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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by octopusprime on October 7, 2004, at 11:03:32
lucky me, i have been sleeping fairly soundly for FOUR WHOLE DAYS! yay yay yay yay
i have noticed that i have been dreaming a lot more over the last FOUR WHOLE DAYS (cannot get over this!). most dreams are banal to normal (i have dreamed about coffee and snow on the mountains) and some dreams are bad (dreamt that sister was killed in an accident - didn't see the accident but heard the report). after the bad dream i was able to return to sleep and have normal to banal dreams again.
is dreaming an indicator of sleep quality? ie - if i'm not dreaming (or can't remember having dreams), is it a sign that i should address sleep somehow?
do you find that the amount of dreams you have correspond with sleep quality?
would be interested in hearing some stories
Posted by tabitha on October 7, 2004, at 13:20:33
In reply to using your dreams to judge sleep quality, posted by octopusprime on October 7, 2004, at 11:03:32
Too much dreaming is supposed to be bad, since the REM (dreaming) sleep isn't as restful as the deep sleep. In fact there's a UK website that makes a whole theory of depression around the amount of REM sleep. Here's a link
http://www.clinical-depression.co.uk/Understanding_Depression/understanding.htm
I found this fascinating, but also odd I've never heard this theory anyplace else. The jist of it is that dreaming is your brain trying to work off excess emotional arousal. So if you have too much emotional arousal (due in large part to cognitive distortions), then you end up dreaming too much, then your sleep quality is degraded, then you develop depression, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
Posted by sillymagpie on October 7, 2004, at 22:52:04
In reply to Re: using your dreams to judge sleep quality, posted by tabitha on October 7, 2004, at 13:20:33
That's very interesting, since I dream =a lot= and suffer from sleep hypopnea as well as depression. I also "lucid dream" a great deal--find myself "awake" in my dreams. I've wondered if that's because I'm not deeply asleep. Anyway, thanks much for the site!
Posted by saw on October 8, 2004, at 2:24:36
In reply to Re: using your dreams to judge sleep quality, posted by sillymagpie on October 7, 2004, at 22:52:04
"lucid dream" gave what happens to me a name!!! Thank you. This happens to me frequently and while I seem to be "awake" and fully aware of *me*, I can't actually *wake* up. These experiences are truly terrifying for me.
Sabrina
Posted by octopusprime on October 9, 2004, at 11:58:45
In reply to Re: using your dreams to judge sleep quality, posted by tabitha on October 7, 2004, at 13:20:33
tabitha, that's a fascinating article, made me think.
maybe i am dreaming too much. but this happens on a continuum, which the article ignores. i'm just so thrilled that i'm not waking up and i'm getting to sleep (and back to sleep as appropriate)
it's good to know that there's more progress to be made.
i haven't slept particularly well for the last couple of days, i chalk that up to stress and stress-induced headaches. (my job is being stressful and i am interviewing for another)
that article really did make me think ... but i think it ignores what happens on the bipolar end of the depressive continuum, which is what i'm struggling with ... the mood swings and the brain noise that interferes with sleep.
but thanks for posting your perspective, it really made me think.
This is the end of the thread.
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