Previously published in Examiner
Most Montrealers complain they do not get enough sleep. Yet, sleep affects our physical and mental health. Not having enough sleep affects our mood, our stamina, our home-life and career, and our social relationships.
Sleep is an important human function which is essential for good physical health and good mental health. Even though sleep is so important many Montrealers take sleeping for granted. They either sleep too much or more often than not, sleep less than is recommended for good health. Montrealers will catnap rather than sleep, burn the midnight oil studying, play on the computer, or just insist that they are too busy too sleep.
Conditions that affect sleep, our health, and mental health include such topics as nightmares and bad dreams. For help in the Montreal area for sleep disorders in Montreal click here:
Mount Sinai Hospital Sleep Center
Montreal Sleep Clinic
There is no empirical evidence to support this claim, however, if a dreamer believes there are meaning to these dreams then consult a psychotherapist or professional dream translator for further information.
On the other hand, dream researchers hypothesize that nightmares and bad dreams are a result of:
anger blame fear frustration embarrassment past issues that have never been dealt with emotional problems
Technique to calm yourself after a bad dream or nightmare
Once you wake up from a bad dream or nightmare before going back to sleep try to calm yourself by visualizing a good ending to the bad dream or nightmare. For example, if a strange man was running after you, envision him catching up to you and announcing you just won a million dollars. If you were falling from the sky, envision that your parachute opens and you have a wonderful flight back to a grassy pasture. These visualizations will help you change the focus of your nightmare,to something positive and help you relax as you go back to sleep.
Even though the mind tries to ignore these dreams, the body has taken note and the dreamer may be irritable, grumpy, or jumpy the following day. Reoccurring nightmares and bad dreams can render a person into a state of anxiety and if these dreams are chronic medical attention should be sought after. Your doctor will determine if there is a physical reason or underlying cause. If it is determined to be psychological the doctor might suggest psychotherapy or counseling.
Sources embedded in the text