dreaming

is evolutionarily speaking, similar to animals 'playing dead'. Just as animals undergo temporary paralysis to fool their enemies into thinking they've died (i.e. Tonic immobility), so too do humans experience similar brain states while sleeping and awake with the one difference that dopamine (which is associated with bodily movement) is completely shut down.

Based on studies that revealed strong similarities between animals who are playing dead and people who are dreaming, this theory suggests that dreaming could be related to an ancient defense mechanism: tonic immobility, or playing dead. When you dream, your brain behaves much the way it does when you're awake, with a crucial difference: chemicals like dopamine associated with movement and body activation are completely shut down. This is similar to what happens to animals who undergo temporary paralysis to fool their enemies into thinking they've died. So it's possible that dreams began as a defense mechanism which our bodies retained in a different form as we evolved into creatures who no longer experienced tonic immobility.

Ionnanis TsoukalasThinkers

Ionnanis Tsoukalas