Dreaming is a complex topic in psychology and there are many unresolved questions on the subject. Some people believe that dreaming can provide insight into our lives while other things dreams are irrelevant.
It is normal for everyone to dream for hours, usually at night while you sleep. The most intense dreams occur during the REM (rapid eye movement) sleeping stage. Whereas other types of dreams also occur during other sleep cycles. Your dreams are imaginary, they can be positive, negative, or confusing.
Many experts say that dreams play an important role in facilitating your brain functions such as memory and emotional processing. It also means that you are getting healthy and normal sleep. Nightmares can disturb your sleep and affect your waking hours. It also negatively affects your sleep.
Why is Sleeping Important?
- Good Sleep Improves Your Concentration and Productivity
Sleep is very important for brain function as it involves concentration, productivity, cognition, and performance. If you do not sleep then these aspects will harm your body. Also, like alcohol intoxication, sleep deprivation can affect some other brain functions as well. Good sleep improves your problem-solving skills and enhances your memory.
- Good Sleep Maximizes Athletic Performance
Sleep has been shown to enhance sleep performance. One study found that when basketball players got more sleep, seizure accuracy, speed, reaction time, and mental health improved. Short sleep is associated with poor exercise performance and functional limitation in older women. Also, in one study it has been observed that women with poor sleep have slow walking, less strength, and difficulty in doing independent activities. Such a long sleep improves your physical health and functionality.
- Lack of Sleep Increases Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke
The quality of your sleep and the amount of sleep you get each day are risk factors for your health. Lack of sleep can make heart disease worse. It has been found in more than 15 studies that a person who does not get enough sleep has a higher risk of heart and stroke. Everyone should sleep 7-8 hours a day.
- Sleep Improves Your Immune Function
It improves your immune system whenever you sleep, even if you take a short nap. A study was conducted on people monitoring the development of the common cold after giving nasal drops with a cold virus. This study was conducted for two weeks. They found that people who slept less than 7 hours were three times more likely to get a cold than those who slept 8 hours or more. Therefore, if you have ever had a cold, getting 8 hours or more of sleep can be helpful for you. You can also consume garlic in case of a cold.
Do dreams affect the quality of your sleep?
Dreaming is part of healthy sleep because good sleep is associated with better concentration, cognitive underpinnings, and emotional health. Further studies also suggest that dreams lead to effective thinking, better memory power, and greater emotional processing. Experts believe that dreams are a factor in good sleep.
Nightmares harm sleep. It scares and frightens us. Also, wakes us from sleep. It affects your sleeping time and has a bad effect on the body.
However, most people have occasional nightmares that do not affect the quality of their sleep. But whenever a bad dream comes it interferes with your sleep. Many people have nightmares several times a week, and some of them have nightmares more than once in a single night.
Nightmare disorder is defined as nightmare events that disturb your sleep. People who have this problem have restless sleep and are more awake. They have difficulty falling asleep again. Also, these people try to avoid sleeping due to the fear of bad dreams. Answer: It increases the risk of insomnia and lack of sleep. If such a situation is happening for more than a week, then you should consult the doctor. The doctor will give you the optimal treatment after identifying the problem.
Another important bed material that helps you sleep better is buying a duvet or comforter. A Duvet or comforter completes your bedding. It also keeps you warm so that you can sleep peacefully. While during summers it helps you keep cool
Does sleeping position affect dreams and nightmares?
According to experts, many factors affect dreaming, but the sleeping position is not mentioned among those factors. He said the content of dreams can vary depending on people’s sleeping positions. As the physical pressure and sensations applied to the body are different for those who sleep in the back, stomach, or side position.
In some studies, it has been found that if any person sleeps on his left side, he is more likely to have nightmares. Other than that, it’s the same for stomach sleepers. As doctors recommend sleeping on a pillow, it helps reduce the chances of having nightmares. Some pillows as Wedge pillows help you avoid acid reflux while asleep. You can use an acid reflux nail pillow during your sleep. A countered wedge pillow helps people sleeping on the side have better digestion thus avoiding acid reflux
How can you stop nightmares?
Any nightmare is disturbing you with sleep day by day. Then you should consult the doctor about its treatment. He would consider it a sign of nightmare disorder or not. If it is a problem with nightmare disorder they add behavioral therapy or meditation or both.
Given below are some remedies that help in reducing bad dreams:-
- Give yourself some time to rest in peace. There should be a comfortable atmosphere in the bedroom before sleeping.
- Try sleeping in a weighted blanket as it helps to improve your sleep and feel relaxed.
- Do not consume alcohol as it affects your REM sleep in the evening, possibly before bedtime.
- To avoid sleep deprivation, maintain a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends. It will lead to better REM sleep and deeper good dreams.
- Try relaxation techniques to reduce your stress and anxiety, both of which can trigger nightmares.
- Try to avoid using your phone, TV, or anything else an hour or two before sleeping. Also, don’t watch anything scary at night as it disturbs your sleep.
Conclusion
So here you come to know that dreams are very important for sleep. Also, good dreams have many positive impacts on your health. So, does better sleep mean better dreams? It seems like the answer to that question might be yes, because it could very well be that a better night’s sleep is directly related to one’s quality of life. This may come as a bit of a surprise, considering that all you’ve ever known is how to get a good night’s sleep. While you may not realize it, your life and the quality of it are directly related to one another. But what exactly does better sleep mean?
