夢(mèng)境如何反映健康

Have you ever wondered why we dream? Rosalind Cartwright, Ph.D., says that dreams are the way the brain "incorporates memories, solves problems and deals with emotions. In this way, dreams are essential for our emotional health."

你是否思考過，我們?yōu)槭裁磿?huì)做夢(mèng)呢？羅莎琳德·卡特賴特博士認(rèn)為，夢(mèng)是大腦“儲(chǔ)存記憶、解決問題和處理情感的一種方式。因此，夢(mèng)對(duì)我們的心理健康至關(guān)重要。”

While dreaming is an important and necessary physiological phenomenon to help with our memory and mental health, dreams can also indicate other health issues that might need our attention. From nightmares to the frequency of dreams, we can learn a lot of information from our nocturnal adventures.

做夢(mèng)是一種重要且必不可少的生理現(xiàn)象，有助于我們加強(qiáng)記憶、保持心理健康，但夢(mèng)境也能提醒我們需要警惕健康問題。從做噩夢(mèng)到做夢(mèng)的頻率，我們可以從夜晚的夢(mèng)境中了解到不少信息。

Nightmares can be a warning sign

噩夢(mèng)或提示健康有恙

There's nothing worse than waking from a nightmare in a cold sweat, heart pounding and nerves rattled. While a nightmare from time to time is generally not anything to worry about, frequent nightmares can indicate something more serious is going on with your health. One study found that nightmares can be linked to heart disease, with an irregular heartbeat increasing your risk of nightmares even more. This is because heart disease can decrease the amount of oxygen reaching your brain, which can trigger a nightmare.

沒有什么比從噩夢(mèng)中驚醒，嚇出一身冷汗，讓你心驚肉跳、神經(jīng)緊張更加糟糕的了。偶爾做噩夢(mèng)通常無需擔(dān)心，但經(jīng)常做噩夢(mèng)可能表明你的健康出現(xiàn)了問題。一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，做噩夢(mèng)與心臟病之間存在關(guān)聯(lián)，而心律不齊會(huì)增加做噩夢(mèng)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。這是由于心臟病會(huì)減少進(jìn)入大腦的氧氣量并導(dǎo)致做噩夢(mèng)。

Another possible cause of nightmares is sleep apnea, a chronic condition that can really mess with your REM sleep due to lack of oxygen. "Patients have had terrifying dreams of drowning or suffocation," says William Kohler, MD, medical director of the Florida Sleep Institute,  "in reality, their airway is blocked off."

導(dǎo)致噩夢(mèng)的另一因素或?yàn)?ldquo;睡眠呼吸暫停”。這是一種慢性疾病，由于呼吸暫停，快速眼動(dòng)睡眠（REM）會(huì)因?yàn)槿毖醵粐?yán)重?cái)_亂。美國(guó)佛羅里達(dá)睡眠研究所醫(yī)學(xué)博士威廉·科勒指出，“曾經(jīng)有病人夢(mèng)見溺水或窒息的可怕情景，而在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中，他們出現(xiàn)了呼吸道堵塞。”

Dream frequency may point to a number of conditions

頻繁做夢(mèng)可能反映了一系列問題

Most people have about four to six dreams every night, but don't remember near that many. Interestingly, we're more likely to remember dreams if we wake up right before the dream is over, or soon after it. Mood disorders like anxiety and depression might be a cause of increased dream frequency. If you are concerned, you might try keeping a journal by your bed and noting the frequency of your dreams. Although you might not think you are suffering from a mood disorder, the frequency of your dreams might say otherwise.

大多數(shù)人每天晚上都會(huì)做4-6個(gè)夢(mèng)，但卻記不住這么多的夢(mèng)。有趣的是，如果我們?cè)趬?mèng)境正要結(jié)束前或者夢(mèng)境結(jié)束后立即醒來，我們就更有可能記住夢(mèng)的內(nèi)容。焦慮和抑郁等情緒障礙可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致頻繁做夢(mèng)。如果你常有心事，可以嘗試在床頭寫寫日記，記錄做夢(mèng)的頻率。即使你可能不覺得自己有情緒上的障礙，但做夢(mèng)的頻率往往便能說明問題。

Vivid dreams and bizarre dreams

生動(dòng)和怪誕的夢(mèng)境

Vivid dreams may arise for a variety of reasons. They may indicate you are suffering from certain medical conditions, which might include neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease. There are other, less frightening reasons for your weird dreams as well, so don't jump to conclusions too quickly.

造成夢(mèng)境栩栩如生的因素有很多。它們或許表明你患有某些疾病，其中可能包括帕金森病等神經(jīng)退行性疾病。也有些不那么可怕的原因會(huì)導(dǎo)致怪異夢(mèng)境的產(chǎn)生，所以不要太快下結(jié)論。

This may come as a surprise to you, but particularly bizarre or memorable dreams might also indicate a possible infection. "Any infection increases the amount of slow-wave sleep we have, however, this delays the starting point of when we enter dreaming sleep, so dreaming sleep starts late, and can erupt into consciousness. This leads to vivid dreams and strange hallucinations," says Dr. Patrick McNamara, a neurologist from Boston University Medical School.

雖然這聽起來非常離奇，但特別怪異荒誕或者令人記憶猶新的夢(mèng)境可能表明你體內(nèi)存在病菌感染。美國(guó)波士頓大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)院神經(jīng)病學(xué)家帕特里克·麥克納馬拉博士表示，“人體受到病菌感染時(shí)，處于慢波睡眠的時(shí)間會(huì)增加，但有夢(mèng)睡眠會(huì)延后，容易使睡夢(mèng)進(jìn)入有意識(shí)的狀態(tài)，導(dǎo)致栩栩如生和離奇怪誕的夢(mèng)境產(chǎn)生。

Alcohol can also prompt vivid and memorable dreams. This is because the effects of alcohol wear off toward morning, affecting your brain chemicals and triggering bizarre dreams.

酒精也可以誘發(fā)生動(dòng)且難忘的夢(mèng)境。這是由于臨近早晨，酒精的作用逐漸減弱，大腦化學(xué)物質(zhì)水平會(huì)受到影響，導(dǎo)致怪誕夢(mèng)境的產(chǎn)生。