Does Dreaming Affect Rest?

Many people complain about not getting enough rest even after a night full of dreams or feeling like they haven't slept because of excessive dreaming. But does dreaming really disrupt rest? Is dreaming a sign of an unrested or poorly rested brain?

This notion is incorrect. Dreaming and the ability to recall dreams are not indicators of shallow sleep, nor does dreaming necessarily mean a lack of good sleep.

In reality, dreaming is a physiological phenomenon, and whether you remember your dreams or not, you typically have 4 to 5 dream cycles each night. Therefore, the idea of dreaming all night or not dreaming at all is unrealistic; there is no fixed amount of dreaming.

Research has shown that the intensity of dreaming is not necessarily linked to the severity of insomnia. In other words, the presence or intensity of dream experiences cannot be used as objective indicators of insomnia or its severity.

So why do people make the aforementioned complaints? Scholars believe it is related to the following factors:

1. Limited knowledge about sleep and the relationship between sleep and dream experiences.

2. Emotional state of individuals.

3. Excessive concern about personal health and a heightened focus on dream experiences, leading to heightened dream awareness. This, in turn, exacerbates concerns about health and fear of insomnia, creating a vicious cycle.

4. Dreams are more likely to be recalled during REM sleep and upon awakening from the later stages of sleep.

5. Individual variations in functional states result in different dream experiences among different individuals. Even within the same individual, dream experiences may vary across different periods and functional states. Therefore, some individuals may feel they have more dreams during certain periods while fewer dreams during others.

Additionally, some individuals may not experience obvious insomnia but may feel weak and lacking energy during the day after dreaming at night. This is actually due to psychological factors. Dreamers often associate dream content with unpleasant emotions, which burdens their thoughts, suppresses their mood, and leads to various discomforting phenomena.

Dreaming itself has certain benefits for individuals and sleep unless it causes recurring nightmares, excessive daytime sleepiness, and disrupts normal work and life. In such cases, it is advisable to consult a doctor, identify the underlying causes, and seek appropriate treatment.