Weird Science: Why Do We Dream?
In this one-time class, students will learn about a number of theories that may explain a common human experience - dreaming!
John PhD
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(258)
Popular
Rising Star
What's included
1 live meeting
25 mins in-class hoursClass Experience
US Grade 4 - 7
Science can be beautiful, miraculous, and sometimes downright weird! Do you know why we dream? Does anyone?! Dreaming is still a huge mystery. The (maybe disappointing) answer as to why we dream is… we don’t really know! While we may not have a definitive answer why we dream, we do have many excellent theories backed by interesting scientific studies. Do we dream to manifest desires? To practice situations we don’t often find ourselves in? Maybe we dream to remember… or to forget! Come discuss a number of well supported theories why humans dream! If you enjoy science, nature, math, or just understanding more about the world around you, come enjoy our time together learning about some Weird Science! *The Weird Science series consists of one-time classes that focus on unique, strange, or rarely discussed aspects of science. Classes may lean toward biology, chemistry, physics, math, geology, astronomy, psychology, or any other scientific discipline. Learners are not required to have attended any previous Weird Science classes, as each lesson is standalone, though feel free to check out the rest of the series if you are interested in the strange!
Learning Goals
Science and psychology fans will learn about some theories on why we dream - something to think about the next time you’re dreaming about being a billionaire!
Other Details
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Select References:
Eagleman and Vaughn (2021). The Defensive Activation Theory: REM Sleep as a Mechanism to Prevent Takeover of the Visual Cortex. Frontiers in Neuroscience
Barrett (2017). Dreams and creative problem-solving. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
El-Solh (2018). Management of nightmares in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: current perspectives. Nature and Science of Sleep
Káli and Dayan (2004). Off-line replay maintains declarative memories in a model of hippocampal-neocortical interactions. Nature Neuroscience
Valli et al. (2005). The threat simulation theory of the evolutionary function of dreaming: Evidence from dreams of traumatized children. Consciousness and Cognition
Wamsley et al. (2010). Cognitive Replay of Visuomotor Learning at Sleep Onset: Temporal Dynamics and Relationship to Task Performance. Sleep
Reviews
Live One-Time Class
$21
per classMeets once
25 min
Completed by 49 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-14
2-10 learners per class
