EXPLORING HOW DREAMS/NIGHTMARES REFLECT EMOTIONAL STATES

Janet jolted upright, her sheets damp beneath her. The ceiling fan still spun overhead, its blades tracing slow circles as she tried to piece together what had yanked her from sleep.

The day before had been hectic. Work was getting her agitated, and her line manager had been erratic the past couple of weeks. The previous day was one of the bad days, despite her heavy workload. 

She had been working on a project with an external team, and her point of contact on the team seemed to be the weapon used against her. 

The constant frustration, plus the actual hard work, had Janet stressed, and it showed. 

Before she slept, she had sorted a pile of documents and had tried ploughing through another pile when she suddenly remembered she had a performance review the next day. 

She needed a good night’s sleep to survive the review. She decided to call it a night and went to bed.

As she drifted into sleep, her mind wandered through the events of the day, at least till the weight of exhaustion pressed her forcefully into the dream world. Unfortunately, she found no respite there.

Her dreams were filled with minor and major catastrophes. First, she had a dream in which the review went terribly wrong, and her boss decided to let her go. Next, she saw herself on the street in a circle of shouting viewers as she narrowly dodged a punch meant for her nose. Before she knew it, she was battered and bruised, and right on top of her was her contact from the team her company was collaborating with. When she tried to flee the scene, she found herself in the middle of the road with a truck barrelling towards her. The driver had a grin, and when she tried to flee, she saw that she was chained down to the road; the driver was none other than her line manager. 

That was when she jolted back to life, more stressed than she was before the weight of work had ferried her to sleep.

Bayo woke up feeling rested and rejuvenated. He could not remember all the details of the dreams that night, only that his wife was happy with him, and that was enough to give an extra gait to his steps that day.

His wife had traveled the previous week and was supposed to be back in a couple of days. He had slept off after a check-in with her, and that was enough to fuel him for the work ahead.

Bayo was by no means a lazy man. He had his usual two-hour commute to work, a gruelling day of hard labour at a warehouse with respectable pay, and another 2 hours back home. Today wasn’t any different, just that he was able to secure an extra seat for an elderly man on the bus. He was cheery at work, offering smiles and encouragement to his fellow workers, and he paid the fare for a junior colleague going his way after work. His morning energy had filled his day with a bit more brightness.

He was surely going to have a good night tonight.

Dreams can echo the events of our days or set the tone for what follows. Safeguarding our sleep is not merely about rest; it is an essential practice that influences our overall well-being over time.

REFERENCES

1. Insights Psychology. (2025, January 9). Can dreams predict your mental state? Exploring the connection between sleep and psychology. Retrieved March 13, 2026, from https://insightspsychology.org/dreams-and-your-mental-state-connection/ 
2. Jessica, G. (n.d.). Dreams and trauma: How nightmares can reflect and process emotional distress. Pillowapp (Sleep Matters). Retrieved March 13, 2026, from https://www.pillowapp.com/blog/dreams-trauma-nightmares-emotional-distress/
3. Farooq, A. (2025, October 2). The psychology of dreams: A complete guide. Psychiatry Magazine. Retrieved March 14, 2026, from https://www.psychiatrymagazine.com/psychology-of-dreams-guide/ 

Image by Annie Spratt from Unspalsh