The Benefits Of Nightmares
Saying that there are benefits to nightmares is like saying men work together whether they work together or apart sounds kind of obscure don't ya think?
Well believe it or not recent studies have concluded evidence implying that nightmares benefit your mental and phyical well being. In fact being anxious of afraid while sleeping helps regulate our fear during the waking hours.
A recent study back in April 2019 the University Of Switzerland and help from scientists from the United States researched how the brains reacted to types of dreams. They concluded that these vivid nightmares or night terrors improved the effectiveness of the brain reacting to an alarming or scary situation faced in your day to day life.
Neuroscientists have also conducted studies from the University of Geneva suggesting that our nightmares can also be used to help treat anxiety disorders. Even at the University of Montreal, nightmares have greater emotional impact than bad dreams do, and fear is not always in the forefront.
“Physical aggression is the most frequently reported theme in nightmares. Moreover, nightmares become so intense they will wake you up. — Dr Shock
Nightmares: Helping Us Prepare For Bad Events
It took 30 students in a recent study at U of T to determine if bad dreams — usually less vivid and moderately scary opposed to a night terror — could help the dreamer in his or her walking life.
Close to 400 electrodes attached to each individual student, followed by another 90 people recording dreams and different sleeping patterns and sleeping positions — the neuroscientists studied how the emotional state experienced was similar to feelings while awake.
According to dream dictionary we see that these theories might actually help the dreamer.
The findings, published in Human Brain Mapping, concluded that nightmares helped the subjects react better to scary or alarming situations. The area where the brain contained the reaction to fear was concluded to be more adequate. This concluded that these unsettling dream experiences help us cope and prepare us for real life danger in our lives.
Researchers have also concluded there seems to be a strong connection between emotions we experience during sleep and wakefulness. Nightmares seem to map out frightening situations like a rehearsal for similar experiences when awake. We can view these bad dreams as training for future events just in case we are faced with real life dangers.
During a nightmare blood flow decreases to the brain and switches towards the muscles and other systems, making a faster recovery.
At the peak of your nightmare your growth and stress hormones, immune system, heart and blood pressure are all positively affected.
Recurring nightmares are a form of exposure therapy that help the dreamer confront the painful experience or things that threaten them to overcome their fears.
Most Common Nightmares
