Why We FORGET Our Dreams (And How to Remember Them)

Why do we forget our dreams? You live through an entire world every night, then forget almost all of it within seconds of waking. This video explains why we forget our dreams, what happens in the brain during REM sleep, and how to remember your dreams. It is not bad memory and it is not your age. To save a memory, the brain needs a chemical called norepinephrine. During REM sleep, when the most vivid dreams happen, that chemical drops to almost nothing, so the dream is never written down. A 2019 study at Nagoya University suggests the brain may even delete dreams on purpose, to protect your memory of real life. We also cover why you remember some dreams, the role of nightmares, and the one trick that actually helps with dream recall. 0:00 Why your dreams vanish so fast 0:58 It's not bad memory or your age 1:35 How your brain saves a memory 2:16 Why REM sleep erases your dreams 3:46 Your brain deletes dreams on purpose (2019 study) 4:48 Why forgetting dreams protects you 6:06 Why you remember some dreams 7:04 How to remember your dreams 7:49 Six years of dreams you'll never recall Sources: Izawa and colleagues, Science (2019), on REM sleep active neurons and forgetting; research on norepinephrine and memory during REM sleep. New weird human questions every week. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. #dreams #sleep #neuroscience