Some dreams you don’t ever want to wake up from.
Others have you wishing you’d never dream again!
But have you ever wondered what would happen if you no longer dreamed?
Well, for starters…
1.
Trouble learning new things Sleep studies show that the brain is still
very active during REM (or Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the stage of snoozing when dreams occur.
Apparently, your eyes are bouncing around in your head at this time, but what’s your
brain up to?
(Besides flying on a talking dinosaur or running from whatever’s chasing you…)
The most common theory is that dreaming helps your brain store memories.
In short, dreams are like exercise for the brain – they keep your mind healthy so that
it can learn, problem-solve, and analyze.
If you stopped dreaming, you’d lose that valuable brain training.
2.
The physical damage REM sleep is the deepest part of your sleep
cycle when your body is getting the most beneficial rest.
REM sleep is important because this is when our cells grow, heal, and renew.
If you aren’t reaching this stage (in other words, you’re not dreaming), your body isn’t
getting this replenishment.
You might have skin problems, weight gain, a weakened immune system, and all the other
unpleasant things sleep deprivation can lead to.
Not to mention…
3.
No re-charge Ideally, you should wake up feeling re-energized.
But if you’re not knocked out cold in REM sleep, then your internal battery isn’t
getting charged.
You might toss and turn all night and feel groggy the whole next day.
Even if you do sleep for 8 solid hours, if there’s no deep dreaming during that time,
it’d be as if you didn’t sleep at all!
4.
The toll on mental health Sleep experts say that dreams help the brain
process all the problems that are stressing out the subconscious.
In other words, dreams help us blow off some mental steam!
If you don’t dream, you may begin to suffer from a mood disorder such as anxiety.
Like sleep deprivation, mental exhaustion and stress can also take a toll on physical
health over time.
High blood pressure, hair fall, muscle and joint pain – the list goes on…
In this case, seeing a doctor is a must!
Especially if you start having…
5.
Heart issues Scientists have recently found a unique relationship
between deep sleep and heart rate.
It turns out that even when you’re lying completely still, which the body tends to
do during sleep, your heart rate will go up if you’re dreaming!
Your heart rate increases because your brain is doing some thinking during your dream,
and the brain and heart work together.
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night from a particularly exciting dream that
got your heart racing?
Exactly!
It might sound like it’s bad for your ticker, but this serves as a sort of exercise for
your heart and circulation.
6.
Missing out on some deep therapy All the health stuff aside, let’s delve
deeper into the effects this will have on the subconscious.
Your brain uses your memories to come up with the images, situations, and feelings you see
and experience in your dreams.
Problems that we face in our dreams are usually, in some way, associated with challenges we’ve
faced in waking life.
If you feel like you’re helplessly not in control within a dream, that probably means
there’s something in your life going on that’s making you feel that way deep inside.
Your dream will try to piece these associations together in a way that’s easier for you
to process.
If you pay attention to your dreams, it can be like therapy!
You might be asking yourself, what can I do if I’m not dreaming?
Will I ever dream again?!
Don’t worry!
The truth is, you probably are dreaming – you just don’t remember it!
The average person dreams 3-5 times per night.
So, we’ve got 2 tasks here: improve your chances of dreaming more and recalling them
when you wake up.
Here’s what you can do…
- Start with the basics The first, most essential step to dreaming
is to attain that precious deep state of sleep.
We all have a sleep cycle, and we usually reach the REM state about 90 minutes after
falling asleep.
REM itself comes in stages, and they get longer as the night progresses.
Some REM stages can be a mere 10 minutes while later ones can last up to an hour.
Long story short, do what works for you to get good-quality sleep.
Drink some hot chamomile tea before bed, turn the electronics off, keep your bedroom completely
silent and dark, change your mattress and pillows if it’s long overdue.
- Psychological tricks Before you lie down, tell yourself that you
want to remember your dreams.
Say it out loud if you have to.
This trick will prepare your mind to be receptive to dreams.
It’s like a brain exercise and may take practice, but it will pay off!
- Think of a question More specifically, think of a question you’d
like to be answered in your dreams, and write it down.
This will act as a guide and focus for your dream.
If you repeat the question to yourself as you’re falling asleep, your subconscious
will remember it and try to associate it with something in your dream.
- Morning reflections On average, most people forget their dreams
within seconds of waking up.
As soon as you open your eyes, don’t immediately grab your phone.
Don’t turn the TV on.
Keep all of the electronics quiet.
Don’t even move!
If you stay completely still for at least 90 seconds after waking up from a dream, you’ll
have better chances of remembering it.
If you remain in the same body position when you wake up, the memory of what you just dreamed
will hang around longer.
Think of it as lingering muscle memory.
If that memory comes to you, stew on it.
Think about what your dream means to you and your life specifically.
If you can make a meaningful connection, the entire dream should come back to you!
And don’t forget to…
- Keep a Dream Diary Keep a notebook by your bed.
When you wake up from a dream, even if it’s in the middle of the night, write down everything
you can remember about it.
It doesn’t matter how small or foggy the detail is.
At first, you may only be able to write down 1 or 2 words, and they might not make much
sense.
But the more you do it, the more of your dream you’ll be able to remember.
Eventually, you’ll be writing down your entire dream in the morning!
Just be sure to do it within 2 minutes of waking up before you forget it.
This bedside dream journal is also the perfect place to write down that question I mentioned
earlier!
Even after just seeing the question alone written on the page, memories of last night’s
adventures—and maybe the answer you’re looking for—should come rushing back to
you!
- Draw pictures If it’s 3am and you’ve just woken up from
a dream, don’t sweat it if words and sentences aren’t exactly coming to you like Shakespeare.
Draw the landscapes you saw in your dream.
If you can, draw any people and objects you saw or touched.
Draw something that represents how you were feeling in your dream.
For example, if you felt free, you can draw a bird flying.
Translating your dream into a hand-drawn picture should improve your recollection because now
you’ll have an image to look at.
A picture is worth a thousand words, after all!
- Good nutrition Yeah, we all know we’re supposed to eat
healthy for about a million reasons…but one of those reasons is to improve your sleep
quality!
You should know by now that good sleep usually means a stroll through dreamland.
To add a “dream memory boost’ to your diet, try eating foods that are high in B
vitamins.
Think poultry, spinach, fish, bananas, and milk.
- Promote Lucid Dreaming Lucid dreaming is when you know that you’re
in a dream.
So, that means you’re in control of what’s happening around you!
But the interesting thing is that lucid dreams are usually easier to remember.
And it gets even better: one study showed that hitting the snooze button for 10 minutes
after your first alarm promotes lucid dreaming!
The trick is being awake and conscious for that brief moment and then going straight
back to sleep – most people in the study fell right into a lucid dream.
Since it was so quick and they were in control, they recalled the dream they’d had during
their little snooze!
Gee, wasn’t that dreamy?
Do you usually remember your dreams?
Let me know down in the comments!
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