Non-invasive techniques can be used to manipulate our emotions.It may be possible to reduce the horrors that plague our sleeping patterns.
Study of 36 patients with cancer. nightmare disorderTwo simple treatments combined were able to reduce the number of bad dreams.
Scientists challenged volunteers to create positive nightmares by rewriting their most common nightmares. They then played sounds that were associated with positive experiences while they slept.
“There is a correlation between the emotions we experience in dreams and our emotional well being.” says psychiatrist Lampros Perogamvrosof the Geneva University Hospitals & the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
“This observation led us to the conclusion that manipulating emotions in dreams could be a way to help people. This study shows that it is possible to reduce nightmare-related dreams, which can be very emotional and strong.
There are many reasons why people have nightmares. Poor quality sleep is also linked to nightmares, which can lead to a host of other health problems.
Poor sleep Can also increase anxietyThis can lead to Nightmares and insomnia. Recent studies have demonstratedSleep disturbances and nightmares are common Have seen an increaseDuring the ongoing global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
We don’t understand this. Why?Or even HowOur brain creates dreams during sleep. Treating chronic nightmares can be difficult.
One non-invasive option is Imagery rehearsal therapyThis is where patients are asked to rewrite their most painful and often frightening nightmares in order to create a happy ending. They “rehearse,” telling their rewritten stories to themselves, in an attempt to overcome the nightmare.
This method is possible Reduce frequency and severityThere are many nightmares, but not all patients will benefit from the treatment.
Scientists found that people associate the sounds they hear with certain stimuli while they are asleep by playing them. AidsIn The memory can be boosted by this stimulus. This has been named Targeted memory reactivationPerogamvros, along with colleagues, wanted to see if it could increase the effectiveness imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT).
The study participants were required to keep a diary of their dreams and sleep for two weeks. After that, all volunteers received one IRT session. Half of the group was then subject to a TMR session. This created a link between their nightmares and a sound.
The control group consisted of half the participants, who imagined a less frightening version of a nightmare but were not exposed to any positive sounds.
Both groups received a sleep headphone headband that would play the sound – the piano chord C69 – while they were sleeping, every 10 seconds during REM sleep when nightmares were most likely to occur.
TThe groups were evaluated.Two weeks of diary entries were added, followed by three months without any treatment.
The average number of nightmares per week in the control group was 2.58, while the TMR group experienced 2.94 nightmares per week. At the end of the study the TMR group reported 0.19 weekly nightmares and the control group saw a decrease to 1.02 per week. TMR reported an increase of happy dreams.
The three-month follow up revealed that nightmares had slightly increased in both the groups to 1.48 and 0.33 per weeks, respectively. Researchers said that this is still a remarkable reduction in nightmare frequency. This suggests that IRT can be supported with TMR.
“We were positively amazed at how well the participants accepted and tolerated the study procedure, such as imagery rehearsal therapy every day or wearing the sleep headband throughout the night.” Perogamvros says.
“We saw a decrease in nightmares as well as dreams becoming more optimistic. Researchers and clinicians find these results very encouraging, both in terms of understanding emotional processing during sleep, and the development of new treatments.
The results of the research by the team have been published in Current Biology.
