Animals Have Dreams … and Science Backs It

Did you know that animals have dreams … and that pet owners play a major role in influencing their pet’s dreams?

Many pet owners have already believed this as they’ve observed their pets twitch and make sounds in their sleep — but now there’s scientific evidence to back it up.

Most mammals have a similar sleep cycle because they share the same neural structures that are important in sleeping and dreaming. This means they move fluidly through deep sleep to a less active state and then to REM sleep where dreams happen.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology measured brain patterns in mice and found identical patterns in their sleep as when the mice were busily working through a lab maze they made their way through earlier in the day. The correlation was so great that the scientists claimed they could place where in the maze the rat was dreaming about — and if they were walking or running!

Image: Sigma_S/Shutterstock

This leads us to believe that memory influences animal dreams and that you play a major role in your pet’s dreams!

At Karmagawa, we love all animals and want them to have peaceful dreams. It’s upsetting to think of the terror some animals might dream about due to any cruelty they and their fellow animals have experienced. This dream study proves that animals have feelings just like humans and we need to protect them.

Please help us by following us on Twitter and Instagram for our updates and share the information with your friends and family. The more people that are aware of what’s happening to animals around the world, the better.

Also, we recently released a new course that you may be interested in … and proceeds go toward helping animals and the environment.  

We joined forces with professional filmmaker Amir Zakeri to create a videography masterclass to help our community learn the art of storytelling through video — and you can save 50% on the presale now.

You can check out this video to learn more about Amir and how he can help you.  Get started today.

Have you ever seen an animal dreaming? Let us know in the comments below.

(Cover image: brackish_nz/Shutterstock