Many people have nightmares from time to time. For 7-10% of adults, it is once a month, according to data from the GGD. 2-3% have a bad dream once a week or more.
Stop sleep
During the day your fantasies are repressed, but in REM sleep this doesn’t happen. “Then crazy things can happen suddenly,” explains clinical psychologist and nightmare expert Annette van Schagen. “Even in the negative.”
There are ways to counteract nightmares, such as EMDR therapy. “With this you visualize your nightmare during the day and give it a different ending. An ending that feels good.” That new ending is related to the bad dream.
First, a positive version of the nightmare was devised during the day. “While people thought about the new dream, they played the sound of the piano. The new dream is therefore related to the sound.”
C69
But the C69 piano chord would also offer a solution, according to Swiss research published in the journal Current Biology. “The researchers proceeded in a similar way to EMDR,” says Van Schagen.
The participants then went to sleep with a headband. By the time they went into REM sleep, the piano sound was played through that band. “This pushes you into the new dream,” says Van Schagen. “Unleash your brain.”
‘Familiar sound’
The chord gives little musical tension, says music therapist Martina de Witte. “It also doesn’t immediately evoke a new sound, while other chords can.” Many jazz and blues musicians use the C69 chord.
He continues: “This makes it a well known sound that we hear a lot in existing compositions. So it’s easy on the ear.” This combination makes this deal lend itself to a positive ending to your nightmare.
Such chords are often used in music therapy, explains De Witte. “Scientific research has long shown that music can influence and direct our brains,” she says. “By listening to very enjoyable music or music that is outside your comfort zone, you put your thoughts on a different track. You are more interested in what you hear and what you think and less in what is difficult or difficult.”
