Why do we daydream? What purpose could it ever serve?
Do other animals?

(I have a hard time imagining my cat daydreaming about what she would do if she was able to get her paws on the dog next door)

Daydreaming is a pathological way to let your life slip away from your hands, until you realize you haven´t lived at all.

It's a mental illness??

It's a mental illness??

Do you daydream allot, then yes you are, seek professional help immediately!! ;)

Animals don't daydream, they just dream. :p

Do you daydream allot, then yes you are, seek professional help immediately!! ;)

Animals don't daydream, they just dream. :p

But how do we know that lion isn't daydreaming about taking down an elephant.
And I daydream everytime I get in my car.

Daydreaming built modern civilisation.

But how do we know that lion isn't daydreaming about taking down an elephant.
And I daydream everytime I get in my car.


Lions don't daydream they can only dream.

As for your driving habbits, I will avoid your city like the plague whenever I

go out driving across the country. :D

Lions don't daydream they can only dream....

How do you know?

And I daydream everytime I get in my car.

Now I know what all the idiots who can't drive are doing.

How do you know?

There have been dream tests done on lions. ;)

Now I know what all the idiots who can't drive are doing.

Pretending they are on American Idol and WINNING!!

Pretending they are on American Idol and WINNING!!

Aren't you a bit old to be pretending to be on American Idol:rolleyes:

Aren't you a bit old to be pretending to be on American Idol:rolleyes:

Uh no!
I even have a whole back story imagined to guarantee me the sympathy vote. :D

i think daydreaming is one sign that the brain can never stop working. like saying i wish i would stop thinking.

i think daydreaming is one sign that the brain can never stop working. like saying i wish i would stop thinking.


That happens to me when I wake up in the middle of the night. I wish I could just shut off my brain! and get back to sleep.

That happens to me when I wake up in the middle of the night. I wish I could just shut off my brain! and get back to sleep.

i know, i hate that too.

i think daydreaming is one sign that the brain can never stop working. like saying i wish i would stop thinking.

do you think animals daydream?

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daydream
"A daydream is a fantasy that a person has while awake, often about spontaneous and fanciful thoughts not connected to the person's immediate situation.[1] There are so many different types of daydreaming that there is still no consensus definition amongst psychologists.[1] While daydreams may include fantasies about future scenarios or plans, reminiscences about past experiences, or vivid dream-like images, they are often connected with some type of emotion.

Daydreaming may take the form of... a train of thought, leading the daydreamer away from being aware of his immediate surroundings, and concentrating more and more on these new directions of thought. To an observer, they may appear to be affecting a blank stare into the distance, and only a sudden stimulus will startle the daydreamer out of their reverie.

While daydreaming has long been derided as a lazy, non-productive pastime, daydreaming can be constructive in some contexts. There are numerous examples of people in creative or artistic careers, such as composers, novelists, and filmmakers, developing new ideas through daydreaming. Similarly, research scientists, mathematicians, and physicists have developed new ideas by daydreaming about their subject areas.

Eric Klinger's research in the 1980s showed that most daydreams are about ordinary, everyday events and help to remind us of mundane tasks. Klinger's research also showed that over 3/4 of workers in 'boring jobs,' such as lifeguards and truck drivers, use vivid daydreams to "ease the boredom" of their routine tasks. Klinger found that less than five percent of the workers' daydreams involved explicitly sexual thoughts and that violent daydreams were also uncommon.[1]

Israeli high school students who scored high on the Daydreaming Scale of the IPI had more empathy than students who scored low. Some psychologists, such as Los Angeles’ Joseph E. Shorr, use the mental imagery created during their clients' daydreaming to help gain insight into their mental state and make diagnoses."

From http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/why-does-daydreaming-get-such-bad-rap?page=2
"Call someone a daydreamer and you may as well just call them a flake, a space cadet, or a slacker.

Why are we so down on daydreaming?

"Daydreaming is looked upon negatively because it represents 'non-doing' in a society that emphasizes productivity," says John McGrail, a clinical hypnotherapist in Los Angeles. "We are under constant pressure to do, achieve, produce, succeed."

But daydreaming can be beneficial in many ways and, ironically, can actually boost productivity. Plus, it's something almost everyone does naturally. Psychologists estimate that we daydream for one-third to one-half of our waking hours, although a single daydream lasts only a few minutes.

At their best, daydreams allow you "a range of possibilities which, in the hard cold light of reality, aren't possible," psychiatrist Stuart Twemlow tells WebMD. Twemlow is director of the Hope Program at The Menninger Clinic in Houston.Get the Best ADHD Treatment for Your Kid

Specifically, daydreaming helps you:
-Relax
-Manage conflict
-Maintain relationships
-Boost productivity
-Cement your beliefs and values
-Boost creativity and achieve goals
-Relieve boredom"

From http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/980
"Daydreaming improves thinking
..."

I think animals do daydream. I mean, why wouldn't they ?
I couldn't find any article discussing the subject though.

:thankyou: wow enmos!! THANKS!!

:thankyou: wow enmos!! THANKS!!

hehe :D
Do you have any further information on animals daydreaming ?

hehe :D
Do you have any further information on animals daydreaming ?

Let me guess you googled it like that earth quiz lol ;)

Let me guess you googled it like that earth quiz lol ;)

lol I google everything ;)

Daydreaming is a great ability that contributes significantly to the creation of stories, poems, films, etc. Dreams also do that and are even better, but it's a lot easier to control the imagination during daydreaming.

What is the relation between regular dreaming and daydreaming, if any ?
It is certain animals dream, so... if there is such a relation the question of whether animals daydream would be so much closer to being solved.

What is the relation between regular dreaming and daydreaming, if any
Spontaneous activity of the mind / free-ride of the imagination.

Spontaneous activity of the mind / free-ride of the imagination.

There ya go, I dont think there is any real relation besides both come from your brain.

Spontaneous activity of the mind / free-ride of the imagination.

Yes, but can daydreaming be said to be a form of 'real' dreaming or is it something else entirely ?

Yes, but can daydreaming be said to be a form of 'real' dreaming or is it something else entirely ?

Real dreaming requires that you enter an REM state and you have to be actually asleep for quite some time to do so. The only people that are known to enter REM sleep in such a short period of time are people with Narcolepsy

All I know that the results are comparable and similar, though dreaming uses more of subconscious mind.

I think daydreaming is not a form of dreaming, because one isn't asleep while daydreaming. ;)

What is the relation between regular dreaming and daydreaming, if any ?
It is certain animals dream, so... if there is such a relation the question of whether animals daydream would be so much closer to being solved.

I daydream a lot (every day while driving) and I bet I may remember, at most, 2 dreams a year.

Real dreaming requires that you enter an REM state and you have to be actually asleep for quite some time to do so. The only people that are known to enter REM sleep in such a short period of time are people with Narcolepsy

Hmm yes, but couldn't daydreaming be some sort of weakened form of dreaming ?
I mean, if it uses largely the same processes it can be said to be of similar origin right ?

Hmm yes, but couldn't daydreaming be some sort of weakened form of dreaming ?
I mean, if it uses largely the same processes it can be said to be of similar origin right ?

I guess it could be similar but real Dreams are said to be a random firings of your neurons in your brain that you try to make sense of. While when I daydream I usually think about one thing, then it realates to another...yea I guess they could be. :shrug:

I guess it could be similar but real Dreams are said to be a random firings of your neurons in your brain that you try to make sense of. While when I daydream I usually think about one thing, then it realates to another...yea I guess they could be. :shrug:

lol yeah I guess so. Daydreaming appears random anyway.

lol yeah I guess so. Daydreaming appears random anyway.

daydreaming is random??? Mine aren't. Mine are pretty much planned.

Why do we daydream? What purpose could it ever serve?
Do other animals?

(I have a hard time imagining my cat daydreaming about what she would do if she was able to get her paws on the dog next door)

Cats daydream; my cat used to half close her eyes and mutter stuff.

I daydream a lot too, it helps me to clarify my thinking. Its probably a kind of reflection, imo.

daydreaming is random??? Mine aren't. Mine are pretty much planned.

??? how one can plan daydreaming is beyond me.

Cats daydream; my cat used to half close her eyes and mutter stuff.

I daydream a lot too, it helps me to clarify my thinking. Its probably a kind of reflection, imo.

Yes they do, cats daydream :D

Half the time when I 'daydream' I don't even know it until I am rudely interrupted by someone lol

??? how one can plan daydreaming is beyond me.

hmm, maybe I'm confusing daydreaming with fantasizing. I get in my car, put in a CD and I'm suddenly kicking ass on American Idol.

hmm, maybe I'm confusing daydreaming with fantasizing. I get in my car, put in a CD and I'm suddenly kicking ass on American Idol.

I think that must be it ;)
In that light, how did you mean the opening post ?

How the hell do I know what I meant?! I apparently don't know what the dang word is! off to the dictionary I go.
:wallbang: