So much about our dreams remains a mystery. However, it turns out, there are ways to hack your dreams, in part. Here are some things that can surprisingly affect your dreams.
Sleeping on your stomach
As it turns out, people who sleep on their bellies are more likely to have erotic dreams compared to those who sleep in other positions. According to one study, people who sleep on their tummies tend to get short of breath at night and that association leads to dreams of wild sex.
Another theory is that having your breasts and pelvic area pressed against the bed causes stimulation that can often result in sex dreams. It’s interesting that most dreams of this nature reportedly involve celebrities and other famous personalities.
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Smells and sounds
The sounds and smells around you can have an effect on the nature of your dreams. One study found that smelling roses before bed can induce positive dreams while sulfur smells induced negative ones. This is likely because of the mental association of the scents.
Loud sounds often lead to disrupted sleep and negative dreams. Hack your dreams by surrounding yourself with pleasant environmental cues like your favourite scents and pleasant sounds like ocean waves.
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Food
The food you eat can affect the quality of your dreams. Caffeine and spicy foods can reduce how deeply you sleep and increase the number of times you wake up during the night. A side-effect of this is you’ll have a higher likelihood of remembering your dreams because your likelihood of remembering a dream is higher if you wake up within a five-minute window.
Spicy foods can cause a dramatic rise in your blood sugar levels then a drop and because they are more difficult to digest, the body works over-time. All this activity could turn what would have otherwise been a pleasant dream into a nightmare.
Going to bed hungry also has an effect. It can make you think a lot more about food which in turn leads to dreams about food.
Genetics
As it turns out, twins often have similar dreams. At first, this was attributed to the fact that they often share similar interests and habits. However, scientists have discovered that the genetic basis is stronger than previously imagined and is the most likely culprit. One study found that identical twins are twice as likely to have the trait of having frequent nightmares as fraternal twins. Your genetic make-up is a significant influence on your dreams.
Progesterone
Progesterone is a hormone that’s released in the second half of someone’s menstrual cycle and apparently, it has an effect on your dreams.
One study found that women were more likely to remember their dreams when progesterone was at its highest. The dreams become increasingly vivid and memorable during that period. The same effect is experienced during pregnancy.
Smoking
Cannabinoids and nicotine suppress the neurotransmitters associated with dream activity. This is why when people quit smoking, they experience a rebound effect and start dreaming like crazy.
Black and white TV
People who primarily watched black and white TV when they were between 3-10 years old were more likely to experience their dreams in shades of grey than those who grew up watching coloured TV. This still remains an odd mystery to researchers because the real world was still in colour yet TV colour still had so profound an effect.
Supplements
Taking vitamin B6 before sleep can help you recall your nocturnal activities. The vitamin may have no effect on the vividness of the dreams, but studies found that it led to clearer memories of it.
One herb, calea zacatechichi heightens dream vividness and increases the chances of lucid dreams. Other supplements linked to vivid dreams include vinpocetine, galantamine, and choline.
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