- A recent study has found that your dreams can affect your mood in the morning.
- The study showed that those who experienced fear in their dreams were more likely to have a low mood upon waking.
- The researchers suggest that dreams may help you process emotions.
Sleep is an important part of overall health, but the impacts of your dreams are less well understood.
A study recently published in Sleep suggests that the type of dreams you have may influence your morning mood.
While the study does not suggest that bad dreams can cause your mood in the morning to be lower, it does show that fear or joy in dreams may play a role in your psychological function.
The researchers emphasize the need for further research.
“Dreams are such a popular topic in therapy. I find that clients often ask about dream interpretation and trying to understand their meaning, or link their significance to daily life,” said Nicole Andreoli, PhD, licensed psychologist and author of “Mindfulness & the ADHD Parent.” Andreoli wasn’t involved in the study.
“This is especially true for the more emotionally charged dreams because they do tend to influence morning mood. Many of my clients talk about subsequently waking up experiencing anxiety or depressed mood due to the content of their dreams,” she told Healthline.
Participants were sent a survey that included a brief sleep diary and a morning mood report. Over the year-and-a-half study, participants completed a maximum of 55 surveys.
The surveys included factors like:
- bed time
- time they tried to sleep
- sleep latency (how long it took to fall asleep)
- how much time they spent awake after falling asleep and getting up in the morning
- time of last awakening
- how long they had been out of bed in the morning
The participants were also asked about their dreams and how well they could recall them.
They were also given a survey to record how they were feeling and their overall mood in the morning.
The researchers found that those who experienced fear in their dreams were 7% more likely to have a lower mood in the morning.
Those who experienced a combination of joy and fear in their dreams were around 20% more likely to wake up in a placid mood. Meanwhile, individuals who experienced a high level of joy in their dreams were 9% more likely to wake up in a positive mood.
“It has been proposed that REM sleep, in which dreaming occurs, is almost a virtual therapy or sandbox environment,” said Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. Dimitriu wasn’t involved in the study.
“In the dream state, and absent any norepinephrine (adrenaline), the brain replays emotional experiences to plans for future ones. Dream sleep is like an emotional playground for the mind. Building on this, people who have more active dream lives may enjoy the benefit of better emotional regulation. Their sleeping brains have had more time in the sandbox. Fear, primal as it is, may be the emotion that requires the most processing in our dreams,” Dimitriu told Healthline.
The researchers also found that people who had higher adaptive emotional regulation were over 3% more likely to be negatively affected by fearful dreams the next day.
However, people with higher-than-average dream fear were also more likely to have higher adaptive emotional regulation.
“Those who more actively suppress or avoid emotion may experience less emotionally intense or vivid dreams, and therefore, remember them less,” said Andreoli.
“[However], those who use healthier strategies to cope with fear, such as acceptance, are less avoidant of negative emotional experiences. They are more open to engaging with negative emotions, such as fear, making it more likely to show up in dreams,” she explained.
These findings show a nuanced relationship between dreams and waking psychological function.
While fear in dreams is linked to lower mood the next day, the interplay between adaptive emotional regulation and mixed dream emotions suggests that your dream emotions may play a dynamic and functional role in psychological regulation.
It may be harder to start your day if you wake up in a low mood. However, there are some ways you can shift your mindset toward the positive.
“A clean break from sleep to wake helps. Get out of bed, get outdoors in the sunshine, and get moving. Music also moves our emotions deeply — for that drive to the office after a rough night,” Dimitriu said.
Andreoli suggested avoiding analyzing your dreams. “Instead, orient to the present moment by naming what’s happening, ‘that dream is still with me’; or narrating what you are doing,” she said.
Andreoli offered the following advice to improve your morning mood:
- Open the curtains or window to let in morning light and natural sounds. Natural light exposure can positively affect mood.
- Small movements, such as stretching, yoga, or a short walk, can give your mood a boost.
- Engage in sensory activities, such as listening to upbeat music, lighting a candle, or enjoying a warm beverage.
- Avoid using electronics. Instead, spend a few minutes journaling, focusing on gratitude or setting positive intentions for the day.
While you may not be able to fully control your dreams. There may be ways you can prepare your mind and body for sleep that can help regulate emotions within your dreams.
“There is some evidence that dream rehearsal can help,” Dimitriu said. “Before sleep, journal and visualize the recurring or frightful dream, and come up with a positive ending. Repeat. By doing so, people can sometimes change the outcome.”
“Also, be mindful of what you mentally consume before bed — media can color our dreams and our emotions. Stick to lighter, funny stuff. Laughter is the best medicine, for almost anything,” he added.
Andreoli noted that sleep hygiene is important for overall sleep quality and can influence your dreams.
- limiting caffeine and alcohol
- being mindful of the content you are watching or reading before bed
- having a consistent sleep schedule
- creating a consistent bedtime routine
“Increase lucid dreaming, which is the state of knowing you are dreaming,” she said. “You can do this by keeping a dream journal to help improve dream recall. Over time, this will help strengthen your ability to recognize when you are dreaming, and then to influence what happens next in the dream.”
