Why Do You Often Have Bad Dreams When You Have A Fever? This Is The Reason

Illustration of nightmares (Photo: Freepik/jcomp)

JAKARTA - When it hurts, the body usually feels uncomfortable. Mere nose, cough, sore body, and fever can make daily activities feel heavy. When trying to rest, discomfort is not always lost.

Many people actually have very strange, clear, and scary dreams while sleeping. This condition is known as a fever dreams or dreams due to fever.

This dream often feels more emotional, real, and confusing. Some people wake up with feelings of discomfort or confusion because the dreams they experience feel very intense.

Then why can you have such a dream when you are sick? The answer is related to changes in body temperature, brain activity, and sleep patterns when we are sick.

Reported by the Times of India, fever dreams are dreams that occur when body temperature increases above the normal limit of around 36.137.2}C. When the body has a fever, dreams usually appear more clearly in the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep phase, namely the stage of sleep where brain activity is most active.

A study published in PubMed Central shows about 94% of people describe fever dreams as negative or unpleasant dreams. This means that most people with fever tend to dream of scary, strange, or restless things.

When it hurts, the body and brain experience stress conditions. The increased body temperature makes the brain work unusually. This interferes with the body's process of regulating emotions and memory during sleep, so that dreams become stronger and less controlled.

In addition, fever can interfere with sleep patterns, making sleep more restless. At the same time, brain activity increases and causes dreams to feel clearer and easier to remember.

The immune system that is working hard to fight disease also affects the chemical balance in the brain, so that dreams that arise become more intense, emotional, even strange or unusual.

The combination of these factors makes dreams feel more emotional, dramatic, to scary.

Fever can be caused by infection (virus or bacteria), heat fatigue, drug reactions, or certain medical conditions. Even a few degrees increase in body temperature can affect the way the brain processes experience.

There is a theory known as 'hot brain'. When the body is hot, the cognitive function of the brain is disturbed. This makes dreams more difficult to understand, the story is strange and the emotions are much more intense.

During the REM phase, the body has difficulty regulating the temperature. When a fever, it gets worse so that dreams become more unstable and feel real.

Ciri Fever Dream

Many people report a very unusual picture of dreams like:

- Walls or objects that seem to move

- Unproportionate creature with body shape

- Metal balls like living things

- The dark area feels pressing

- Giant insects

These characteristics show how fever can strengthen the visual and emotional side of dreams.

How To Reduce Bad Dreams When Sick

Meskipun tidak bisa mencegahkan sepenuhnya, beberapa langkah bisa membantu:

- Drink enough water so that the body is not dehydrated

- Consumption of nutritious food to support recovery

- Keep the room temperature cool and comfortable

- Consumption of fever reduction drugs according to the doctor's recommendation

- Try relaxation techniques before bed, such as deep breathing or light meditation

A bad dream when sick is the body's normal reaction to fever and sleep disorders. Usually the dream will decrease and disappear when the body's condition has recovered and the body's temperature returns to normal.