Do You Dream in Fear or Joy? The Answer Could Affect Your Morning Mood

Research shows that your dreams may affect your morning mood. Image Credit: Studio Firma/Stocksy. A recent study has found that your dreams can affect your mood in the morning. The study showed that those who experienced fear in their dreams were more likely to have a low mood upon waking. The researchers suggest that dreams may help you process emotions. Sleep is an important part of overall health, but the impacts of your dreams are less well understood. A study recently published in Sleep suggests that the type of dreams you have may influence your morning mood. While the study does not suggest that bad dreams can cause your mood in the morning to be lower, it does show that fear or joy in dreams may play a role in your psychological function. The researchers emphasize the need for further research. “Dreams are such a popular topic in therapy. I find that clients often ask about dream interpretation and trying to understand their meaning, or link their significance to daily life,” said Nicole Andreoli, PhD, licensed psychologist and author of “Mindfulness & the ADHD Parent.” Andreoli wasn’t involved in the study. “This is especially true for the more emotionally charged dreams because they do tend to influence morning mood. Many of my clients talk about subsequently waking up experiencing anxiety or depressed mood due to the content of their dreams,” she told Healthline. Fear-based dreams linked to low morning mood The study used data from the Boston College Daily Sleep and Well-Being survey. The researchers analyzed 1,518 participants ages 18 or older. Participants were sent a survey that included a brief sleep diary and a morning mood report. Over the year-and-a-half study, participants completed a maximum of 55 surveys. The surveys included factors like: bed time time they tried to sleep sleep latency (how long it took to fall asleep) how much time they spent awake after falling asleep and getting up in the morning time of last awakening how l