In more recent years, interpretation of dreams has been considered as a way to provide an understanding of the individual personality and tendencies.
This stage of sleep recurs several times in a night of normal sleep.
Therefore, dreaming occurs every night for most individuals.
In contrast, our ability to recall dreams or remember them is highly variable and depends on a number of factors.
However ,many individuals report vivid recollection of their dreams in the morning without much sleep disturbance.
Some individuals simply have good dream recall and others do not.
Sometimes ruminating over dreams and their content and meaning can propagate their recurrence and may create a cycle of recurrent dreams. This may be a cause for your frequent dreams
Of interest, valium, as well many other medications, changes the sleep stages and decreases the occurrence of REM sleep, subsequently decreasing dreaming.
When vivid dreams are associated with discomfort, unpleasant emotion, or fear they may be classified as “nightmare disorder.”
The recurrence rate of vivid dreams, the context of the dreams, and the concern in the patient that the dreams invoke are all factors that make a recurrent vivid dream more of a nightmare.
It is not mandatory that one awakens from sleep for the dream to become a nightmare.
Conditions that may cause excessive dream recall include:
- sleep disruption
-effects of medications and drugs
- mood disorders
- medical conditions.
- Hormonal changes in women are also important factors in dream occurrence due to the hormonal effect on REM sleep.
Nightmares can be promoted by the use of certain medications
> including antidepressants, by changing the stages of sleep and increasing the duration of the dreaming stage (REM sleep).
> Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety disorders have similar effects.
> alcohol, and recreational drugs can promote nightmares via different mechanisms.
> Sleep disorders may cause excessive dream recall or nightmares by disrupting the stages of sleep and promoting frequent arousals. These disorders include obstructive sleep apnea and periodic limb movement of sleep.
> Medical disorders that can cause disruption of sleep include gastroesophageal reflux and arthritic pain.
> Absent any other identifiable causes of nightmares, the patient is considered as having a “nightmare disorder.”
Some general methods that may help you with your dreams include:
>Assure comfortable, quiet, cool, and dark sleep environment
>Minimize volitional sleep deprivation, and keep a regular sleep/wake schedule
>Minimize alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco use close to sleep time
>Avoid using sleep aids, even those available over the counter
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