this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2024
163 points (97.1% liked)

Explain Like I'm Five

14205 readers
51 users here now

Simplifying Complexity, One Answer at a Time!

Rules

  1. Be respectful and inclusive.
  2. No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
  3. Engage in constructive discussions.
  4. Share relevant content.
  5. Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
  6. Use appropriate language and tone.
  7. Report violations.
  8. Foster a continuous learning environment.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Rikudou_Sage
[email protected]
sabbah
AradFort
Don_Dickle
163
Why do we vividly remember our dreams ~5 minutes after waking up then promptly forget every detail? (self.explainlikeimfive)
submitted 10 months ago by echoplex21 to c/explainlikeimfive
28 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

It’s weird how I’ll see a dream and really ponder over it right after waking only for it to be completely out of my memory shortly after.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Sheeple 21 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

It's because your dreams are not allocated to long term memory but instead short term memory.

Unless you make an active effort to move said memories into to long term memory, they will be literally deleted as most passing thoughts will.

It should be noted that when you dream a lot of your brain is inactive. This includes a few logic centers and in fact the part of your brain responsible for maintaining long term memory