Aristotle's Views on Dreams

Aristotle did not believe that people sleep in order to dream. He broke the connection between nature and dreaming, considering dreams to be closely related to the body. In Aristotle's theory, sleep occurs because the heat in the body rises to the head and forms a gathering there, which is why people often feel drowsy after a meal. Aristotle wrote three books related to dreams, stating that dreams are psychological activities of sleepers, and theories such as dreaming of fire being due to a thick blanket. Aristotle's theory rejected the idea that dreams originate from gods, and he claimed that animals also dream, a notion that was scientifically confirmed only in the mid-20th century.