5 Things That Affect The Content Of Our Dreams
While we sleep, our body does everything possible to keep us in a dream. That is why external stimulants, such as sounds and smells are organically woven into the general picture of sleep instead of waking us up. The brain’s abilities allow it to use any external information to modify our dreams and their contents. We decided to understand this issue and tell you how and what exactly and can affect what you see next time you fall asleep.
While we sleep, our body does everything possible to keep us in a dream. That is why external stimulants, such as sounds and smells are organically woven into the general picture of sleep instead of waking us up. The brain’s abilities allow it to use any external information to modify our dreams and their contents. We decided to understand this issue and tell you how and what exactly and can affect what you see next time you fall asleep.
1. Sounds
If you remember how you were disturbed in a dream, by bright and loud sounds like a fire siren or any other piercing sound that sets the tone for the whole dream or changes its story, then most likely your alarm clock crept into your dream or any other external sounds embodied in your mind. There is even an app that tracks your sleep patterns and plays music that can arouse specific dreams.
You should not abuse the use of music, because dreams have their own cognitive role which should be played in full while you sleep. But if you want to see a truly amazing dream, then fall asleep with your favorite song. If you want to sleep peacefully, it is better to use white noise, as it absorbs all other external sounds which means it will be easier for your consciousness to calm down.
2. Smells
A small experiment was conducted in Germany in 2008. To a group of women, two types of smells were offered, roses as pleasant and rotten eggs as unpleasant. After which the women plunged into the first phase of sleep. After waking up, it turned out that a pleasant smell causes positive dreams and a bad smell causes negative dreams.
If during sleep you smell flowers, chocolate or perfume, then this causes positive emotions and associations in the mind, the dreams will also be pleasant. But a biological explanation for this also exists. The limbic system, which controls the sense of smell, also receives emotions.
3. The Pose in Which You Sleep
A relatively recent study from Hong Kong proves that if you sleep on your stomach, then the chance that you will have a dream of an erotic content or a dream in which you are being harassed is very high. Another interesting conclusion was made after this study. If you want to remember what you dreamed about, you must stay in the same position throughout your sleep until you wake up.
If you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet or drink water and want to return to your dream, then the best way to do this is to lie in the same position.
4. State of Mind
The state of mind, mood, and everything that happens around you have a strong influence on the content of your dreams. Depression may be responsible for the color content of your dreams. If in a dream you see only black and white or muted shades, as well as all shades of gray, then this may be the first sign of depression. A certain psychological and mental state can cause weather in your dreams.
A tornado or hurricane is a sign of physical disturbance such as foot or back pain. A pure and bright state of mind leads to sunny and clear dreams. Sorrow can cause rain. Dreams depend on your emotions in real life and on your associations. Rain may not be a symbol of sadness if it is associated with happiness in life.
5. Medicines and Vitamins
Medications can change your dreams in many ways. Since almost all medications cause drowsiness, the first phase of the sleep can be completely crazy. Medicines can “revive” dreams and evoke memories. If depression drowns out memory, then antidepressants can create the opposite effect and make you remember everything that happens in a dream. Vitamin B6 also helps to remember dreams and makes them more vivid and realistic.
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