Depression and Dreams

Depression is on the rise the world over, but what can be done to halt its predicted escalation? What can new research tell us about depression? Clinical depression is a life-threatening condition, which can leave you not only unmotivated and exhausted, but also suicidal. Depression is characterized by sadness, loss of interest and motivation, feelings of guilt, lack of energy, poor concentration, and disturbed sleep and appetite.

Depression is a complex disorder and there are several possible causes, and each requires different treatment. Research indicates that there is no single factor, which can explain the cause for depression, rather several factors may cause depression: biological , genetic, psychological, and environmental. Depression is simply not the result of thoughts or emotions that are troubling for a person. L oss of a family member, divorce and separation, westernalisation, unexpressed anger and abnormal levels of brain chemicals can lead to depression.

Depression is related to physical changes in the brain, and connected to an imbalance of a type of chemical that carries signals in your brain and nerves; neurotransmitters . Latest research shows that several other chemicals are involved . Neurotransmitters are natural substances that allow brain cells to communicate with one another. A deficiency in serotonin may cause the sleep problems, irritability, and anxiety. Decreased amount of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine may contribute to the fatigue and depressed mood.

Dreaming is vital for mental health, and normally it reduces stress levels by acting out unfulfilled expectations.

Dreaming is hard work and too much is not good for you. Depressed people have up to three times as much REM-sleep as non-depressed people. It is during REM-sleep that you dream, and over-dreaming stresses the system and leaves depressed people exhausted. Adrenaline and other stress hormones will be active in the body, because as far as the brain is concerned, dreams are real. As well as using up these hormones and energy, dreaming also makes it harder for the body to produce more.

You need approximately two hours of dream sleep per six hours of deep sleep. Deep sleep physically restores us – Slow Wave Sleep. In contrast, dreaming does not give you rest, and i f most of your sleep consists of dreams, your body and mind will begin to feel very tired during the day. Depressed people often report that the worst time of day is first thing in the morning.

The negative introspection that depressed people engage in causes the excessive dreaming. Depressed people dream more because they have more emotional arousal to sort out. Endless sort of worrying that makes depressed people feel bad. The worrying thoughts are going round and round in the head. When unfulfilled emotional arousal remains in the brain’s limbic system at sleep onset, the brain creates scenarios that allow those loops to complete. The dream acts out, in metaphor, a situation that will allow the emotional problems to be solved.

Research shows that by waking up a depressed person every time they show rapid eye movement (REM-sleep) the symptoms of clinical depression can be lifted.

Nature sometimes prevents a person from over-dreaming by causing them to awaken in the early hours of the morning so that they spend less time in dream sleep. This is called the early morning waking syndrome.

You are waking up early because your cells are not getting enough sugar to compensate for the energy being used up by excessive dreaming.

Deep relaxation can help you recover from the effects of over-dreaming. Antidepressants reduce dreaming, but the arousal-dreaming- exhaustion cycle is not properly broken.

Take care of your Body, Mind, and your Dreams.