10 Reasons Why You Could Be Having Intense Dreams and Nightmares Frequently
Do you have nightmares
every night but feel helpless because you can’t do anything about it?
Well here are the main possible reasons why you have intense dreams say
the experts.
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From time to time we all have
experienced particular potent dreams which are so vivid that even if we
break into a cold sweat and awaken with a start, the memories of the
dreams do not vanish but persists every time we try to close our eyes
and sleep again. Most of these dreams are unpleasant and have intense
effect on us. They force us to think about out our mental well being.
Science is still in its infancy about our mind and how it functions or
(malfunctions) but dreams are by far still the biggest mystery to us
all. But research has been able to find a pattern to them and put
together pieces of this puzzle we call dreams to understand why we
dream, and what we dream recurrently?
What makes us dream?
Before we dive into the dark matters of
vivid nightmares and bad dreams we must understand what are “dreams” as
such? When we fall off to sleep physically our mind is still at work and
it oscillates between phases of less or more wakefulness. During the
most wakeful part of the night or early morning our brain is busy
analyzing our past day and its experiences. This is when the stage of
REM or rapid eye movements occurs.
1 Dreams occur usually in REM phase
Most of our dreams are basically created
during this phase of REM’s which is almost 25% of our total sleep
during the tenure of the night. We dream every night but tend to forget
it as they are unremarkable but what really sticks to our active memory
are the dreams which are highly intense or scary. Analysts say that if
the REM phase is affected badly, it can affect our quality of dreams as
well.
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2Your sleep schedule could be causing nightmares
It’s necessary to have a healthy gap
between the rotation from REM sleep to deep sleep and vice versa. If the
REM sleep which is very crucial for dreams is disturbed in some way it
can cause bad dreams. Your body always tries to set itself into a smooth
pattern of operation and any disruption of these patterns results in a
negative bodily response.
3It is important to experience a complete REM cycle of sleep
A full rotation of sleep between REM to
deep sleep takes about 90 minutes with the last 20 minutes as REM sleep
and we usually have 4 such rotation per night. That is why the night you
are deprived of the minimum requirement of healthy 7-8 hours of sleep,
you fall into a REM rebound the next night as your brain tries to catch
up with the lost REM sleep from the previous night. That’s why a regular
sleep cycle is essential for having positive dreams.
4Spicy food can cause strange dreams
If you are into the habit of binging
late at night especially spicy or dairy-rich food items, then stop it
immediately. Eating anything too late at night increases the rate of
your metabolism and encourages brain activity instead of letting it slow
down. This leads to heightened REM sleep activity leading to strange
dreams and imaginations, in fact, one must eat at least 2 ½ to 3 hrs
before going off to sleep.
5Watching Television before bed can mess with your head
We all know our dreams come from our
subconscious mind and too loud or intense TV shows will influence your
thoughts and dreams after you doze off to sleep too. The blue light
emanated from TV screens or laptop even eBooks or a smart phone
interferes with the natural sleep rhythm of the body too.
6Reading intense books can impact your dreams
In fact, reading books which are too
stimulating too can affect our thought process and mingles with our
subconscious in an ugly manner which causes nightmares. This may not
apply to everyone as everybody has a different threshold of processing
such information and stimulation for the brain. In general, though,
reading something too intense can impact our brains.
7Sleep apnea is also a reason for intense dreams
Approximately 30 million people
worldwide are diagnosed with sleep apnea which is also a big contributor
to having recurring nightmares. Basically, this is a sleep condition in
which throat muscles are too relaxed while sleeping which further
blocks the air pipe leaving the body gasping for air. This results in
disturbed sleep and causes negative dreams. You can judge your symptoms
for sleep apnea yourself by checking if you snore, wake up often with
dry throat, or feel tired every morning.
8Stress and anxiety can cause bad dreams
It’s a no-brainer that if you have a
very stressful and anxious lifestyle or a worrying habit you will lose
on quality sleep and have nightmares big time. People suffering from
depression or anxiety seem to be insomniac by nature and mostly suffer
from negative thoughts and dreams. Due to the lack of sleep, the brain
always tries to catch up with the lost REM sleep leading to disturbing
imagery and nightmares.
What you can do
The solution to these are activities are
meditation, exercise and a healthy diet regimen, as well as open
communication regarding the nightmares; all which can help alleviate the
problems. Traumatic events induced nightmare can be reduced by
counseling and therapies.
9Even sleeping pills can mess with your head
If the doctor has prescribed sleeping
tablets to you that means you are sleep deprived and also are not
getting enough REM sleeps cycles. So initially when you start off with
the pills your medication may induce intense REM cycles with strong
dreams, but slowly these dreams will mellow down as the body and brain
start getting used to the medicine.
10Other medicines affect your dreams too
Medicines which are antidepressants,
blood pressure tablets or anti-smoking pills suppress REM sleep as well.
So when one stops taking these pills, there is a super REM rebound
leading extra vivid dreams and nightmares. Also, our brain chemistry is
badly affected by Alcohol or marijuana which causes REM rebounds,
usually the nights after their consumption leading strange dreams too.
How to cope with sleep deprivation and nightmares?
Not everyone can cope with a stressful
lifestyle or traumatic events easily especially if you are one of those
who constantly worry about things and is usually anxious or suffering
from depression. Such problems can negatively affect your peace of mind
and impact your sleep.
What you should do
Here are some of the activities which might help you get a good night sleep minus nightmares.
- Relaxation techniques
- Meditation
- Art therapy
- Daily exercise
- Deep breathing
- Sports or music to relax
Always make time to relax your body and
mind if you are having a stressful day or job. Do not wait for night
time to relax rather take small breaks during the day to unwind this
will help you to sleep easily with no bad dreams.
source:https://www.zeptha.com
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