Have you ever woken up from a bad dream, sweating profusely?
Being chased and killed in dreams, falling from a tall building, dreaming of teeth falling out... These dreams not only affect the mood after waking up, but also closely related to health.
Psychiatry and behavioral scientists at Duke University Medical Center in the United States have found that frequent nightmares significantly increase the risk of high blood pressure, myocardial infarction or other heart disease.
Life Times combined the study with experts to uncover the link between nightmares and cardiovascular health and teach you to improve sleep quality.
Experts interviewed
Wang Zhancheng, deputy chief physician of the Department of Cardiology, Shanghai Eighth People's Hospital
Li Zhong, director of the Department of Neurology of the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University
Xing Ying, deputy chief physician of the Department of Clinical Psychology of Beijing Huaxin Hospital
Frequent nightmares, increased risk of cardiovascular disease
In the study, the researchers analyzed the dream status of 3,468 veterans, 77 percent of whom were men with an average age of 38, 31 percent had post-traumatic stress disorder, and 33 percent self-reported having at least one cardiovascular disease.
■ Studies have found that having nightmares twice a week ≥ significantly increases the risk of high blood pressure, myocardial infarction or other heart disease.
After considering factors such as age, race, and gender, the researchers found that frequent nightmares increased the risk of high blood pressure by 51 percent, the risk of heart disease by 50 percent, and the risk of myocardial infarction by 132 percent.
■ After further consideration of factors such as smoking, depression, and PTSD, people with frequent nightmares all had a 43 percent higher risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.
Taken together, this study suggests that people who rarely have nightmares have an advantage in cardiovascular health, while frequent nightmares (≥ 2 times a week) are a threat to the heart and blood vessels. More research is needed in the future to reveal this correlation mechanism.
Why do people have nightmares?
One fact is that almost everyone dreams every day after falling asleep. Most people have 3 to 5 dreams a night, and many may have 7. It's just that some people don't remember dreaming, and some people just remember.
According to the state of brain waves, the human sleep cycle is roughly divided into two parts: "non-REM sleep period" and "REM sleep period", of which the former is divided into four stages: falling asleep, shallow sleep, deep sleep, and deep sleep.
Dreams basically appear in the "rapid eye movement period"
When normal people have just fallen asleep, their eyeballs are almost inactive, that is, non-REM sleep periods.
After about 60 to 90 minutes, the eyeball begins to move back and forth like a pendulum very quickly, and this period is called the REM sleep period, which lasts about 10 to 15 minutes.
Normal people's sleep is a process of alternating non-REM sleep and REM sleep, circulating about 4 to 6 times a night, each time for about 90 minutes.
If you are woken up during REM sleep, it is easier to remember dreams.
The reasons why people have nightmares are not clear, but the current mainstream view is that there are the following aspects:
- Mental stress. Mental factors account for about 60% of the direct triggers of nightmares.
- Associated with taking certain medications. Drugs that help dilate blood vessels, for example, can indirectly alter the balance of certain chemicals in the brain and induce nightmares.
- Lack of sleep. Nicholas Oscroft, a sleep expert at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England, said that too little sleep is easy to induce "ghost presses", often occurring when just falling asleep or waking up, generally disappearing within one or two minutes.
Wang Zhancheng, deputy chief physician of the Department of Cardiology of Shanghai Eighth People's Hospital, reminded that patients with cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation and hypertension should pay attention to frequent nightmares, which may be a signal of disease changes or aggravation.
This is because people with heart disease are more likely to have breathing problems, which cause the brain to supply oxygen to a lower level of oxygen, triggering nightmares. It is recommended to go to the cardiology department or psychiatry department of the hospital in time.
Do 10 things to get you a good night's sleep
Frequent nightmares are mostly one of the manifestations of sleep disorders, and there are 3 indicators of high-quality sleep:
- Generally do not wake up at night, even if awake can fall asleep immediately;
- Appropriate dreaming, but not nightmares, and not as if sleeping;
- When you wake up, you feel refreshed and feel no tiredness.
If the quality of sleep is poor, always have nightmares, or even wake up from nightmares, there are still palpitations after waking up, this situation is more than 3 months, affecting the daytime work, life, etc., and there is no drug impact, you need to go to the hospital in time.
Here are 10 ways to help improve sleep and reduce nightmares:
1 Improve physical and mental anxiety
Physical or psychological tension before bedtime can lead to insomnia and nightmares. Through relaxation training, you can reduce the level of physical and mental anxiety and promote sleep.
The easy way to train yourself is "mindful breathing": choose a comfortable position and focus your attention on the breath. After a period of practice, the body and mind will be relaxed.
2 Increase physical activity
Insist on exercising for 1 hour a day, preferably aerobic exercise, such as doing exercises, dancing, brisk walking, jogging, swimming, etc., which can help prolong deep sleep, but do not exercise vigorously two hours before going to bed.
3 The quilt must not be oversized
The weight of the quilt will compress the chest, resulting in a decrease in lung capacity, a decrease in the oxygen supply to the brain, and people are prone to nightmares.
4 Do not eat before going to bed
Do not go to bed on an empty stomach or on a full stomach, avoid excessive caffeine drinks, and try to quit smoking and limit alcohol.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, snacking before bed makes the brain more active and prone to nightmares. It is recommended not to eat again 1 hour before bedtime.
5 Write a journal
Write down all the worries in advance so that they don't disturb sleep at night. Keeping a journal helps reduce stress and reduce the frequency of nightmares.
6Preparation before bedtime
- Open windows for ventilation to improve indoor air quality;
- Take a hot bath or soak your feet in hot water before going to bed;
- Wear loose pajamas;
- Pillow height, soft and hard fit;
- Turn off the lights, close the doors and windows, close the curtains, and create a quiet and comfortable sleeping environment.
7 Not bad bed
Too much bed dependence will lead to sleep fragmentation and light sleep, making it easier to dream.
8 Increased sleep motivation
Sleep motivation, also known as sleep stress. The longer you stay awake, the more motivated you are to sleep, the easier it is to fall asleep, and the deeper you sleep.
People who often have nightmares or insomnia can try to sleep well or badly at night, neither make up for sleep nor nap during the day. At the same time, do not do things in bed that are not related to sleep, such as looking at mobile phones, watching TV, reading books, etc.
9 Listen to the white noise
Use your phone to play white noise to help your brain fall asleep.
10 Ask your doctor for help
Long-term nightmares are not good for physical health, and it is not conducive to emotional management. If after the above adjustment, there is still a problem of frequent nightmares, it is recommended to go to the psychiatric department for treatment. ▲
Editor of this issue: Zheng Ronghua
Copyright notice: This article is the original of Life Times, and unauthorized reproduction is refused.