Posts tagged sleep

1. Being chased. If you feel as if you’re running, and being chased, in your dream, it could mean you are running from some tough things in your life (or you may be running from an opportunity).

2. Falling. We often have a sense that we are falling in our dream – then we suddenly wake up and find we’re safe in our bed. This is said to be the fear that we are losing control, or it may be a fear of abandonment.

3. Having your teeth fall out. Like falling, this dream symbolizes powerlessness, and loss of control in some area of life. It can also mean you suffer from low self-esteem and are afraid to be honest and to speak your mind.

4. Being paralyzed when you try to run away. This is said to mean that you feel stuck or held back, or you can’t overcome some obstacle in your life.  

5. Flying.  Flying in your dreams is believed to signify a desire to express your creativity, to break out of the box and to reveal the real you.

6. Being submerged in water. This is said to mean we feel as if we’re drowning in life … that we’re feeling overwhelmed, and are close to breaking point.  

7. Being caught naked in public. We’re all afraid of being publicly exposed, as we know that we’re imperfect and inevitably fail. And though most of the time we can put on a good show, we fear we’ll be exposed for who and what we really are.

8. Being trapped or buried. It’s not hard to guess at the meaning here … as we often feel trapped by circumstances in life. This could be a dead end job, a bad relationship, a wrong decision or a mountain of debt. The message in the dream is you need to face the truth and start to take some steps to try and set yourself free.

1. Look for a strong enough reason to get up early in the morning. Without motivation it is hard to sustain.

2. Avoid stimulants late at night (tea, coffee, chocolate, nicotine etc) as they often interfere with healthy sleep patterns, and leave us feeling tired and worn out.

3. Related to this, start going to bed slightly earlier so you’ve had enough sleep when it’s time to get up.

4. Work up to rising earlier in small steps. Don’t just try to cut an hour from your sleep. Set the alarm 10 minutes early the first week … then 10 minutes earlier the week after that … and so on, until you’ve reached your goal.

5. Set multiple alarm clocks around the room so you have to get up to switch them all off.

6.  Write your goal out on a piece of paper and position it in a prominent spot (eg above your bed, at eye level on your bedroom door, or in the middle of your bathroom mirror).

7. Make yourself accountable to others. Have a friend (who gets up early themselves) ask you how well you did, each day.

8. Plan a schedule that requires you getting up early. If you deliberately fill your day with pre-arranged appointments you’ll have to rise early to fit everything in.

1. Most dreams are based on visual images (Except in people who were either born blind, or who lost their sight at an early age). Occasionally, dreams will include sound and touch.

2. The normal rules of logic do not apply in dreams. For example, the dream may be taking place in one location – then, abruptly, the dreamer is translocated to a completely different place.

3. Most dreams occur in a house – but this is usually not your own home. The most frequently reported room is the living room. People rarely dream about their work place or school.

4. The most frequent scenario is the dreamer plus two other people.

5. Famous people seldom appear in our dreams. The vast majority of people dream about people who are significant to them, especially if there is an ongoing conflict.

6. Mundane activities (such as brushing your teeth) rarely appear in dreams.

7. Dreams tend not to be happy events, and the three most common reported emotions are anger, sadness and fear.

8. Some themes are so common that they are reported the world over. These universal themes include the loss of a tooth, falling or flying, exhibition, arriving late for exams or other important events, and being chased or attacked.

9. Cross-cultural research indicates that our dreams reflect normal life events in our own country and culture.

10. There appear to be some differences in the content of dreams between the two sexes. Specifically, women are more likely to dream about their children, family or household activities; men are more likely to dream about strangers, violence, sexual activity, achievement, and outdoor events.

1. Avoid taking naps in the late afternoon or early evening.

2. Don’t use your laptop or watch TV in bed. (Avoid bright lights and screens.)

3. Try and wind down before you go to bed. (For example, don’t exercise or check your emails.)

4. Sleep in a cool, comfortable room.

5. Avoid liquids for at least 2 hours before going to bed. (If you waken up to empty your bladder it’s often hard to fall asleep again.)

6. Avoid stimulants in the evening – like coffee, tea or cigarettes.

7. Try and establish regular bedtimes, and a set bedtime routine.

8. Get up and do something if you can’t fall asleep within 15-20 minutes.

9. Redirect your thoughts if you’ve had a nightmare, or if you find that you’re fixating on your anxieties.

10. Try and relax your body and mind by listening to calming music, white noise, or slowly and deliberately relaxing your muscles.

1. Poor sleep habits. Inconsistent or irregular sleep patterns; trying to function on too little sleep; taking long naps throughout the day; taking naps too close to bedtime.

2. Dietary factors. There are certain foods that make us feel more sleepy. These include candy, pop and desserts, peanuts and peanut butter, dairy products, turkey, bananas and apples. Also having a late lunch seems to contribute to mid-afternoon sleepiness.

3. Crash diets and weight loss pills may cause sleep abnormalities, which leave you feeling tired and drained.

3. Sedating drugs and alcohol. This includes many prescribed and over the counter medications. Also, not following the instructions properly can lead to bouts of sleepiness. This includes not paying proper attention to timing and dosages.

4. Having the cold or flu, or suffering from a minor infection.

5. Feeling anxious or depressed saps and drains your energy.

6. Having your period. Some women also report feeling more tired and sleepy just before their period or during ovulation.

7. Being physically active. This uses up our energy reserves.

8. Doing boring, monotonous, repetitive tasks.

1. Exercising: Exercising raises your body temperature for up to three hours. That can make it harder to relax and fall asleep.

2. Having a hot shower or bath: Although a bath can be relaxing, if it’s too late at night your body won’t have time to cool down sufficiently - so both your body and mind will be alert.

3. Using your laptop or watching TV: The lights on these screens have been shown to affect the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Hence, they waken you up when you need to fall asleep.

4. Reaching for a drink: Sipping some water will stop you feeling parched but a hot cup of cocoa - or any other drink – may cause you to wake up for a bathroom break. That interrupts your sleep and will leave you feeling tired.

5. Working: Working early in the evening leaves you time to relax. But working till it’s late can leave you feeling stressed – then you can’t fall asleep as you’ve too much on your mind.

6. Having a serious conversation or an argument: A study by sleep researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggests that an emotional response, and the memories associated with them, are intensified if we attempt to sleep right afterwards[1].

1. Nightmare disorder: When the occasional nightmare becomes a common problem, so you wake up in a sweat or you’re afraid to go to sleep, then you could be suffering from nightmare disorder. According to the American Sleep Association, stress and sleep deprivation are the main triggers for this disorder.

2. Sleep walking: The causes of sleep walking are not fully known – although genetics, broken sleep and stress are thought to play a role. Sleepwalkers open doors, move their furniture around, and move from room to room with no trouble at all. According to the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry, 19 percent of adult sleepwalkers have been injured while sleep walking. The main risks are tripping and falling.

3. Exploding head syndrome: This disorder occurs at the onset of deep sleep, when a loud noise awakens up someone who’s just fallen asleep. These sounds range from explosives going off inside their head, to cymbals crashing loudly, right next to their bed. Of course, there’s no actual sound – so it’s all a mystery. The person’s not at risk - and there’s no obvious cause.

4. Hypnagogic hallucinations: These occur as the person is falling sleep or at the end of the night as they start to waken up. The person’s sure they can hear voices, or they experience strange sensations, or they report seeing people or weird objects in the room. A common vision sufferers have is seeing small animals or thinking they see bugs crawling over the walls. According to the American Sleep Association, these kinds of sleep-related hallucinations are most frequently reported in people with narcolepsy.

5. Night terrors: This is where the person (and most commonly a child) starts to scream, thrash around, or to pace about the room. However, they can’t be wakened up or be comforted. They are trapped in this world that is threatening to them. Night terrors are different from nightmares as they occur in non-REM sleep (the deepest type of sleep that occurs early at night). Although the cause is still unknown, fever and stress may play a role.

6. Sleep paralysis: This occurs in REM sleep, later on in the night, when the person is having a very vivid dream - but is also temporarily immobilised. Thus, although they want to move or to quickly run away they find they’re paralysed, and are rooted to the spot. Often sleep paralysis and sleep hallucinations occur simultaneously. Common images and sensations include sensing an evil presence in the room, or feeling they’re being crushed or choked. In Newfoundland, Canada, this is known as the “Old Hag”; in China, it’s called “the ghost pressing down on you”; and in Mexico, it is described as being “the dead climbing on top of you.”

7. REM behaviour disorder: This occurs during REM sleep, where the sleeper starts to act out the content of their dreams. Thus, they may get out of bed and then start to run around; or they may scream and yell, or they may start to get dressed. It is seen most in older adults, and especially in those who’ve been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.   

8. Nocturnal eating disorder: People diagnosed with this sleep disorder go on eating binges when they’re fast asleep. Some chop up meat and vegetables, or turn on the stove, and then go back to bed without tidying up the mess. Others eat raw foods like onions or fresh meat, or they eat frozen food or unusual types of food (like margarine straight from the margarine tub). Like sleepwalking, it occurs during non-REM sleep. There is no known cause.

1. Loss of a tooth: In ancient times, dreaming about losing a tooth was seen as being an omen of death. However, most contemporary dream theorists are more flexible in their assessment and consider the entire context of the dream. Some suggest that the loss of a tooth symbolises symbolize feelings of powerlessness, fear, shame, and abandonment.

2. Flying and falling: These are often called kinesthetic dreams. The meaning probably relates more to the emotion experienced rather than the act per se. Many people who have flying dreams report feelings of mastery or being “above it all”. Falling dreams appear to be associated with feelings of great anxiety and fear.

3. Exhibition: These dreams are usually related to private, hidden information that the person fears revealing. The most common exhibition dream is being nude or half-clothed in public. A similar dream involves “bathroom” behaviors and suddenly becoming aware of an audience watching what you are doing. The most common emotion is great embarrassment and/or feelings of inferiority.

4. Arriving late for an exam, or an important event: The examination dream occurs most often when the person is about to sit a test, or is facing a hurdle, or a new challenge.

The plot in the dreams often involves an inability to handle the task – so the person feels as if they’re going to fail. Arriving late can also be associated with feelings of frustration. For example, where the dreamer is unable to catch their train on time, get to their class, or run fast enough. This is related to frustration in real life.

5. Being chased or attacked: This extremely common dream is thought to indicate that the person is under tremendous stress in the waking world. It can also mean that the person is feeling attacked and threatened – either by a person or by powerful emotions that the dreamer finds hard to contain and control.