Our subconsciousness knows everything- warning dreams could occur ten years before the first symptoms of a disease, according to Dr. Oscroft from Cambridge. Psychologists agree that dream messages shouldn’t be neglected as they can help you reveal the symptoms of certain diseases.
For example, symbols from dreams could indicate tuberculosis, depression, or heart attack. Moreover, they could point out to risk of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
Weak heart and nightmares
If you frequently have nightmares, this could indicate possible issues with the heart, migraines, or lack of sleep. Unpleasant dreams could be also a consequence of blood pressure medicines, according to Jim Horne, dream expert.
It’s believed that these medications spread the veins, and experts believe that they can change the balance of specific chemicals in the brain indirectly, thus, triggering nightmares. Bad dreams could be associated with a weak heart, according to a research done with more than 6000 participants.
Migraine comes with rage
Scientists have concluded that people who suffer from an irregular heartbeat have three times higher risk of dreaming nightmares, whereas those who feel constant chest pain have seven times higher risk of nightmares. It’s also believed that people who have heart problems, experience breathing problems as well, due to which the level of oxygen in the brain decreases.
Nightmares and dreams full of anger, rage, and aggression, could be warning signs of migraines. Dreams in which you’re chased, attacked, etc. may be early signs of brain diseases or neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
Warning dreams could occur even 10 years before the first actual symptoms of the disease-memory loss, according to Dr. Oscroft from Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. Namely, people who regularly have dreams in which they’re being chased or attacked, suffer from behavior disorder in the REM phase. An acute form of this disorder can occur during alcohol withdrawal, i.e. when a person is taking sedative-hypnotic medications.
According to a neurologist from Boston University School of Medicine, bizarre, unforgettable dreams may be potential signs of an infection or the beginning of menopause. Hence, infections are known to cause half-wake state-the trigger for bizarre dreams. Additionally, another trigger for such lively dreams that usually occur in the morning period is late night alcohol consumption. They occur in this period as the effect from the alcohol begins to fade, thus, influencing the chemicals in the brain which leads to weird dreams.
Dreams in menopause
According to the testimonies of numerous women, lively dreams are typical for menopause and it is believed that they’re a consequence of the hormone fluctuation. Although during the REM phase we spend from 4 to 6 dreaming episodes, we don’t remember most of them. Hence, from the 28 to 42 dreams we dream in a week, we remember only two or three of them. This isn’t because we’re chronically forgetful when it comes to dreams, but because we can only remember a dream if we wake up during dreaming.
When a dream has ended, but you’re still sleeping, you won’t remember it. It is presumed that women remember their dreams more than men as they tend to sleep lighter, i.e. they wake up easily.
Time to slow down
When a person is dreaming more than they usually do, it may be a consequence of chronic ache, antidepressants withdrawal, or because it’s simply too warm or too cold in your bedroom. These conditions disrupt the dream and cause frequent waking up during the REM phase, due to which you remember more dreams, i.e. you believe that you’re dreaming more than usually.
According to professor Horne, if you’re woken up at night or early in the morning, you could be suffering from depression, that is, you could be under a lot of stress lately or you might have gained weight. Fatty foods can also be the reason for such dreams. What’s more, people who are much stressed or suffer from depression enter the REM phase earlier, and they ‘walk’ through their dreams earlier, and thus, wake up earlier.
Dreaming during pregnancy
A lot of mothers claim that they dreamed more lively and disturbing dreams during their pregnancy.
Signs of stress
Stress is often manifested through catastrophic and panic dreams. For example, you might be dreaming big waves coming your way or that you’re being late for your flight.