I once woke up for work feeling a little annoyed and upset. I was mad at my husband for something he had done. I got ready for work - got dressed, brushed my teeth, packed my bag—and I was still upset with him.
I went to the bedroom to say goodbye, but I didn’t really want to because I was mad at him. He was still sleeping. Then it hit me. Wait. How can I be mad at him for something he did if he’s sleeping?
Oooooh. He hadn’t really done anything. I was mad at him for something he had done in my dream. The feeling had simply followed me into my waking state.
Enter the dream hangover.
A dream hangover is that feeling you get when you wake up carrying an emotion from a dream into your day—whether it’s anger, sadness, or something more pleasant. The events were imaginary, but the feeling was real.
This wasn’t the first or last time I had a dream hangover. I dream a lot, and I often have vivid dreams that I remember when I wake up.
A skater can visualize themselves going through a perfect routine. The brain doesn’t know the difference between it being imagined and real. It’s also part of why negative thoughts we repeatedly tell ourselves can make us believe those things are true. So it’s not surprising that the same happens with dreams leaving their mark on us too.
The dream hangover has happened other times. I once woke up in awe after dreaming that I had attended a mystical wizarding class at Hogwarts. Another time, I woke up frustrated because I couldn’t dial 911 in my dream after so many attempts. My fingers wouldn’t tap the buttons accurately.
And once, I woke up surprised and warmhearted after unexpectedly running into an old friend in a dream.
As for my husband, once I realized I was experiencing a dream hangover, I was no longer mad at him.
So I woke him up, gave him a kiss, and said goodbye.