Have you ever woken up from a particularly pleasant dream and found that it made the rest of your day a little better? You find yourself walking with a skip in your step just because it made you feel that good. In fact, it’s almost absurd that the sole reason for such a drastic high in your mood is that you had a wonderful dream the night before. However, despite the bizarre and indescribable nature of this feeling, there has been a legit term specially coined for it.

This word is “Euneirophrenia”, and is basically the pleasant and peaceful state of mind that settles over you after having a good dream. But why does this occur? As we all know, dreams can play a significant role in the way we act in our conscious lives. There are numerous studies which have pinpointed the correlation between having nightmares and suffering from depression, and how bad dreams can have a negative impact on one’s future behavior. As such, couldn’t the opposite hold true for happy dreams?

One theory suggests that nightmares, which have the power to disrupt your sleep cycle and upset your REM sleep patterns, can go on to affect your demeanor. This is due to the fact that sleep is very important, which is something you already know because everyone around you has been telling you that your whole life. Sleeping is a way of allowing your brain to repair itself and rest when it needs to. When this is disrupted as a result of disturbances such as nightmares, or suffering from insomnia as a method of avoiding them, you become unsettled. However, in the case of having sweet dreams, your brain’s rest is not disrupted. In fact, you will tend to have a good night’s sleep, thus making you feel better both in body and in mind.

On the contrary, what happens when you oversleep? Could this have a negative effect on your dreams and consequently, your mood and disposition? Food for thought.

-Cassey

Edited by: Seraphina Leong

SOURCES

Carroll, L. (2014). Why dreams can affect your mood. Retrieved from http://www.tescohealthandwellbeing.com/advice/health-and-wellbeing/3401-why-dreams-can-affect-your-mood

euneirophrenia. (n.d.). Dictionary.com’s 21st Century Lexicon. Retrieved October 20, 2014, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/euneirophrenia

Otherworldly. (2012). Euneirophrenia [blog post]. Retrieved from http://other-wordly.tumblr.com/post/22552837690/euneirophrenia