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The position you sleep in could influence the content of your dreams, with a recent study suggesting that individuals who sleep on their left side are more likely to experience nightmares. The study, published in the ‘Sleep and Hypnosis’ journal, found that left-side sleepers had a 41% chance of having nightmares, compared to just 15% for those sleeping on their right side.
The research involved 63 healthy subjects, including 45 males and 18 females, who were interviewed about their dream recall frequency, vividness, bizarreness, nightmare frequency, and dream emotions. Participants also maintained a dream diary, providing insights into their dream experiences.
Dream decoder Theresa Cheung explained the findings, stating that while individuals can dream in any sleeping position, limited self-funded research suggests that sleeping on the right side may result in more cathartic and healing dreams. On the other hand, left-side sleeping is associated with nightmares due to increased stress on the heart, leading to poor sleep quality.
The study categorized participants based on dream recall frequency, vividness, bizarreness, and nightmare frequency. The research also explored various emotions associated with dreams, such as fear, anxiety, guilt, grief, despair, anger, shame, and happiness, among others.
Cheung added that back sleepers may also experience nightmares compared to front sleepers, indicating that sleep position can influence dream content. She advised individuals experiencing nightmares to experiment with different sleeping positions, emphasizing the importance of finding a position that promotes healthy breathing.
The study’s preliminary observations suggest a connection between dreaming, sleep quality, and body posture, prompting further exploration into whether individuals with dreaming disturbances, such as depressive disorder, nightmare disorder, and narcolepsy, can alleviate symptoms by adjusting their sleep positions.
