Is Freddy Krueger living in your nightmares? Are you afraid to fall asleep because that Wendigo will chase you around the forest again? Is Pennywise the clown luring you into the sewers at 2 am? Here are 4 of the scariest dreams, their meanings, and some possible solutions!
- Falling
One of the most common dreams this tends to be about inability to control your own life. Unforeseen circumstances might have changed and put you into a situation out of your control leaving you feeling helpless and alone. Falling from a tall building or mountain illustrates your inability to catch or hold onto something leaving your mind feeling like it is in a free fall.
- Being Chased
Confrontation is the key here. We tend to avoid confrontation at all costs not wanting to bother or antagonize whatever problem we have so we run from it. Having a dream where it is manifested as running from a 60 foot snake or Freddy Krueger is understandable. Avoiding the confrontation builds it up in our minds and we need to escape it hence the dream.
- Teeth Falling Out
There are two prevalent theories on teeth falling out. One is concerned with our own vanity. No one likes being seen as less than and a lot of us have inner turmoil about our outward appearance. The second is about growing older. It is something we cannot stop everyone will age. Teeth falling out represent the decay of one’s body over time especially the fear of aging.
- Being Naked in front of a crowd
This one ties in a little with the teeth falling out; again it is stress about personal appearance and self-image. It is the fear of being judged demonstrating itself in a dream. The person experiencing it is not only feeling embarrassed but they are being judged by everyone there. This is a very anxiety heavy dream.
The science of how to stop nightmares from happening is still rather unknown. This isn’t as easy as popping a pill and making it go away. We have to sleep and with sleep comes dreams, but there are a few ways we can hopefully prevent nightmares.
Relax
Clear your mind before sleep. We all have ridiculously stressful lives and if you take those anxieties to bed with you they end up manifesting in your dreams. Try yoga, deep breathing, or chamomile tea and give yourself 20 minutes to wind down from your day so that you can have a restful night. Deal with your daytime stressors and don’t just put it off for tomorrow because it will come after you at night.
Dream journal
If you write out your dreams more than likely you can see where they are coming from. If you wake up every Friday terrified after falling it could be a result of the Thursday staff meeting or class. Typically a pattern will appear and then you can use relaxation techniques to calm yourself while unpacking the meaning of your situation. Also most times when someone wakes up with a particular nasty dream we forget the details very quickly. The faster you can write it down the more information you will have to be able to work through the stress that is causing it.
Optimal sleep environment
Dreams happen in REM sleep. Typically the dreams we remember happen closer to our time of waking. You need to have an all-night optimal sleep environment. What that means is it needs to be dark (as dark as you can make it even red alarm clocks can keep you up, blue light only) and set at the proper temperature. The optimal sleep temperature is 67-69 degrees. Also, the more restless you are the more likely you are the lighter the sleep you are getting and the more likely you will remember your dreams. People tend to be more restless if they are sleeping on a mattress that is not giving the proper support and pressure relief.
Hopefully these tips can help you become a dream warrior at night.