Q: What causes the brain to dream?

A: Studies suggest that the brain generally dreams, and it can be healthy to dream. A 2015 study of dreamlike behaviors reported in the rare non-recallers category, reported that there is convincing evidence that non-recallers do produce dreams but do not recall them. Studies have suggested that you have 20 seconds when you first recall a dream to say or do something to fix it in conscious memory, otherwise the brain may never give it back to you. What has been found to contribute to dreaming?

• Watching scary movies
• Eating a heavy meal late in the evening
• Worry, anxiety, and depressive disorders
• Ingesting substances linked with hallucinations
• Something frightening happened earlier in the day
• Asking your brain to help you solve a problem
• Your brain is trying to bring information into your conscious awareness