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Functions of Dreaming

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Researching Dreams
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Abstract

Everybody is dreaming every night; so does dreaming have a function? Although a variety of hypotheses have been put forward, the question regarding the function of dreaming is still unanswered. One reason for that is that studying the function of dreaming empirically—without having to rely on recalled dreams reported in the waking state—is a very difficult task. In view of the findings regarding sleep-dependent memory consolidation, it is hypothesized that dreaming might play a role in this function of sleep or at least reflect some of these processes.

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Schredl, M. (2018). Functions of Dreaming. In: Researching Dreams. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95453-0_9

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