One third of a person's life is spent sleeping, and dreams are a universal physiological phenomenon. Dreaming is a visual activity caused by various stimuli inside and outside the body or external stimuli remaining in the brain during sleep. That is, the brain somehow links the information, memories, daily thinking, etc. in your mind in a disorderly manner, some of which may have been forgotten, and some of which may have been imagined by yourself, and are "called" by the brain during sleep. It turned into a magical "dream". It can also be understood as the brain's processing of information received during the day.
But how do dreams affect our sleep? Do dreams impact our sleep quality? Read on this article to find out the answer.
Part 1. Do dreams impact our sleep quality?
As we said above, dreams are a common physiological phenomenon, a normal person usually has 3-5 dreams every night, lasting 5-15 minutes at a time, which is a manifestation of normal brain activity, whether you still remember the content of the dream when you wake up.
So basically, dreams do not impact our sleep quality, on the contrary, many experts believe dreaming is either a reflection of or a contributor to quality sleep.
However, although dreaming itself is part of normal sleep, not a symptom of poor sleep, research shows that dreaming can be beneficial to the human body. But the bad dreams or nightmares will affect the quality of sleep. Because the scary, threatening or traumatic content appeared in bad dreams will interfere with your sleep.
Part 2. How to stop bad dreams or nightmares?
Nightmares can negatively impact your sleep quality when they occur frequently. Those people who have nightmares frequently may be disrupted by them and have greater difficulty getting back to sleep. In addition, they may avoid sleep because of the fear of scary dreams, increasing the risk of insomnia and sleep deprivation. So how to stop bad dreams?
Bad dreams are mainly caused by poor mental state. You need to get rid of stress and anxiety by adjusting by yourself or go to talk to your doctor. Besides, do not watch any scary or threatening pictures and videos before your bed time. Set up your bed and keep your bedroom environment comforting to make sure you can sleep well. All of these tips can prevent you from having nightmares.
Part 3. How to improve your sleep quality?
If you dream frequently at night and end up feeling tired in the morning, how can you improve your sleep quality? Try the methods below.
1. Go to bed on time to adjust your body clock
Basically, adults should get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every day, so it’s recommended to go to bed on time to adjust your body clock so that you can wake up to time in the morning. Keep a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends.
2. Get ready for sleep
Avoid eating or drinking beverages which contains alcohol or cocaine, over-excited, over-entertaining and talking before going to bed to ensure a stable and comfortable mood.
3. Pay attention to your sleeping position
Studies have shown that "sleep like a bow" can properly reduce the gravity on human body. Since the heart of the human body is mostly on the left side of the body, lying on the right side can reduce the pressure on the heart. At the same time, try not to put your hands near the heart to avoid waking up due to nightmares. In addition, do not sleep with your head covered or with your mouth open. Covering your face with a quilt while sleeping will make it difficult to breathe and lead to hypoxia. Opening your mouth to inhale cold air and dust will damage your lungs.
4. Create a sleep-friendly environment
When sleeping, the light should be moderate, and the surrounding colors should be as soft as possible; ventilated but not let the wind blow directly; try to prevent noise interference, quietness is very beneficial to improve sleep quality; keep the room temperature slightly cooler, and the bedroom temperature is slightly lower to help sleep.
5. Choose an ideal pillow to adjust your night’s sleep
When sleeping, the pillow is close to the head, so choosing an ideal pillow, a comfortable pillow is very suitable for human body structure and scientific. For example, the memory foam pillows are good, not only have good air permeability, but also prevent stiff neck.
