Dreams - Vivid Dreams During Pregnancy
You may experience some very vivid and abstract dreams during pregnancy. So vivid and real that you need to pinch yourself when you wake up, just to make sure it really was a dream. Unfortunately you could also experience pregnancy nightmares and unpleasant dreams.
Is it Common to Have Vivid Dreams During Pregnancy?
Yes, having vivid dreams is common during pregnancy.
Picture this: you are six months pregnant and you wake up suddenly but don’t know where you are. It takes you a few minutes to realise you are in your own bed in your own bedroom. It feels like you have just arrived back from some kind of parallel universe with a big bump (literally!). Welcome to the crazy world of pregnancy dreaming; frequent dreaming, intense dreams, weird dreams – all completely normal during pregnancy.
On the other hand, you may have worrying dreams and nightmares that stay in your head and haunt you for days on end.
When Do Pregnancy Dreams Start?
Dreams start straightaway in your first trimester. It is completely normal to find that your dreams change during pregnancy.
During the early first trimester, women tend to notice that their dreams get more vivid and that they are able to remember a lot from their dream.
The types of dreams women have in early pregnancy are about the baby. These dreams could be quite abstract. Also dreams about people that were once close to you. Many women are surprised that they dream about old friends and partners, or perhaps relatives who have passed on.
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Pregnancy Dreams in the Second and Third Trimester
Women tend to experience more weird dreams as their pregnancy progresses. As your body changes, so do your dreams and your level of dream recall.
Your dreams could get quite raunchy and you could be getting up to all sorts of adventures at night…with all sorts of different partners. All during your dreams of course! Your dreams could be so out of the ordinary that you might feel guilty towards your partner for “cheating on him”.
You could have dreams about not being a good mother, forgetting your baby somewhere. Or suddenly not being pregnant after all and it was all just a big mistake.
What Causes Vivid Dreams During Pregnancy?
- After getting pregnant, women spend so much of their time thinking about their baby and things like labor and delivery, it’s not surprising then that they have so many dreams about the baby.
- Thoughts going through your subconscious mind about baby and what life will be like.
- Worries and anxieties get expressed via dreams and could really become exaggerated.
- As baby grows, you will be more aware of her moving around inside of you which can trigger many dreams with scenarios of things happening to your baby.
- Extra hormones running through your body can disturb your sleep patterns and sleep quality so that you are more likely to sleep lightly and therefore remember your dreams better.
- The further along you get in your pregnancy, the more interrupted your sleep patterns will get as your body changes. You will be sleeping more at the rem stage with more frequent dreaming.
- Your child moves around more and you need to get up to pee often. This in turn leads to you having a better dream recall.
What Causes Raunchy Dreams During Pregnancy?
- Raunchy dreams are completely normal types of dreams in pregnancy, especially during the third trimester. Some women may be embarrassed or even shocked about the intense dreams they sometimes have at this stage.
- The phenomenon of having more blood in your body flowing to all your erogenous zones can lead to raunchy and intense dreams because these zones are being stimulated.
- Extra weight of baby pressing down on your genitals, triggering your brain to create raunchy, vivid dreams.
Recommendations for a Good Night's Sleep During Pregnancy
- Keep a journal of your dreams to notice any patterns to the types of dreams so that you can relate them to the stage in your baby’s growth. Being able to rationalise your dreams during the day may help you to deal with them better once you link the dream to your stage in pregnancy. Especially with the more unpleasant dreams. Writing your dreams down may help you to figure out what your dreams mean.
- Meditate before you sleep in order to clear your mind from any worries or concerns. Meditation can help to relax you as well. It is possible to get 8 hour long meditations which may help to keep you calm during the night if you are experiencing episodes of bad dreams.
- Using a diffuser in your bedroom with good quality (toxin free) essential oils can help to relax you more.
- The more relaxed and comfortable you are during the night, the deeper you can sleep. Deep sleep goes past the rem sleep stage, meaning you have better sleep quality and less frequent dreaming or dream recall.