How and Why Does the Brain Generate Dreams While You Are Sleeping?

Dreams have fascinated people for centuries, inspiring myths, scientific investigation, and personal reflection. One of the most influential modern theories on dreaming is the Activation-Synthesis Theory. Developed in the 1970s by John Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley, this theory challenges earlier notions by thinkers like Freud, who believed dreams were expressions of hidden desires or symbolic meanings. Instead, Activation-Synthesis suggests that dreams are the brain’s attempt to organize and interpret random neural activity that occurs during sleep.