly did not pick up this new book to find out to my “amazement” that “our brain and mind never rest” [Zadra/Stickgold， 2021: 270]， that “just about everyone dreams”， that “the Frozen characters Olaf and Elsa don’t dream” [2021: 82] or that “absence of dream recall clearly is not proof of the absence of dreaming” [Zadra/Stickgold， 2021: 52]， but that is what I found inside。 The authors constantly refer to some future chapters in the book， and， most probably， an up-to-date college textbook on psychology may provide a more interesting and insightful overview of the topic。I lucid-dream spontaneously since childhood and consider lucid-dreaming （a state where a person is aware that he or she is dreaming while having a dream） to be very important to our understanding of dreams and consciousness， but the problem is that the authors hardly offer any explanation of it or talk about its causes at length; rather， they offer some techniques of how to start lucid-dreaming， techniques which belong more inside some new age self-help books， rather inside such a serious non-fiction book as When Brains Dream penned by two eminent Professors。 （Accurate） dream recall and vividness of dreams are important for the development of lucid dreaming （I have always had both）， but from my own personal experience and side I can also suggest monitoring one’s thoughts during the day， day-dreaming （within reason， of course）， connecting with one’s inner self （interpret this as broadly as possible） and becoming more aware of one’s feelings during the day。 Some insight into lucid dreaming the authors nevertheless give: “When brains dream lucidly”， they write， “frontal regions that are associated with self-reflective awareness during waking， but that are normally turned off during REM sleep， become more active” [Zadra/Stickgold， 2021: 233]。Finally， Professor Zadra and Professor Stickgold offer their own theory into the nature of dreaming in this book。 The so-called “NEXT UP” theory “suggests that the function of dreaming is to explain the past and predict the future， to discover what’s next up in our lives。 This is the brain’s task while we dream” [Zadra/Stickgold， 2021: 269， 270]。 To achieve that “the dreaming brain attempts only to show us what has been and what might be”。 It shows us that we cannot yet fully explain [Zadra/Stickgold， 2021: 270]。 The researches then note “dreaming is a unique form of sleep-dependent memory evolution， one that extracts new knowledge from existing information through the discovery and strengthening of…often previously unexplored associations” [Zadra/Stickgold， 2021: 271]。 Of course， they cannot prove that empirically in any way， but this theory sounds logical， even if “limiting”。 Undoubtedly， our brain works ceaselessly during the night， processing events from our lives， sorting memories， calculating， thinking， trying to come to terms with either unpleasant events or come up with internal solutions， etc。 Perhaps， the dreaming brain really tries to predict the future and open our minds to the multitude of possibilities open to us in real life through the finding and presentation of new opportunities by the process of imagining， cataloguing， eliminating and making （unlikely） associations， but， is it ALL that it does？ Knowing how complex our brains are， the explanation is a little simplistic and probably our brain does a million other things besides while we sleep， and dreams have a mountain of other reasons we cannot even imagine。 The Professors’ theory seems be an “easy way out”， too。 The researchers claim that their theory is new and inventive， but it is not – it is a mish-mash of other existing theories all put together - memory， evolutionary （the researchers’ “memory-evolution”） and maybe even Freudian theories （researchers’ “associations” wording）。Though When Brains Dreams is an engaging account of a dreaming brain that summarises well the research in this field so far， the book is also laden with obviousness and， unfortunately， focuses too much on the “why” question， as opposed to the “how” issue。 The “relaxed” style of the book baffles， rather than says something insightful or concrete about dreaming， and the researchers’ own theory into dreaming is hardly something more than a clever “conglomeration” of all the others。 。。。more
Madeline Kaa
，
decently interesting， not super lifechanging - and it was a little off putting that in between discussions of the really interesting stuff， the authors would pause to essentially pedal their model of dream theory to the readers and insist no other theory fits quite like theirs， before continuing with the info。 that being said， still pretty interesting stuff！
Kumar Raghavendra
，
While some bits in the book seem superficial， that's probably because a lot of the research is still on-going and there isn't enough conclusive material to discuss in greater detail。 Nonetheless， the book is an enriching read and gave me a much greater understanding of why and how we dream and made me appreciate how difficult it is to scientifically research these concepts。 While some bits in the book seem superficial， that's probably because a lot of the research is still on-going and there isn't enough conclusive material to discuss in greater detail。 Nonetheless， the book is an enriching read and gave me a much greater understanding of why and how we dream and made me appreciate how difficult it is to scientifically research these concepts。 。。。more
Colleen
，
Interesting overview of sleep， dreams and the purpose they may serve。 Dealing with scientific studies so only a few anecdotes。 There’s an interesting chapter or two on predictive dreams and on lucid dreaming。 They refer throughout to their own theory ， which I found a bit annoying。
Ali Sattari
，
A thorough explanation of dream functions with proper references and mentions of alternative explanations along the way。 I specially liked the mature non-arrogant scientific position of being （and remaining） open to possibilities beyond current established facts regarding sleep。 As the book mentions many discoveries seemed unreasonable at their time and later on proved to be correct and scientific。 Remain open minded， but skeptic enough that your brain won't fall out！ A thorough explanation of dream functions with proper references and mentions of alternative explanations along the way。 I specially liked the mature non-arrogant scientific position of being （and remaining） open to possibilities beyond current established facts regarding sleep。 As the book mentions many discoveries seemed unreasonable at their time and later on proved to be correct and scientific。 Remain open minded， but skeptic enough that your brain won't fall out！ 。。。more
Rory Litwin
，
The key to getting the most from this book might be not to expect it to be as interesting as an actual dream。
Kate
，
This book is fascinating and by far， the most detailed scientific book on dreams that I have come across！ It covers topics such as dreaming in REM vs non-REM， dream myths， lucid dreaming， nightmares， and more。 I found it especially insightful that dreams are so important for us to process the day and make new insights， even if we do not consciously remember doing so。 While this book shows that there is so much we simply don't know about dreams， we do know of their importance and of some profound This book is fascinating and by far， the most detailed scientific book on dreams that I have come across！ It covers topics such as dreaming in REM vs non-REM， dream myths， lucid dreaming， nightmares， and more。 I found it especially insightful that dreams are so important for us to process the day and make new insights， even if we do not consciously remember doing so。 While this book shows that there is so much we simply don't know about dreams， we do know of their importance and of some profound ways that they affect our lives。 Great， informative read！ 。。。more
T。 Fowler
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An interesting and well-written book that explains， as best as possible， the strange things that everyone's brains do when we sleep。 An interesting and well-written book that explains， as best as possible， the strange things that everyone's brains do when we sleep。 。。。more
Curtis Edmonds
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I read this in preparation for writing my novel， A CIRCLE OF MOONLIGHT， a good bit of which takes place in the dreams of two of the characters。 I learned a lot， although I don't think I used very much of what i learned。 This is a very good middlebrow explainer sort of a book and I recommend it if you have an interest in the topic。 Otherwise。。。Should I say it？Yes。 Damn it。 I'm going to say it。 It will put you to sleep。 I read this in preparation for writing my novel， A CIRCLE OF MOONLIGHT， a good bit of which takes place in the dreams of two of the characters。 I learned a lot， although I don't think I used very much of what i learned。 This is a very good middlebrow explainer sort of a book and I recommend it if you have an interest in the topic。 Otherwise。。。Should I say it？Yes。 Damn it。 I'm going to say it。 It will put you to sleep。 。。。more
Peter Sidell
，
This book has changed my awareness of my own dreams。 It does provide insight into thinking about dreams while clearly demonstrating the ongoing mystery of why we drean and how we dream。 The use the acronym NEXTUP to explain something of what dreams do: the creative examination of possible futures and meanings of the past。 It gives an overview of how improved understanding of dreams and the process is developing while clafifying limits of the process。They do recognize that just as functional MRIs This book has changed my awareness of my own dreams。 It does provide insight into thinking about dreams while clearly demonstrating the ongoing mystery of why we drean and how we dream。 The use the acronym NEXTUP to explain something of what dreams do: the creative examination of possible futures and meanings of the past。 It gives an overview of how improved understanding of dreams and the process is developing while clafifying limits of the process。They do recognize that just as functional MRIs give us a new tool some other technology may or even probably will come along that leads to new insights and even controls for dreaming。 I am reminded of the book Wine of Dreamers written by John D MacDonald in the 1950s a SF treatment of where dream control could go。 。。。more
Randy Ringeisen
，
We spend so much of our lives sleeping that I thought it was time to learn about what happens when we sleep。 I recommend this book for that purpose。 In short， when we are awake we experience things。 When we sleep our brains are helping us make sense of those experiences by building relationships with previous experiences。 Dreams are part of the sleep cycle。 This book has much more detail about sleeping and dreaming。 I found it fascinating。
Cecilia
，
Anyone who knows me， will know that I have been obsessed with dreams and what they mean for a long time and that this book was right up my alley- especially since I'm a science geek too！ This book did an excellent job of explaining the biology and psychology of dreaming and really delved into the history of dream research。 The writing was very approachable and broke down the different terms and concepts really well， NextUp makes a lot of sense and a really fascinating approach to understanding w Anyone who knows me， will know that I have been obsessed with dreams and what they mean for a long time and that this book was right up my alley- especially since I'm a science geek too！ This book did an excellent job of explaining the biology and psychology of dreaming and really delved into the history of dream research。 The writing was very approachable and broke down the different terms and concepts really well， NextUp makes a lot of sense and a really fascinating approach to understanding why we dream and what our dreams represent。 Also this book made me wish I was going into dream research because the studies conducted sound absolutely riveting！！ 。。。more
Bridget Daly
，
Quite disappointing。 There was a lot of filler and allusion to what had been discussed in previous chapters and would be discussed in future chapters without any chapter saying much at all。 The authors are mainly trying to advertise their model of dreaming and push how every topic they touch on is supported by it。 For a book that has science in the subtitle， there was little talk of the science。 Perhaps the goal was to make it extremely approachable for a general audience but this overshot in my Quite disappointing。 There was a lot of filler and allusion to what had been discussed in previous chapters and would be discussed in future chapters without any chapter saying much at all。 The authors are mainly trying to advertise their model of dreaming and push how every topic they touch on is supported by it。 For a book that has science in the subtitle， there was little talk of the science。 Perhaps the goal was to make it extremely approachable for a general audience but this overshot in my opinion and was so high level as to be uninteresting and uninformative。 。。。more
Shana Yates
，
3。5 stars
Sophia
，
When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep by Antonio Zadra Published January 12， 2021 <3 This was quite fascinating！Questions on the origins and meaning of dreams are as old as humankind， and as confounding and exciting today as when nineteenth-century scientists first attempted to unravel them。 Why do we dream？ Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity？ What purpose do dreams serve？ When Brains Dream addresses these core When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep by Antonio Zadra Published January 12， 2021 <3 This was quite fascinating！Questions on the origins and meaning of dreams are as old as humankind， and as confounding and exciting today as when nineteenth-century scientists first attempted to unravel them。 Why do we dream？ Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity？ What purpose do dreams serve？ When Brains Dream addresses these core questions about dreams while illuminating the most up-to-date science in the field。 Written by two world-renowned sleep and dream researchers， it debunks common myths while acknowledging the mysteries that persist around both the science and experience of dreaming。 Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold bring together state-of-the-art neuroscientific ideas and findings to propose a new and innovative model of dream function called NEXTUP-Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities。 By detailing this model's workings， they help listeners understand key features of several types of dreams， from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams。 When Brains Dream reveals recent discoveries about the sleeping brain and the many ways in which dreams are psychologically， and neurologically， meaningful experiences; explores a host of dream-related disorders; and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight。 。。。more
Steve
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I read this from cover to cover and not once did the authors describe who Brian was。
Chris
，