From Mesopotamian kings to modern science: why do we dream?

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 8 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Humans have been trying to decode the meaning of their sleep visions for millennia. This video explores the enduring mystery of dreaming and presents seven leading scientific theories regarding why our brains create these nightly narratives.

While we lack a definitive answer to why we dream, the quest for understanding is ancient. As far back as the 3rd millennium BCE, Mesopotamian kings used wax tablets to record and interpret their dreams. Today, researchers continue to investigate various biological and psychological functions of the dreaming state.

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