Depressives Dream More
Have you ever noticed that when you’re going through an episode of depression that you dream more? When we’re depressed, we dream three times more than a non-depressed person dreams.
This additional dreaming can have detrimental effects. Research has shown that pent-up feelings of frustration and emotions with no outlet are very hard to deal with, and can cause depressive episodes. But at the same time these feelings go deeper and become the fodder for dreams.
To make it clear, think about what happens when something upsets you. Most people can absorb an upsetting moment, and deal with the consequences. When you get upset you feel angry and you back away from it. If you are depressed, often you don’t do anything to reduce the upset.
The problem is that those who have emotional issues often do nothing about it. The upset feelings just sit there, making them feel more and more anxiety, as they’re unable to deal with it. The feelings remain, and difficulties appear. Since these unfinished emotions are still there, the brain must deal with them when the person is sleeping. So the dreams start.
The dream allows the completion of the unfinished emotional business and so frees the brain to rest. In the dream the emotional experience is played out in some way so the person resolves what’s upset them that they were unable to deal with otherwise. In cases where the person can tidy this up in a dream it can be emotionally helpful, but in the case of a person who is in a depressive episode this is more difficult. They take so much emotional baggage to bed with them.
This lack of problem resolution causes more problems because the mind has so many emotional entanglements to deal with. The person must work hard to dream them away. People who are depressed experience a greater portion of their sleep in REM mode, (Rapid Eye Movement) instead of Slow Wave Sleep.
Slow Wave Sleep allows the body to renew itself during the night and so is very important to one’s health. It also affects a person’s ability to be motivated. Without refocusing off the bad and preparing for the next day’s activities in a positive way, depressives suffer each day with no improvement over the last. Those who have continuing problems with something that they’re unable to clear up may notice a recurring dream as the mind tries to rid itself of the problem.
The act of dreaming is actually not restful; it brings a person to an active state. The body treats the dream as real and puts out stress hormones and adrenaline to deal with the events of the dream. The body may try to diminish the number of hours they are in the dream state and the depressive may find they are waking up early because of this.
Scott Meyers is a staff writer for Its Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Depression.
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