Having nightmares? Blame the heat wave

Are you finding yourself constantly waking up during the warm summer nights?

Have you been experiencing strange, vivid dreams about discovering aliens in Area 51 or quite possibly showing up to work without coffee?

Well, you’re not alone – and you can blame your nightmares on the heat wave.

There’s an explanation as to why you might have suddenly started to concoct these out-of-character visions, and it has to do with rising temperatures.

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While it’s not surprising that the humidity makes for uncomfortable sleeping conditions, a link has been made between the scorching weather and your scorching dreams.

Dr. Neil Stanley, the ex-chairman of the British Sleep Society says that warmer temperatures in rooms over 18 degrees C increases your risk of being plagued with nightmares.

According to Dr. Stanley, in order for you to get a good night’s sleep, you would need to lose around 1°C of your internal body temperature, which sits at around 37°C.

“If you're in a room that's too warm, your body can't dump that excess heat - and that means that your sleep will be disturbed,” said the doctor in an interview with the Daily Mail.

This increases your chances of entering a phase called “Rapid Eye Movement.”

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When you’re already experiencing a disturbed night’s sleep, then the chances of you entering 'Rapid Eye Movement’ increases.

REM is the stage of sleep in which a person is the most mentally active, and it can lead to experiencing more vivid – and much more frightening dreams.

It can cause you to lash out and break your sleep, thus making it easier to recall the terrors in the morning.

Sleeping at the right temperature can also improve snoring and help prevent other sleep-related disorders such as sleep aponea, according to Dr. Stanley.

So, if you’re suffering from nightly terrors, then it may be time to lower the dial.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in July 2019

Thumbnail image credit: Getty Images/stock photo