Sweet Dreams:
After a long stressful day, we look forward to a nice restful sleep but somehow, we
end up even more restless and tired the next day. Why? Because of nightmares!
Nightmares are often the reason why we have trouble sleeping or why we may
dread sleeping but by following these very simple steps you are 100% guaranteed a
great night sleep and you can say goodbye to all those sleepless nights!!
By: Sabrina Felipe 367 Ratings 58 Comments
Why We Have Nightmares:
When we have nightmares, they’re vivid and reoccurring because during the day
our brain avoids thinking about things that are bothering us, ranging from a small
problem like doing bad on a quiz to something bigger like past trauma. These
unresolved feelings appear in our dreams since our minds find it easier to process
them in our sleep.
Thanks to a group of researchers on our team we were able to determine that the
factor that influences our dreams would be psychological need satisfaction. What
is this you may ask? Well to simply put it, need satisfaction can be broken down
into three categories: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy would
have to do with our desire to be independent, free to be our own person.
Competence usually has to do with our self-worth and our desire to be needed and
feel valuable is reflected into our dreams because we are afraid that we aren’t as
needed as we believed ourselves to be. Finally, relatedness has to do with our
ability to care about others and to be cared by others to feel connected to others.
These are the main categories that appear in our dream themes but can be further
broken down into further categories which will be discussed later in the recipe
To stop having nightmares we must confront our feelings and resolve them instead
of running away from and eventually our moods and dreams will improve for the
better.
Better Sleep:
Level: Medium Total: 3-4 months or longer (results
may vary)
Yield: Restful Sleep Benefits: Improve overall health and
mood
Ingredients:
o Journal (online or a book)
o Pencil or pen (if writing in a book)
o Friend or someone you feel comfortable talking to
o Therapist (optional)
Directions:
o Step 1:
Go to sleep. When you have a
nightmare, record into a journal
everything you recall from the
nightmare and how you feel after.
At the end of the day record how
you felt throughout the day. Repeat
3-4 weeks.
o Step 2:
After a few weeks, look
back at your dreams. Try
connecting them with how
you felt throughout the
day. See if there are
connections between the
two.
o Step 3:
Once you have found any similarities, reflect
to see if you can any issues that you have
been avoiding and are troubling you. Discuss
your this with someone you trust or a
therapist.
- As shown in the chart some of the most reoccurring themes that usually
show up in our dreams include being attacked or pursued, falling, frozen
with fear, arriving too late and many other themes. Each of these themes
can be interpreted in different ways which is why it is important to
discuss with someone your dreams because only you can determine the
true meaning behind your dreams.
o Step 4:
After finding the root of the
problem, confront them. Avoid
bottling up your feelings to
prevent any bubbling up which
can lead to nightmares.
o Step 5:
Try to relax before going to sleep. Try
meditating or listening to music etc. to help
you feel calm.
o Step 6:
Continue to write how you feel and
record your dreams slowly you
will notice shifts in your dreams
and eventually the nightmares will
disappear.
Comments:
Anonymous: December 13,2020
o So, lately I’ve been having a lot of dreams where I’m
being chased by some strange figure, but it never seems to
get me and I’ve been having this same dream for a while.
What would this mean?
Creator: December 14,2020
Hi, anonymous. I’m glad to see that you have been
trying out my method and I hope it works out. As I
have mentioned above, each person can interpret
their dream differently because everyone goes
through different things. What I can say is that often
when you have dreams where you are being chased,
it means that you are avoiding a problem so maybe
there is a decision you must make, and you have
been avoiding it which is showing up in your
dreams. My solution would be to try to face this
problem and as soon as you overcome this, I’m sure
the dream will stop. Hope this helps.
Lynn K.: January 12,2021
o I really loved this recipe!! Because of this I was able to
finally stop having my dreams of being smothered and
tried out therapy for the first time and I also noticed that
my mood has improved drastically. Thank you so much,
five stars!!!
Creator: January 12, 2021
Hi Lynn, I’m glad that you enjoyed our recipe. Most
of these dreams have a common solution which is to
talk to someone about it and eventually the answer
becomes very clear to us. In your case where you
were being smothered in your dreams it seems that
the factor playing a role in your dreams would be
autonomy or our need to be free/independent. You
may have had some new changed happen in your life
where you felt like you were no longer in control of
your life but by starting therapy, I’m sure you
discovered this. Make sure to continue recording
your dreams and hopefully you continue to feel
better! :)
Lisamarie267: February 13, 2021
o I tried out your recipe for a few days and I saw no results.
I am currently having trouble in my relationship and I feel
so lost I don’t know what to do anymore I feel like
everything is falling apart. Also I keep having these
terrible nightmares where I’m failing off a building and it
feels so real, and it keeps me up all night after I wake up
from the dream. What am I doing wrong?
Creator: February 13,2021
Hi Lisamarie267, I’m very sorry that the recipe has
not worked for you. Based off what you have said, it
seems as if you feel like your life is out of control
and you feel as if you are losing yourself in your
relationship. Also keep in mind that you must allow
time to pass to heal and it is not a process that can be
rushed. Remember to take your time and keep trying
to write out your emotions and talk to someone about
this. I’m sure that soon you’ll see much better results
and these nightmares will disappear. Hope
everything gets better soon!!!
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Cited Source:
Weinstein, Netta, Campbell, Rachel, Vansteenkiste, Maarten “Linking
Psychological Need Experiences to Daily and Recurring Dreams.” Motivation and
Emotion, vol. 42, no. 1, 2017, pg. 50–63.
