Dreams last for so long.

Over the last several months (since maybe last summer or so), I’ve noticed an increase in particularly vivid dreams. Ridiculous things, sometimes even dark dreams. (Two recent ones: one about vampires and another about zombies, in particular. Both packed with detail and dark and scary.)

So when I found this headline on Yahoo news, I clicked on it, just to see what it said. I expected the usual psychoanalysis explanation, but instead, I found something interesting and totally relevant:

You Should See Your Doctor If …
You notice symptoms of bipolar disorder or diabetes, since both of these conditions may cause vivid dreaming. Both interrupt REM sleep and therefore affect the body’s ability to separate dreams from waking perceptions.

What? Diabetes can cause vivid dreams? Granted, I’ve been diabetic for over a year now, and I didn’t notice the increasing frequency of crazy dreams until last fall. But then again, I’m also oblivious, and perhaps I just never noticed. Highly likely.

Anyway, I kept reading and found more info:

Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, is another cause of vivid dreams. When the brain senses that glucose levels are low, it will do strange things to get stored glucose into the blood stream. One way it does so is through adrenaline spurts. If your vivid dreams are accompanied by a feeling of being “wired” (if, like me, you find yourself doing ninja kicks around your bedroom at those pesky alien invaders), it likely stems from a blood sugar issue.

I’ll have to start paying attention now, to see if the nights when I wake up from vivid dreams are also nights when my blood sugar is low.

Really, really fascinating. Who knew?

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~ by Haley on March 16, 2009.