Do you have nightmares? When you’re sleeping, that is!
Do you remember bits of the nightmare?
What if there was a treatment that results in no more nightmares?
Two clinical trials are in progress for a new treatment for bad dreams, using imagery rehearsal therapy to eliminate nightmares in people who have them three or more times a month. This is being trialled at Utrecht University and Symfora Groep Centre in Holland, just round the corner from The Cafe of Dreams (only sweet dreams here!).
The idea is to train the brain to come up with happy endings to the story of the nightmare.
People are taught ways to use the pieces of the story that they remember to slowly create a nicer dream. They rehearse this for up to 20 minutes a day.
Early studies reveal that 3 - 6 months later, the number of nightmares reduces.
What would happen if we rehearsed the most pleasant parts of our ‘real’ dreams, using imagery, for up to 20 minutes a day?
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