Did you know that it’s possible to control your dreams, use them to regulate your mood, and potentially wake up happier?
While Freud called dreams “the royal road to the unconscious,” the latest scientific thinking is that our nighttime reveries are a form of “psychological yoga” that’s vital to emotional well-being and health.
People who remember their dreams heal faster from depression after divorce, and even bad dreams have a beneficial function, by letting us diffuse negative emotions, according to researcher Rubin Naiman, PhD, author of Healing Night: the Science and Spirit of Sleeping, Dreaming and Awakening.
Paying closer attention to your dreams could help you solve problems, fight your fears, and enhance your waking life and mood. Here’s a look at how to decode your dreams, plus surprising answers to 7 common questions.
10 Natural Ways to Sleep Better
Is Lucid Dreaming for Real?
Some people can learn to control their dreams. In one study, 20 volunteers were asked to toss dimes into a cup in the evening, then to attempt to carry out this task in a dream. Seven volunteers succeeded in having a lucid dream and were much better at coin tosses the next morning than those who were unable to practice in their dreams.
Intriguingly, playing videogames before bedtime may lead to lucid dreaming, studies suggest. Perhaps through focusing on virtual reality during their waking hours, avid gamers are more likely to actively influence or change their dream
riguingly, playing videogames before bedtime may lead to lucid dreaming, studies suggest. Perhaps through focusing on virtual reality during their waking hours, avid gamers are more likely to actively influence or change their dream world, much like controlling the actions of a videogame avatar. Another surprise: Gamers have fewer violent or frightening dreams than non-gamers.
Why Don’t You Remember Your Dreams?
Scientists estimate that we forget 95 percent—or more—of our dreams, mainly because they fade fast after we wake up. Up to 90 percent of their content is lost within 10 minutes.
To capture your dreams, write them down as soon as you wake. In studies comparing people who recall several dreams a month and those who don’t recall any, the main difference is that the people who recall believe that their dreams are worth remembering and make more effort to do so.
What Triggers Nightmares and How Do You Get Rid of Them?
Nightmares can be a call to action: There’s something you need to deal with that’s making you fearful or anxious. Your medication may also be the culprit: A surprising number of Rx drugs can also spark frightening dreams as a side effect, including some antidepressants and blood pressure drugs.
If you have frequent nightmares, consider a technique called “imagery rehearsal therapy,” in which you change the dream by mentally rehearsing an ending you’d prefer while you’re awake. One study found that the therapy reduced nightmares in 65 percent of cases. Yoga, meditation, and catching more Z’s may also help. A recent survey found that people who usually get enough sleep usually have good dreams.
Learn About the Different Types of Mental Health Professionals
Why Do Some Dreams Seem So Real that You Wake Up Laughing or Crying?
Some areas of the brain that process emotions and visual images are actually more active when you’re dreaming, a key reason for why vivid dreams can pack such a powerful emotional punch.
Dreams tend to be most vivid near the end of a night’s sleep, another reason why a particularly funny or sad dream may prompt you to wake up crying or chuckling. That’s also why morning dreams tend to be the most memorable.
One technique to unlock the hidden meaning is writing down the recurring dream, plus the first three experiences, events, or stories that pop into your mind when you think about the people and objects in the dream, even if the three stories don’t seem to be obviously connected to your dream.
Then analyze the stories for recurring themes and emotions. When a friend tried this, she realized that the stories were about conflict and romance. That prompted her to address an unresolved issue in her marriage. Personalized interpretation is typically more accurate that dream symbol meanings you’ll find in dream books.
What Causes a Nighttime Sensation of an Evil Presence in the Room?
A little-known disorder called sleep paralysis, which strikes about 20 percent of people at least once (less than 8 percent have it frequently), can trigger nighttime hallucinations, such as imagining that there’s an intruder or an evil presence in the bedroom, sensations of pressure on the chest, or an out-of-body experience, a 2011 study reported.
During sleep paralysis, people are conscious, but can’t move or speak. It’s usually not serious and signals a momentary glitch as your body transits from sleep to wakefulness or vice versa.
Can Dreams Predict the Future?
When I was pregnant, I dreamed that I was carrying twins—two weeks before an ultrasound showed that this was indeed the case. Prophetic dreams typically reveal unconscious fears, hopes, or expectations, some of which may come true. I have a family history of twins, so the dream probably meant that I was secretly longing for a double blessing.
Thanks for sharing. I tend to remember all of my dreams and never understood why when most say they forget now I know. I also can jump back into a dream at the same point I remember days later or have a deja vu experience within my dream which is very fascinating. If you have not seen the movie Inception I highly recommend it. It revolves around our understanding of reality and lucid dreaming and highly worth watching if you are interested in possibilities.
Did you know that it’s possible to control your dreams, use them to regulate your mood, and potentially wake up happier?
ReplyDeleteWhile Freud called dreams “the royal road to the unconscious,” the latest scientific thinking is that our nighttime reveries are a form of “psychological yoga” that’s vital to emotional well-being and health.
People who remember their dreams heal faster from depression after divorce, and even bad dreams have a beneficial function, by letting us diffuse negative emotions, according to researcher Rubin Naiman, PhD, author of Healing Night: the Science and Spirit of Sleeping, Dreaming and Awakening.
Paying closer attention to your dreams could help you solve problems, fight your fears, and enhance your waking life and mood. Here’s a look at how to decode your dreams, plus surprising answers to 7 common questions.
10 Natural Ways to Sleep Better
Is Lucid Dreaming for Real?
Some people can learn to control their dreams. In one study, 20 volunteers were asked to toss dimes into a cup in the evening, then to attempt to carry out this task in a dream. Seven volunteers succeeded in having a lucid dream and were much better at coin tosses the next morning than those who were unable to practice in their dreams.
Intriguingly, playing videogames before bedtime may lead to lucid dreaming, studies suggest. Perhaps through focusing on virtual reality during their waking hours, avid gamers are more likely to actively influence or change their dream
riguingly, playing videogames before bedtime may lead to lucid dreaming, studies suggest. Perhaps through focusing on virtual reality during their waking hours, avid gamers are more likely to actively influence or change their dream world, much like controlling the actions of a videogame avatar. Another surprise: Gamers have fewer violent or frightening dreams than non-gamers.
ReplyDeleteWhy Don’t You Remember Your Dreams?
Scientists estimate that we forget 95 percent—or more—of our dreams, mainly because they fade fast after we wake up. Up to 90 percent of their content is lost within 10 minutes.
To capture your dreams, write them down as soon as you wake. In studies comparing people who recall several dreams a month and those who don’t recall any, the main difference is that the people who recall believe that their dreams are worth remembering and make more effort to do so.
What Triggers Nightmares and How Do You Get Rid of Them?
ReplyDeleteNightmares can be a call to action: There’s something you need to deal with that’s making you fearful or anxious. Your medication may also be the culprit: A surprising number of Rx drugs can also spark frightening dreams as a side effect, including some antidepressants and blood pressure drugs.
If you have frequent nightmares, consider a technique called “imagery rehearsal therapy,” in which you change the dream by mentally rehearsing an ending you’d prefer while you’re awake. One study found that the therapy reduced nightmares in 65 percent of cases. Yoga, meditation, and catching more Z’s may also help. A recent survey found that people who usually get enough sleep usually have good dreams.
Learn About the Different Types of Mental Health Professionals
Why Do Some Dreams Seem So Real that You Wake Up Laughing or Crying?
Some areas of the brain that process emotions and visual images are actually more active when you’re dreaming, a key reason for why vivid dreams can pack such a powerful emotional punch.
Dreams tend to be most vivid near the end of a night’s sleep, another reason why a particularly funny or sad dream may prompt you to wake up crying or chuckling. That’s also why morning dreams tend to be the most memorable.
What Are Recurring Dreams Telling You?
One technique to unlock the hidden meaning is writing down the recurring dream, plus the first three experiences, events, or stories that pop into your mind when you think about the people and objects in the dream, even if the three stories don’t seem to be obviously connected to your dream.
ReplyDeleteThen analyze the stories for recurring themes and emotions. When a friend tried this, she realized that the stories were about conflict and romance. That prompted her to address an unresolved issue in her marriage. Personalized interpretation is typically more accurate that dream symbol meanings you’ll find in dream books.
What Causes a Nighttime Sensation of an Evil Presence in the Room?
A little-known disorder called sleep paralysis, which strikes about 20 percent of people at least once (less than 8 percent have it frequently), can trigger nighttime hallucinations, such as imagining that there’s an intruder or an evil presence in the bedroom, sensations of pressure on the chest, or an out-of-body experience, a 2011 study reported.
During sleep paralysis, people are conscious, but can’t move or speak. It’s usually not serious and signals a momentary glitch as your body transits from sleep to wakefulness or vice versa.
Can Dreams Predict the Future?
When I was pregnant, I dreamed that I was carrying twins—two weeks before an ultrasound showed that this was indeed the case. Prophetic dreams typically reveal unconscious fears, hopes, or expectations, some of which may come true. I have a family history of twins, so the dream probably meant that I was secretly longing for a double blessing.
Thanks for sharing. I tend to remember all of my dreams and never understood why when most say they forget now I know. I also can jump back into a dream at the same point I remember days later or have a deja vu experience within my dream which is very fascinating. If you have not seen the movie Inception I highly recommend it. It revolves around our understanding of reality and lucid dreaming and highly worth watching if you are interested in possibilities.
ReplyDelete