Why dreams are beneficial and why we have nightmares
No one really knows why we dream, but research has shown that there are certain benefits.
EVER WONDERED if there is reasoning behind dreaming?
Well, one theory suggests that dreams reveal insight into hidden desires and emotions while others suggest that dreams assist in memory formation, problem solving, or is simply the result of random brain activation.
A dream is basically the product of emotions, images, and ideas put together in the mind when asleep.
People mostly dream during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, when brain activity is high and there is a lot of eye movement during sleep.
Dreams that do not occur at this stage are more likely to be less vivid or memorable.
Perhaps this is why you hardly remember your dreams.
People remember their dreams more if they are woken up during the REM stage.
Well, there is no specific reason as to why people dream however, research has shown that there are certain benefiting factors from dreaming.
It can be for either mental, physical or emotional health.
According to WebMD, it is believed that dreams can:
•Help solve problems in our lives
•Incorporate memories
•Process emotions
•If you go to bed with a troubling thought, you may just wake up with a solution, or at least feel better about the situation.
•Reveal unconscious desires, thoughts, motivations
•Process our thoughts and the events of the day.
On the other hand we have the oh so dreaded nightmares.
These may be caused by:
•Stress
•Emotional issues
•Fear
•Medication
•Drug usage
•Illnesses
•Trauma
If there are any actual benefits from nightmares, it could be that getting a good scare once in a while is worth it. Other than that, they’re just, well, a nightmare.
One of the biggest nightmare contributing factors has got to be horror movies.
Remember the nun from The Conjuring 2, yup, her death defying appearance is bound to do some emotional damage on a person after watching a scene or two.
Horror movies have a tendency to play on your mind once the movie is over.
A good tip to get over a scary movie or ordeal before sleeping, would be to watch something funny or lighthearted or do a fun activity to relax your mind.
