Can You Influence Your Dreams?

Can you effect the type of dreams you have at night? Many studies suggest you can and sleep is very important to your health. Poor sleep can have several health repercussions especially on your heart. So it’s important to try and get a restful night of sleep each day.

Each night you go through 4-cycles of sleep. These cycles repeat approximately every 90 minutes. Most adults have 4 to 5 of these sleep cycles every night.

1) The first cycle is the process when you are just beginning to fall asleep. You’re in a light sleeping state and can still respond to outside stimuli.
2) The second stage is where you go deeper into the sleeping state, you’re body temperature begins to decrease and your heart rate slows.
3) The third stage is where you are in a very deep sleep. You become less responsive to outside stimuli.
4) The final stage is called REM (rapid –eye – movement) sleep or the dream state.

The amount of time you spend in each of these cycles can vary during the evening. REM sleep can last for just a few minutes or up to an hour during an individual cycle. Having good or pleasant dreams can help how well you sleep and how rested you feel in the morning. Being able to influence on your dreams can have a positive impact on your health.

Researchers have found that smells can have an effect upon your dreams. The smell center of the brain is linked directly to the same part of the brain that controls dreams. Foul smells tend to produce more bad dreams or nightmares. The opposite seems to be true, where pleasant smells trigger more positive dreams.

Knowing that you can have an impact on how you dream, you may consider placing items in your bedroom that produce smells you find pleasant or engaging. It wouldn’t be pushing the envelope too far to see how you can manipulate your dreams to produce positive effects at night. Such as, perhaps inhaling a smell that reminds you of the good times you had with your Grandma who has past, you can possibly promote a positive dream about your Grandma during the that evening of sleep.

Most of us don’t remember all of the dreams you have each night, but that isn’t even the point. Even though you may not remember the positive dream of your Grandma, it will still be a pleasant experience you had during the night and will produce a more restful sleep.
You may want to try varying the smells in your bedroom to help improve your sleep, but if you’re having difficulty with your sleep each night, tell your doctor or seek the advice from a trained professional.

Sweet dreams.