In this post:
- What are dreams?
- What causes vivid dreams?
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The phone rings and I answer it. “Hello?”
“Hey.”
I recognize the familiar voice. It’s my sister. A long pause follows, and I can tell something is wrong.
Before I can ask what has happened, my sister says, “It’s Ella….she’s gone.” The phone begins to slip out of my hand as I think of my precious little niece. Only 2 years old and she’s gone. I don’t believe it.
“Wh-wh-what? What do you mean? What happened?” I ask, clutching the phone now. I touch my face and feel hot tears spilling down my cheeks.
“She contracted a fatal virus. Within a day…she was gone.” My sister’s voice is flat, emotionless. I can’t answer. I can’t speak.
The room blurs and suddenly I’m in a church. The church is empty and feels hollow. My eyes scan the room and a little white box at the front of the sanctuary catches my eye. I run towards the little, pearl-colored box down the center aisle, knowing what the little box is. The white coffin is open and I see her. Ella. She looks as beautiful as I remembered, but her perfect, round, white face is far too pale. Her fair, blond hair has been combed to perfection, and the usual streak of pink in her cheeks is gone, her skin marbled white.
I look at her closed eyes, knowing I’ll never see those innocent, baby blue eyes open again. I feel my heart drop as I reach for her little hand, thinking of all the times I held it and felt comforted by its warmth. Her hands are ice cold. I look around for help, turning around.
I gasp. The aisles and seats are gone. Instead, I’m surrounded by coffins of all sizes. I leave Ella for a moment and walk towards the coffins. There are hundreds of coffins, filling up the entire church. I walk towards the closest one and begin to read the inscription carved into the wood. It’s my husband’s name. I begin to sob, throwing myself at the coffin. Then I hear a familiar song begin to play, the harpsichord notes echoing throughout the church,
“Picture yourself on a boat on a river…with tangerine trees, and marmalade skies…”
Someone’s hands grab me and begin to shake me.
Suddenly I’m in my bed, and my husband is right there, shaking me awake.
“What’s wrong??” he asks, his voice sounding muffled.
Thank God-he’s alive! I hear his cell phone alarm clock song singing, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” As I wake up, I realize it was all just a dream.
Having vivid dreams like the one I’ve just described to you is like being trapped in an alternate reality. Our dreams can feel so real and tangible, and can also provoke our deepest worries, regrets, and fears.
What are Dreams?
On the simplest level, a dream is the experience you have of envisioned sounds, images, or other sensations while you sleep. A deep internal process, some dreams can arise from a basic preoccupation of the day’s activities, whilst others are richer and more symbolic. In a way, dreams are a crossing between the conscious and the unconscious.
It is still unknown as to why we dream. Current research has focused on how sleep improves memory and learning, but it has also been speculated that in addition to being symbolic expressions of our lives, dreaming allows us to try or experience things that we have not or may not ever try, like jumping off of a cliff or fighting Godzilla. Dreams can also be a manifestation of our greatest fears, much like the one I described earlier about my little niece.
What Causes Vivid Dreams?
You may be wondering, “Why are my dreams so vivid?” “Why do my dreams feel so real lately?” Three to four times a night, you’ll experience a period of sleep that lasts about 90 minutes. This period is called REM, or rapid eye movement sleep. During this phase of sleep your brain is at its most active state, meaning that your brain is primed for storylike dreams that are rich in emotion, complexity, and vividness. If you wake up at the end of REM sleep, you are most likely to recall your dreams as a result of being in this state of sleep.
While everyone will experience vivid dreams at some point because of their REM sleep phase, it’s also likely that there are other contributing factors at work here. Read on to find out the other potential causes for why you may be having vivid dreams lately.
8 Reasons Why Your Dreams Have Been So Vivid Lately
1. You ate a spicy dinner. If you had a spicy meal before bed and your dreams suddenly become more vivid, it is likely because of the fiery food you ate. Spicy foods increase metabolism and your body temperature, which can spike brain activity, particularly during REM sleep.
2. You have a fever. Being sick can also trigger vivid dreams, especially if you’ve got a fever. As with spicy foods, a raised temperature elevates your brain activity, priming your mind for those dreams that feel too real.
3. You’re stressed out. Suddenly having vivid dreams at night is often a tell-tale sign of stress. Stress can affect every aspect of our lives, including our dreams. This anxiety can manifest itself as common dream themes, like losing our teeth.
4. You have low blood sugar. If you have diabetes and experience a significant drop in your blood sugar, a potential side effect could be vivid dreams and/or nightmares.
5. You’re pregnant. Studies have found that realistic and vivid dreams are quite common amongst pregnant women. In fact, it’s been found that the stranger and scarier dreams that moms-to-be experience might actually be a good thing for their health. One study found that the more unpleasant dreams a pregnant woman had, the less likely she would be to develop postpartum depression.
6. You watched a scary show before bed. While it might seem like binge-watching your favorite show before bed is a great idea, research has shown otherwise. Both children and adults have been found to be much more likely to experience strange or scary dreams from watching television before bed, and the chances only increase if the show itself is scary or gruesome. Why? When you watch a TV show that has a strong emotional component for you personally, your mind will hyper-focus on its meaning and how you interpret it, which can lead to odd manifestations in our dreams.
7. You didn’t sleep well the night before. If you find yourself often thinking, “Why are my dreams so realistic?”, Your sleep patterns may be to blame. When you catch up on lost sleep, it’s likely that you’ll experience more intense REM sleep, meaning that your dreams will probably get weirder.
8. You have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea reduces your oxygen intake when you’re asleep. Less oxygen can also trigger disturbing and/or vivid dreams.
As you can see, vivid dreams can result from a number of factors. Sometimes people may try to assign more value and meaning to their dreams than necessary, but it’s important to remember that dreams are just that: dreams. While they can indicate certain health issues or hold symbolic meaning for us (e.g., you’re running a fever or you’re too stressed out), dreams are simply a result of our REM sleep, which can be influenced by our physical health and day-to-day activities.
Having trouble sleeping after a bad dream? Here’s 9 things to try when you can’t sleep.
