Letters of Embodiment: Sleep, Dreams, & Emotional Processing
Greetings friend,
We founded House Nine because we firmly believe our bodies always tell the truth. That’s why we focus our offerings on listening to the body and letting it guide us to tension and pain. This method allows our practitioners to effectively diagnose ailments that may have been troubling you for a long time but may have been pushed to the background.
Since our holistic approach considers multiple factors, one of the ailments we frequently discuss and treat is a lack of quality sleep. Difficulty sleeping is one of the most widespread issues in our modern existence and, because of its ubiquity, can go ignored for long periods of time. Think about it—how many times have you asked a family member, friend, or colleague how they are, and their response is “exhausted”?
As a fellow traveler on the path of wellness, we invite you to contemplate the benefits of quality sleep with us and see how bodywork can help you achieve the sleep you need to be at your best.
Dreaming and Emotional Processing
As Dr. Michael J. Breus writes in Psychology Today, “Dreams are a way for our brains to process stress and emotionally charged memories.” In other words, when we dream, our brains file things away in it's own unique context, allowing us to heal from the day’s stressors and meet the next day with a better mindset. That’s why when someone says, ‘let me sleep on it,’ even as a joke, they are actually practicing an important cognitive technique that often inspires excellent results.
When you break the sleep cycle down, we are really interested in a phase called rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep. As Dr. Breus writes, “[REM sleep] is when we do most of our vivid, complex, emotionally-laden dreaming… When we’re constantly anxious and worried, our bodies take up residence in ‘fight or flight’ mode, and dreams may take up the work of helping us rehearse our way out of our problems.”
It’s important to note that how the brain files things away doesn’t need to make sense to us. Our dreaming lives are fully free from any ‘default mode network’ that exists in our waking lives. We are liberated from any and all systems and able to experience our emotions in contexts that are normally impossible. This is what makes dreaming so healing. You are able to experience these events in a deep and meaningful plane of consciousness that is 100% unique to you, your life, and your experiences.
And how much sleep do we need to receive these essential benefits? As a human adaptation that helps regulate emotions, Julia Donnelly writes, “most people need between seven to nine hours of sleep per day, and being able to remember your dreams is a sign that you’re getting enough.”
Because dreaming is so essential for processing emotional events and preparing for future emotions, not getting enough quality sleep can have effects that permeate every part of our daily life. Now, what are some tools we can employ to encourage good rejuvenating sleep?
Bodywork for Better Sleep
Although we advise a comprehensive approach to all things wellness, we know that bodywork plays a pivotal role in promoting deep sleep. In fact, research has shown that massage can support quality sleep, and soft tissue massage and acupuncture could be just what your body needs to unwind.
Since hyperarousal is a major cause of sleep issues, receiving the right bodywork (a style of bodywork that targets your body’s specific needs) can put you in a state of relaxation that deters unwanted agitation so you can achieve quality sleep. How? By stimulating a client’s Vagus nerve through bodywork, our practitioners activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest side of our nervous system) and direct energy away from the sympathetic state (which reacts involuntarily to dangerous or stressful situations).
For some people, deep tissue work does the job. For others, lighter-pressure modalities are perfect for attaining that desired restful state. We encourage our clients to call us if they feel uncertain about what’s right for them.
At House Nine, we have several practitioners and modalities that can help you sleep better. We even have a line of teas that are perfect for bedtime. Read about our practitioners to learn more about what specific methods might benefit you most, and let’s get your body and mind the love and support it needs.
Some Things to Ponder…
Do you usually remember your dreams?
What’s the longest you’ve gone without sleep? Why? How did you feel?
Do “answers” to your problems that you’ve been thinking about come to you while you’re asleep? Can you think of any examples?
What We Recommend
Listen - The Lifted Podcast - Kari Hohne, “All About Dreams!”
Read - Robert A. Johnson, Inner Work: Using Dreams & Active Imagination for Personal Growth & Integration
Read - Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep
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Until next time, friend.
House Nine Wellness
1413 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214
E: hello@housenine.com
P: (503) 841-6460