Research has found a definite link between depression and an increase in dreaming. Everyone dreams when they sleep; some can’t recall the dreams moments after waking up, while others can describe them in vivid detail. Nobody quite knows why, but on average a person will dream between 4 to 6 times a night.
Unfortunately, dreams seem to centre around three main emotions: anger, anxiety and elation. Thus, the odds are a stacked against having a pleasant dream.
Depression sufferers have reported between 3 to 4 times as many dreams as average. And to make matters worse, their dreams seem to exhibit far more intense emotions and focus on negative themes and even nightmares.
Some psychologists are of the opinion that these dreams, while related to the neuroscience of depression, can actually make the depression worse. This has lead to an emerging trend in research to develop an “anti-sleep” pill that will allow patients to sleep less, and thus, dream less.
