Do you dream and remember them in the morning? Sometimes, people have very vivid dreams that they remember very clearly in the morning. On the other hand, some people don’t remember if they dream. If you don’t dream, you may not be sleeping soundly enough. In other words, your brain is not relaxing for you to get to what specialists call “REM” or Rapid Eye Movement sleep.
Before you can dream, REM sleep is a necessity. Sleep is our body’s way of replenishing its energy cells. Being able to sleep is so important for us to reset the brain’s pain receptors, for those of us who suffer with chronic pain. If we experience severe pain or if our brain is busy remembering the day or thinking about what will happen tomorrow, we will never get to the REM cycle of sleep.
Sleeping deeply is very important, especially getting to the dream cycle or REM sleep. We cannot go too long without going into REM sleep; otherwise, every part of our body and mind suffers. As I alluded to above, chronic pain sufferers are not able to sleep soundly, nor are they able to get any pain relief when they don’t get into the REM cycle.
Why are you unable to sleep? What are you doing before you go to bed? Experts tell us that it is important for us to train our bodies to sleep. Hopefully, we work during the day so we can sleep at night. If we need to sleep during the day, this information works the same way for folks that work during the night.
First of all, the body needs to be trained to get up and go to bed at the same time every day, whether you work or not. Make sure to go to bed at the same time in the evening or morning (whatever fits your work schedule). Also, it is very important to get up at a set time, whether you have slept or not. If you haven’t slept very well during the night, don’t sleep during the day, so your body will be ready to go to bed when it is time to sleep. Don’t oversleep on the weekends (or your days off).
Relax the body by taking a hot bath about an hour before you are ready to go to sleep. A hot bath relaxes your muscles and tends to make you tired. A warm drink will also help to relax you before bed. I’m sure you’ve heard your mother or grandmother say to have some warm milk. Warm milk will help you relax and sleep. You can also try herbal tea. Herbal teas, especially chamomile, will relax the body and mind, making you feel tired. If warm milk or herbal tea doesn’t work for you, try taking an herb called “melatonin.” You can purchase melatonin at any health food store for a fairly nominal price. An over-the-counter (OTC) remedy you can try is “Benedryl” or the generic “diphenhydramine.” This remedy is an antihistamine, in which one of the main effects is drowsiness. Many people find that Benedryl or the generic helps them get to sleep easily.
The recommendations above are things you can do without having to go to your doctor. If you have tried everything and none of these work for you, the only alternative is going to your doctor. Explain to your provider what you have tried and the effects each of them had on your sleep. Your provider will likely try sleeping medications, the first of which will be a medication that is not very strong. He or she will start with the weakest dosages first, increasing little by little or changing medications as your need dictates. Sleep medicines will definitely help you sleep; however, you may not dream nor will you remember dreaming.
Medicines have different properties that might interfere with the dream state. Depending on a person’s age, sleeping pills can cause side effects like sleep walking, talking, hallucinations, etc. However, used as directed, sleeping medications are very effective and assist people to sleep all night as well as diminish the pain that chronic pain sufferers feel. When people with chronic pain are able to sleep, they can face their day and their pain a lot better.
If you are able to utilize OTC methods to relax you to the point of sleep, you will be able to dream. Your dreams are very important. Don’t be afraid of your dreams. I hope that all of your dreams, especially the good ones, come true.
