Have you ever found yourself suddenly shaken awake by an unnerving dream? Do you regularly find yourself exhausted despite your luxurious king size bed? Does the sound of your alarm send shivers down your spine? While many of us view dreams as a pleasurable aspect of sleep, these alternative realities and mysterious voids may affect the quality of your forty winks.
Some believe that they don't dream. They'll protest their dreamless slumber to anyone who dares to argue otherwise. Well, we hate to break it to you, but unfortunately, we all dream at some point during our temporary hibernation.
In fairness, sometimes it doesn't feel like we dreamt. The dreams may be insignificant, or we don't remember them when we wake up. Whatever the reason, dreaming will always come hand in hand with sleep. With this in mind, it's time to look into whether there is a correlation between your dreams and the quality of your sleep.
How do you define a good night's sleep?
While there have been more than a few arguments over what exactly resonates as a decent night's kip, most specialists agree that 7 - 9 hours of undisturbed rest is needed for your body to feel fully rested and recovered. There are 4 stages of sleep, which occur in cycles of around 90 to 120 minutes each.
Stages 1 and 2 are described as transitioning from awareness to light sleep and gradually slowing brain waves. Next, we have stage 3, when we're fully engrossed in the depths of slumber and utterly unaware of our surroundings. Finally, we have stage 4, otherwise known as the REM phase. This phase is defined by quicker and shorter intakes of breath and our eyes moving rapidly beneath the eyelid. The REM phase is usually the point where the brain begins to dream. Scientists have stated that it's essential for the body to consistently repeat these four phases over approximately 7 – 9 hours to achieve what is considered a good night's sleep.
How do dreams affect our sleep quality?
Dreaming helps you learn and improves your memory, along with improving your overall health. It has also been reported that those who struggle to sleep and cannot consistently reach phase 4 of the sleep cycle often suffer from memory loss and less awareness than those who do enact all four phases of their sleep cycle consistently.
So, while someone tells them they rarely dream, they may suffer from sleep deprivation or lack of undisturbed hibernation.
How does life impact our dreams?
Do you ever wake up in the middle of a good dream? Does it often feel like your dreams only begin five minutes before your alarms bark at you to get up and get on with your day? Well, you're not alone.
Studies have shown that phase four of the sleep cycle (the REM phase) often activates the brain waves to keep up with your usual sleeping pattern. This means that your body is gradually waking up, and your dreams become vivid as more of your mind becomes active. It's also true that if you have a specific stressor on your mind before attempting to hit the hay, those issues will work their way into your dream time.
While you may not recognise the correlation during the first few phases of REM, your final cycle before waking will likely contain what was bothering you the night before as your subconscious picks up on the stress that has carried over. This may be why some of us remember our dreams, as they often have direct connections with something that's bothering us, while those who struggle to recall their dreams usually do so as they have very little to do with anything contained in their life at that particular time.
Can we consciously impact our subconscious?
It's commonly known that getting a decent night's sleep is essential to a healthy lifestyle, but are you aware of how your daily habits can impact the dreams that encompass your slumber? Believe it or not, we can 100% impact the state of our dreams, and the best thing is that the solutions are pretty straightforward. To begin with, it's essential to ensure that your room is dark and at the optimum temperature (approximately 18 – 20 degrees Celsius).
Next are the little things that relax the mind and prepare it for bed; whether reading a book or taking a hot bath, it's commonly noted that your brain should not come into contact with technology before attempting to sleep.
Alongside this, you should always ensure that your sleeping environment embodies the zen frame of mind you're trying to achieve. If your room is cluttered, try something simple like an ottoman storage bed to free up some space, or if you find that your mattress is causing you discomfort, it may be time to upgrade.
Finally, it would help if you attempted to get into a consistent sleeping pattern that will ensure that your body is regularly rested and that your brain isn't trying to stay active during the hours you're attempting to drift off. You've probably heard most of this before from your parents, but studies have shown that these tips and tricks aren't just old wives' tales meant to enforce a consistent bedtime. So there you have it. Hopefully, we've shown you that dreams are far from the confusing void of unexplainable mystery that many believe them to be.
