WHY DO WE DREAM?
Well, that's something we still don't know! The cause of dreams has not yet been determined by experts.
But we are aware of the significance of dreaming. To find out why, read or watch!
We recently ran a poll among various groups of individuals across different platforms to understand what kinds of dreams they have. 38% of respondents reported having bad or disturbing dreams.
People often confuse nightmares with bad dreams, but there's a slight difference between both.
Dreaming is a typical aspect of sound sleep. Studies have linked dreams to efficient thinking, memory, and emotional processing, and good sleep has been related to greater cognitive performance and emotional wellness. In this way, a lot of specialists think that dreaming either reflects or contributes to getting good sleep.
But not all dreams are made equally. Some dreams could be detrimental to sleep. The content of bad dreams often include frightening, ominous, or horrific images. A nightmare is a horrible dream that wakes you up from your sleep.
Do Nightmares Affect Your Sleep?
Sleep can be adversely affected by nightmares only when they happen frequently or are particularly upsetting.
Most people occasionally have a nightmare or disturbing dream that doesn't significantly affect the quality of their sleep. But frequent dreams might prevent you from falling asleep.
What causes nightmares?
Dreaming is important. It enables you to digest your feelings without triggering your nervous system; for instance, when things are too much to handle during the day, everything returns to normal after a good night's sleep. As if your dreams assisted you in calming down and processing those feelings.
Dreams are an indication that your brain is attempting to comprehend something, not a sign of weakness. But if you experience the same dreams often, this is essentially your brain informing you that some emotions are not being processed and that you need to recover.
Many factors can lead to nightmares, including:
Anxiety or stress: Nightmares can occasionally be brought on by regular difficulties in life, such a difficulty at home or at school.
Trauma: Nightmares are frequently experienced after traumatic occurrences including car accidents, injuries, physical or sexual abuse. Nightmares are frequently experienced by those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Sleep deprivation: Having nightmares is made more likely by schedule changes that result in irregular sleeping and waking hours or that shorten or disrupt your sleep. A higher risk of nightmares is linked to insomnia.
Medication: A number of prescribed medicines, including several antidepressants, blood pressure pills, beta-blockers, and treatments for Parkinson's disease or to aid in quitting smoking, can cause nightmares.
Scary books and movies: Some individuals may experience nightmares after viewing terrifying movies or reading disturbing literature, especially soon before bed.
Knowing the differences between bad dreams, nightmares, and nightmare disorder is a first step to addressing the causes of nightmares, starting appropriate treatment, and getting better sleep.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about improving your sleep quality or use our app for sleep stories, soothing music and meditation.
