Why do we dream? Is lucid dreaming real? How can dreams be used for therapy? Does cheese really give us nightmares?

In this episode, we discuss the neuroscience and psychology of:

• REM sleep, and how it puts our brain in the ideal state for creating dreams
• Why dreams might be a way for our brains to stop non-visual senses taking over our brains when we sleep
• The links between recurring dreams and trauma, and how external stimuli influence the things we dream about

We speak with author, dreamworker, and poet Rodger Kamenetz about why, even if lucid dreaming is real, we might not want to interrupt the problem-solving, memory-consolidating work our brains undertake when we dream.

And we talk to teacher and psychotherapist Dr. Leslie Ellis about how she incorporates dreams into therapeutic practices, and discuss why dreaming is so difficult to study.

Plus: we take a trip through time, exploring all the world-changing inventions, discoveries, and works of art that were inspired by dreams.

‘Your Brain On’ is hosted by neuroscientists and public health advocates Ayesha and Dean Sherzai.