Can your dreams affect your mood - or is it the other way around?

We're fascinated with trying to decipher the meaning behind dreams and nightmares - but beyond figuring out what they mean, can those lingering visuals impact our mood?

Patients with depression reported having moody dreams and frequent nightmares, according to Psychology Today.

The same applied to people suffering from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, who reportedly experienced dreams with heightened levels of anxiety.

But according to The Atlantic, sleep researcher Rosalind D. Cartwright believes dreams are actually a way for your brain to process the events in your day which help you regulate your mood.

She said that dreaming helps us process life's negative experiences so that we can wake in a more positive mood the next day.