News · 14 February 2026
Why Your Brain Actively Erases Your Dreams While You Sleep
Every night you dream, but your brain is also quietly deleting them. During REM sleep, the hippocampus, the region responsible for forming memories, operates at reduced capacity. Special neurons known as MCH cells switch on during this phase and actively block memories from being stored, according to research published in Science by NIH funded researchers. The deeper you sleep, the less you recall. Waking mid-REM is your best chance of remembering. Scientists believe this "forgetting" is purposeful - protecting your mind from emotional overload.
Reported by National Institutes of Health · How we write briefs