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Additional comments. Email optional. If your vivid dreams are caused by an underlying mental or physical health condition, you can reduce your risk of vivid dreams by treating that condition. Eating well, maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough sleep, maintaining a regular sleep schedule, drinking enough water, and looking after your mental health can help prevent vivid dreams.
Everyone experiences stress and anxiety, but some people are better at coping with it than others. If you feel that your stress and anxiety levels are out of control, you might want to consider:. A racing mind can result in vivid dreams and sometimes nightmares.
This treatment is often used for people experiencing vivid dreams, especially nightmares, as a result of trauma.
Your mental healthcare provider will ask you to continue playing over the new, nonthreatening ending to the dream in your mind. However, in the case of nightmares induced by trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, a doctor may consider prescribing sleeping medication or anti-anxiety medication to help induce sleep.
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Shop our favorite latex pillow picks. It observes new information. Our brains need offline time for processing and learning new things — and they do this during sleep. There are certain questions that come up for which we plot a potential course of action or think through a future scenario to solve, Stickgold explains.
But that type of narrative construction building a story still requires us to be consciously aware, Stickgold says — which is one feature of dreams. Several studies show what nearly everyone has probably experienced on their own that our waking experiences show up in our dreams.
Other research shows that we are more likely to remember something if we dream about it. Erin Wamsley, PhD , an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, explains all of those studies in further depth in a review article in a issue of Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports. Nightmares are a common in several mental health conditions, including:.
Nightmares are generally a symptom of these disorders, and they can happen regularly or in episodes. In bipolar disorder, nightmares can signal that a manic or depressive episode is about to begin. In some cases, an episode of nightmares can occur one or more years before the actual onset of bipolar disorder. These are known as intrusive dreams, and they can often result in insomnia—particularly when the affected person develops a fear of falling asleep. Having intrusive dreams can make it especially difficult to cope with past trauma.
If you are struggling with frequent intrusive dreams, consider reaching out to a psychotherapist who can help you manage and overcome your condition. While you are asleep, your immune system goes to work repairing tissues and combatting illness. You need consistent, quality sleep to stay physically and emotionally healthy. The relationship between sleep and immunity is well documented. Several studies also show that people with certain physical illnesses are more likely to experience nightmares and vivid dreams.
The researchers looked for an overlap between their nightmares, CV medications, anxiety, insomnia, and depression. Although they didn't find a connection between nightmares and CV medications in this study, the link between depression, anxiety, insomnia, and cardiovascular disease was clear. Some research has also shown that having a sleep disorder may increase your risk of cancer and influence the effectiveness of cancer treatment.
Furthermore, people with cancer are more prone to having nightmares and insomnia as a result of the psychological distress their illness causes. Vivid dreams themselves aren't associated with side effects—that is, until they interfere with your sleep, in which case you may experience the following side effects:. You may also experience symptoms related to the underlying cause of your vivid dreams, whether that is a sleep disorder like sleep apnea, a physical illness like cancer, or a mood disorder like depression.
Getting treatment for the underlying cause should help with your vivid dreams too. To stop having vivid dreams, start by seeing if you can adjust your bedtime habits and schedule to improve the quality of your sleep. Steps you can consider include:. If you have done what you can to give yourself the best chance of quality sleep and your dreams are still affecting you, it's time to investigate other possible causes. If you are experiencing chronic pain and you're not sure why, see your healthcare provider for an evaluation.
If you are experiencing depression, PTSD, chronic stress, or anxiety, a mental health professional can provide medication or counseling to see if they quiet your dreams. Getting rid of vivid or intrusive dreams starts with uncovering the cause—only then will your dreams stop disrupting your sleep and affecting your day. The quality of your sleep affects your physical and psychological health. If you are not sleeping deeply enough or your sleep is regularly interrupted, you may be more likely to have vivid dreams and remember them upon waking.
People who are pregnant or have a physical illness, anxiety, or a mood disorder like depression may also be more prone to recalling vivid dreams.
If your dreams are affecting your quality of life, reach out to your healthcare provider or a psychologist who can treat the underlying cause. Dwelling on your dreams too much can distract you from your day and cause you distress. You may find it helpful to keep a dream journal to track how your waking emotions express themselves in your dreams.
Just keep in mind that there is no scientific evidence that the symbols in your dreams have any profound meaning, and you certainly shouldn't let dream interpretation rule your life. It is normal to have vivid dreams every now and then, and you may have them more frequently if you are experiencing a stressful event or going through a major life change.
Vivid dreams become a problem when they start to disrupt your sleep and affect your mental health during the day. If your dreams are causing you anxiety, keeping you awake at night, or simply won't let up, contact your healthcare provider to sort out whether there is an underlying condition causing them. Experts have found no evidence that vivid dreams are more likely to come true or result in the phenomenon of deja vu.
Many people do have dream experiences that they later feel have come true, but this may have to do with certain electrical patterns of the brain that cause a false sense of familiarity rather than any ability to predict the future through dreaming.
Tossing and turning night over night can have a big impact on your quality of life. Our free guide can help you get the rest you need. Sign up for our newsletter and get it free. Brain basics: Understanding sleep. Updated August
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