★★Highly recommended by KAIST neuroscientist Jaeseung Jeong!
★★Translated and published in 23 countries worldwide!

“Why on earth did we evolve into dreaming beings?”
A neurosurgeon who has performed hundreds of brain surgeries
The secrets and power of the dreaming brain revealed through cutting-edge brain science!

This book analyzes the unknown world of 'dreams', which has fascinated humanity for a very long time, from the perspective of brain science.
Dreams, once a highly personal realm that only the dreamer could experience, are now beginning to reveal their secrets one by one through advanced science and technology.
The author, a neurosurgeon who has performed hundreds of surgeries in an actual operating room and explored the brain, provides scientific answers to various questions such as how the human brain reacts while dreaming, where the images created in dreams come from, and what dreams are in the first place.
Furthermore, it introduces surprising facts about dreams, such as why nightmares are most common in childhood and what erotic dreams with erotic imagery mean, as well as ways to gain hints about waking life through meaningful dream interpretation.
Let's take a look at the interesting brain science story surrounding 'dreams,' one of the oldest functions in human life, yet one that has remained shrouded in mystery.

When we dream, we transcend the physical body.
At some point, you don't even realize you're lying in bed anymore.
You can close your eyes but still see ahead, and your body is still but you can walk, run, drive, and even fly in your dreams.
We also talk with people we love, living and dead, and people we have never met, even though our mouths are closed.
It exists in the present, but can also travel back in time or into the future.
You can travel to places you haven't been to in a long time or places that only exist in your imagination.
We exist in a world of transcendent potential, entirely of our own making.
The wonder that unfolds every night, that is what dreams are.
--- From "The wondrous world that unfolds in your head every night"

The imagination network is central to the experience of dreaming.
This allows us to 'see' even with our eyes closed.
In fact, if you shine a bright light into the eyes of a dreamer, he or she will think it is dazzling even though his or her eyes are not open.
Dreaming like this is like watching a movie in a dark theater.
This may be why the ancient Greeks, when experiencing dreams, said they “see” dreams rather than “dream.”
When the imagination network is activated, thoughts come spontaneously.
Just as a clump of neurons in a petri dish is alive with electrical activity without any external stimulation, the dreaming brain is alive with electrical activity even when it is largely cut off from the surrounding world.
For this reason, the imagination network is sometimes compared to the brain's dark energy (a hypothetical energy thought to be distributed throughout the universe to accelerate its expansion).
In this way, the imagination network creates something from nothing and creates a story from a blank slate.
--- From "Chapter 1 Dreams and Evolution: Why You Dream"

Interestingly, nightmares unfold in predictable patterns throughout life.
First of all, children have nightmares about five times more often than adults.
Children's nightmares often involve falling, being chased, or encountering evil beings, and dreams reported by children from cultures around the world show that monsters, demons, and supernatural beings appear in their dreams.
How can children who grow up with love and care come up with scary monsters?
--- From "Chapter 2 Dreams and Fear: You Need Nightmares"

Whether it's about kissing or something more, erotic dreams are not easily forgotten.
Sensual dreams can make us feel excited, cause us to feel intense jealousy, or in some cases, make us feel anxious.
But what does it mean if your ex appears in your sexual dreams? What if your partner has erotic dreams about someone else? Should you be concerned about your or your partner's erotic dreams? Do these dreams reveal something about our true desires?
--- From "Chapter 3 Dreams and Desires: The World of Desire Unfolding in Dreams"

In the past, when half of our tribe died or was wiped out by disease, erotic dreams may have prepared our ancestors to forge new relationships within their tribe.
This also explains why the characters or images that appear in erotic dreams are not external people, but people from one's surroundings.
Most of the people who appear in these dreams are familiar, but the way we treat them in dreams is often something we would never think of in real life.
Such a dirty dream is more than just a true desire; it is the embodiment of desire itself.
Erotic dreams broaden the scope of sexual impulses, stimulating humans to become more attracted to more things and to explore a wider range of sexual experiences.
This is understandable, given that it is the instinct of all living things to survive at least long enough to reproduce.
--- From "Chapter 3 Dreams and Desires: The World of Desire Unfolding in Dreams"

Even if we don't remember our dreams, they can influence our thoughts when we're awake.
Sometimes, a brilliant idea, a solution to a problem or insight suddenly comes to us, and the source of this inspiration may be a dream, even if we don't remember it.
Every night while we sleep, our dreams do some creative work for us.
--- From "Chapter 4 Dreams and Creativity: People Who Were Inspired by the Imagination Gained from Dreams"

Interestingly, researchers found that people who coped well with their emotions after divorce were more likely to remember their dreams.
Remembering dreams can enhance the potential therapeutic value of dreams by allowing you to think about them during the day.
The study participants were struggling to cope with divorce, an emotionally challenging event they had never experienced before.
It may have been cathartic for them to recall their indifference to their ex-spouse in the dream.
--- From "Chapter 5 Dreams and Health: What Dreams Tell You About Your Health"

Since meeting that patient nearly 25 years ago, I have dedicated my life to caring for and studying the human brain and mind from a variety of scientific perspectives across multiple disciplines.
The more I learned, the more I was filled with awe and wonder at the mysteries of the brain and mind.
Among them, the ability to wake up from a dream and control the dream feels more like magic than science.
Although it has been discussed for thousands of years, only in the last decade has it been scientifically investigated and proven that the brain can actually dream while simultaneously remaining partially awake.
This is a story about 'lucid dreaming'.
--- From "Chapter 5 Dreams and Health: What Dreams Tell You About Your Health"

The scientific community has come a long way in its attempts to understand lucid dreaming in a short period of time.
Lucid dreaming, long relegated to the realm of mystics and eccentrics, is now being embraced as a new form of consciousness worthy of serious study.
As skepticism about lucid dreaming gives way to excitement, ingenious experiments are being conducted to find new ways to interact with the dreaming mind, and in the process, new aspects of dreaming and lucid dreaming are being revealed.
Moreover, lucid dreaming is no longer something that can only be achieved in sleep research labs; it has become something close enough to everyone's reach.
--- From "Chapter 6 Dreams and Curiosity, Lucid Dreams, Becoming the Protagonist of Your Dreams"

Lucid dreams are generally considered a special and positive experience, providing opportunities for practice and improvement in creativity, problem solving, and even skills needed for everyday life.
People say that when they have a lucid dream, they feel good when they wake up and feel refreshed the next morning.
However, it is important to keep in mind that most lucid dreaming techniques involve forced awakening or interruption of sleep.
Caution is advised when inducing lucid dreams through wake-up and re-sleep techniques or similar techniques, as this can fragment sleep and ultimately disrupt sleep cycles.
Additionally, if a lucid dreamer is not careful, their total sleep time may be reduced.
But at the same time, lucid dreaming can take you to a very unique state of consciousness, a surreal intersection between dreaming and waking.
--- From "Chapter 7 How to Use Dreams and How to Have Lucid Dreams"

Thirty-eight researchers from around the world have signed an open letter to the Molson Coors ad, opposing what they see as turning dreams into another playground for corporate advertisers and supporting legislation that would ban advertisers from targeting sleeping people.
They then asked the following question:

“If we all developed a collective tolerance for privacy invasions and exploitative economic practices, and we were willing to accept a dozen cans of beer in exchange for placing beer ads in our dreams, what would we lose?”
--- From "Chapter 8: The Future of Dreams: Your Dreams Are Being Manipulated"

Thinking about the meaning of dreams requires reflection and self-awareness.
Dreams lead us to look deeper into ourselves and see what they are telling us.
Taking the time to examine the meaning of our dreams can increase our awareness and acceptance of our own emotions, provide valuable insights into our lives, and lead to greater happiness.

--- From "Chapter 9 Interpretation of Dreams: Interpreting Dreams Rather Than Dreams, How to Properly Understand Dreams"