Why am I having vivid and disturbing dreams?

[Anonymous]

Saturday night I had a dream that we accidentally k*lled a man in our driveway. The dream spanned an entire day, and in that time, DH and I debated over what to do with the body—we thought we’d be charged with murder—as the body decomposed in our backyard. It was so disturbing that when I woke up, I was legitimately relieved and repeated to myself that it was only a dream.

Last night, I dreamed that I loudly and aggressively quit an old job, shouting my grievances at my boss as I destroyed things in the office. It was horribly vile and uncalled for.

I rarely dream such negative things, so it must mean something that they happened in succession. Everything in my life is fine. There’s nothing new or different happening. Not a single thing I can pinpoint.

[Anonymous]

You are too hot at night. Turn AC up and remove blankets.

[Anonymous]

Eating close to bedtime, particularly sweets, and/or drinking alcohol in the evening can cause vivid dreams. Stress is another cause. Medications can also contribute. Watching tv at bedtime or someone else watching tv, particularly violent shows, can affect your dreams. Being overtired, pms/peri/menopause, resurfacing trauma can also affect dreams. If none of those are in play, I have no idea. Consider keeping a dream journal to track any paterns.

[Anonymous]

Magnesium (to help me sleep) gave me whack dreams. Could have been a one-off but I take it at a different time now.

[Anonymous]

I was just reading that your gut microbiome affects your dreams. It is very much about diet. Eating some types of cheeses, such as blue cheese, right before bed is connected to bizarre dreams.

[Anonymous]

How old are you? In women this can happen during perimenopause/menopause.

[Anonymous]

This happened to me when I quit drinking.

[Anonymous]

wellbutrin?

[Anonymous]

Do you punch or hit while dreaming? Can be a sign of Parkinson’s.

[Anonymous]

Eating close to bedtime will give you dreams. Also, melatonin and magnesium will give them to you as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are too hot at night. Turn AC up and remove blankets.

Hmm, this might be the explanation. This happened to me when I got really sick. I had night sweats and very vivid dreams. Maybe the night sweats/getting overheated was the cause?

[Anonymous]

Are you taking melotonin?

[Anonymous]

Are you a vivid dreamer otherwise?

[Anonymous]

PTSD?

[Anonymous]

melotonin does that to me.