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We’re living in such surreal times, as reflected in many a person’s sleep patterns.
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During the Covid period, we had fever and bereavement dreams and nightmares that got weirder and more intense the deeper we spiraled into the pandemic. People reported vivid episodes that continued to be unsettling well into the next day or so.
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Sleep patterns were obviously disrupted, and pandemic dreaming because a reality for many – isolation and quarantining were seen as the major culprits then.
But what about now? Well, things are just as strange, if not stranger. And given we’re doing the whole spring forward time change drama this weekend, we’re all in for a wild ride in the sleep department.
Especially when it comes to nightmares, and the role they play in gender.
Who has the most nightmares? According to recent research from ThePleasantDream website on dream interpretation, it’s women.
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The company reached out to a team of experts in the field of psychology and mental health, and found that women, in general, have more nightmares than men. As well, women are able to recall them more, according to a recent media release.
(Talk about a nightmare: A few weeks back I dreamed I was walking up a set of cement stairs in a darkened town. The more I walked up, the more I found myself struggling with a thick layer of mud that was cascading down the stairs. At one point a wall of mud came over me. I started to panic as the mud was crushing me. And then suddenly, when I started walking back down the stairs, the mud disappeared, and my shoes were clean. Weird or what?)
Why is this?
“Nightmares are a reflection of our deepest fears and concerns. The conflicts, the emotional turbulence and the challenges one faces in daily life are reflected in one’s dreams,” said certified psychiatrist Dr Nereida Gonzalez-Berrios from ThePleasantDream, in a recent release, adding that “in society, women are held to different expectations than men, an attempt on the part of women to realize those high expectations can lead them to suppress their emotions…suppressed emotions and experiencing more violence, abuse, and assaults can be reasons why women are prone to more nightmares.”
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Psychologist Matthias Dettmann, a triple-p trainer and PMR coach, said in a recent email that “several studies suggest that women may experience more nightmares than men due to their tendency to remember their dreams better. Hormonal fluctuations in women during their menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause can (also) lead to changes in sleep patterns and affect the occurrence of nightmares.”
There’s also myriad social factors in play and stress related to such issues as care-giving and domestic responsibilities, “can also contribute to more frequent nightmares among women.”
Much of this is common sense, of course – and you just know we’re all bracing for the inevitable issues surrounding the upcoming hour change. So one can understand why many Canadians are bracing for the inevitable dreams and nightmares coming this hour-changing weekend.
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Most Commonly Occurring Nightmares in Women
Experts agree there are no one-size-fits-all approach to nightmares, as they do vary from person to person. That said, women tend to have similar visions when they dream: “Women often have nightmares about being chased or attacked, as they are more likely to become victims,” said clinical director and registered psychotherapist, Ellie Borden, in a recent media release. “Falling or drowning is another nightmare theme common in women which reflects feelings of helplessness or vulnerability.
“These are more prevalent in women because they face gender-based oppression and discrimination.”
Life coach and lead astrologer Karen Comen added in the same release that “nightmares that involve losing a loved one, such as a partner, child, or parent, may be more common in women who have experienced loss or are dealing with feelings of grief or abandonment.”
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Mental health experts note that nightmares “tend to peak in frequency during early adolescence — for both boys and girls — but for women specifically nightmare frequency may increase during young adulthood before declining with age.”
“Nightmares decrease as we heal from or resolve the causal psychological stressors or trauma. Because traumas are more heavily concentrated in one’s early years, with time and intention, whether through formal psychotherapy or other healing means, nightmares may decrease with time and age,” says Dr Deborah Vinall, certified trauma therapist, in a recent release.
Age doesn’t play a complete role, adds Dr. Nancy B. Irwin, clinical psychologist for the Dream Analysis Group at Seasons Malibu.
“They can, but it is not necessarily attributable to age. Learning how your mind at night is always trying to help you vs scare you can be acquired at any age. As well, some women become more stable and functional and healthier mentally and physically as they adopt a better lifestyle. This definitely affects the mind at night,” she said in a recent release.
– www.thepleasantdream.com/why-do-women-tend-to-have-more-nightmares-than-men
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