Have you ever wondered why a person has the ability to dream? Rosalind Cartwright, Ph. D., says that sleep is a special ability of the brain to process information, memories and problem-solving when it comes to the emotional component. Thus, nightly daydreaming is essential for our mental health.
Influence of unconscious emotions
While awake, we do not attach much importance to our unconscious state. Secret thoughts and desires seem to function autonomously. However, they cannot fill the brain indefinitely. From time to time, these thoughts need an outlet. Sleep is an important necessity for the body in terms of restoring physical and mental functions. A "reboot" is also necessary for the memory.
Today we will not be like astrologers, clairvoyants, and fortunetellers. We will not interpret dreams and their plot twists and turns. We will only pay attention to some of the nuances with which our unconsciously gives certain signals to consciousness. We will look at dreams by category, duration, and frequency of occurrence. Some of them clearly indicate health problems, and these signs should not be ignored.
Nightmares indicate heart disease
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There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with a pounding heart. A nightmare that occurs from time to time is quite normal. As a rule, you have nothing to worry about, you just belong to the category of super-emotional people. But if the picture is repeated from night to night, you should pay close attention to this. The increasing frequency of nightmares will tell you about serious physical health problems. Scientific research has revealed a clear pattern: terrible dreams can be associated with diseases of the cardiovascular system. An irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) increases the frequency of nightmares even more. This is because cardiovascular problems cause oxygen starvation in the brain.
Apnea
Another possible cause of nightmares is sleep apnea. This chronic disease occurs as a result of pauses in breathing caused by high blood pressure or depletion of carbon dioxide in the blood. Shallow breaths during sleep cause the same problem. These pauses deoxygenate the blood and wreak havoc and disorder in REM sleep. Many patients tell about scary, almost real stories: drowning or suffocation. In fact, their airways are blocked and the brain reflects the physical state in the plot of terrible dreams. To eliminate the cause of this phenomenon, a comprehensive health examination is necessary, as well as a correction of the lifestyle in general.
The frequency of dreams indicates a number of conditions
Most people have four to six dreams every night. As a rule, you remember not the most vivid, but the very last dream - the one whose plot was cut short by awakening. You can also remember the dream if you wake up soon after it ends. But if you notice that the plots of night dreams change each other, as if in a dizzying kaleidoscope, this is a clear sign of mental health problems, which may include anxiety disorder and depression. These disturbances lead to the fact that you often start waking up in the middle of the night. This is why you remember more dreams. If you are concerned about this situation, we advise you to keep a diary in which you will record the number of scenes that you managed to remember during the night. Even if you thinkthat you do not have mental health problems, the frequency of dreams suggests otherwise.
Other reasons why a person dreams more per night may be too high or too low temperature in the bedroom, chronic pain, or addiction to antidepressants. Hormones can also increase the frequency of dreams.
What do vivid or strange dreams indicate?
Vivid and unusual dreams can also occur for a variety of reasons. This may indicate the presence of some neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. Less scary causes of strange dreams include infectious diseases. This correlation is strange in itself. But according to Dr. Patrick McNamara, a neuropathologist at Boston University, any infection increases the number of slow brain waves. This delays the person's starting point of contact with sleep. Well, since the dream itself begins later, it can crash into consciousness. From here both vivid dreams and strange hallucinations take their origin.
The effect of alcohol and drugs
Alcohol in the blood can also cause strange dreams. Carcinogens and chemicals evaporate by morning, but they have a profound effect on the brain. The same can be said for powerful medications such as antidepressants. Deirdre Barrett, PhD, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, exposes this group of drugs: “Antidepressants and tranquilizers make REM sleep more intense for people taking them. Most of the patients have nightmares among the side effects. If medication prescribed by your doctor has a detrimental effect on sleep quality, discuss it in your follow-up appointment. It may be time to adjust the course of treatment."
If sleep makes you wake up early
In the event that you do not belong to the category of people "early risers" - those who wake up before the extinction of signals, you are probably also dealing with depression or anxiety disorder. Here is what Professor Jim Horn, a sleep expert at Loughborough University, says: “Early awakening can be a warning sign. People with a mood disorder, depression, or anxiety enter REM sleep much earlier during the night. They see dreams earlier, the time of their awakening depends on this. " However, there is another possible reason for the early awakening. We are talking about acid reflux (heartburn), which is caused by lovers of "heavy" food and fried in the late hours of the day. If you are suffering from heartburn, it is time to rethink your diet. Then pleasant dreams will return to your bed again.
Attack dreams
You probably dreamed of such dreams often in childhood. Each time they scared you more and more. Now, in adulthood, you are unlikely to want to return to the old plots in which you experience the attack of dangerous bandits. No one wants to have such dreams, but if they exist, it could indicate the presence of neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease). On a psychological level, attack dreams can indicate a loss of control in some aspects of your life. Deep down, you are at war with your own fears and seeking to resolve your inner conflict.
What do erotic dreams indicate?
Let's move on to more pleasant dreams. Plots of an erotic nature indicate a surge of creative energy. It is noteworthy that with increasing age of a person, spicy stories can become more frequent. This happens at both 60 and 70 years old and often has nothing to do with the dreamer's sex life. This is due to the new creative hobbies of retirees.
Bad dream triggers
Not all nightmares can indicate a health problem. Don't worry if you've watched a horror or thriller movie the day before. For example, taking vitamins and amino acids affects the formation of neurotransmitters in the brain. Even sounds heard in a dream can intrude into the plot of a dream. If you want to have sweet dreams, a healthy lifestyle and the right food in the evenings (a banana and a glass of skim milk) will help you.
Inga Kaisina