Dreams aren't just "noise." They are the result of a complex, synchronized dance between emotional processing and data management. Your brain is a master storyteller, even when you aren't there to direct it.
Because the logic centers are off and the emotional/visual centers are on, the machinery of dreams makes connections that your waking brain never would. This is why so many breakthroughs—from the structure of the atom to the melody of "Yesterday"—happened in sleep. Dreams are the ultimate sandbox for .
Most neuroscientists believe the "purpose" of this machinery is .
Even though your eyes are shut, your (the occipital lobe) is firing like crazy. It’s processing "sight" that isn't coming from your retinas, but from internal memories and sparks of neural activity.