As a rule, dream plots are uninteresting and even everyday. As in the waking state, in dreams a person goes or drives somewhere, does something, meets someone, etc. Sometimes, in quite rare cases, dreams have a joyful, unusual, magical plot. In such cases, after waking up, we sometimes regret that we woke up and did not stay a little longer in our wonderful dream.
Finally, among dreams there are nightmares. In some cases, nightmares are a variant of the norm, in other situations they signal some kind of health problem.
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More about nightmares
Nightmares can be defined as long, complex dreams that cause symptoms of anxiety, fear and sadness associated with negative emotions. During a nightmare, a person may wake up from a perceived danger. Nightmares occur during REM sleep and occur late at night. After a nightmare, it is usually difficult for a person to fall asleep.
Nightmares are common in children. They usually begin to appear between the ages of 3 and 6 years, and then gradually decrease in number by age 10. However, sometimes they can last a lifetime.
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About 50% of adults experience occasional nightmares. The causes of nightmares can be unpleasant situations, injuries, lack of sleep, irregular sleep schedules, and jet lag. About 1% of adults who experience frequent nightmares seek professional help. Research has shown that women have more nightmares than men.
Unless nightmares happen every night or interfere with our daily lives, there is no reason to worry. However, when they occur with a certain frequency, disrupt sleep, cause insomnia, anxiety, fear of going to bed or cognitive problems during the day, they may be considered a mental disorder. Nightmares have no specific interpretation, but they can be a symptom of something that is bothering or frightening us.
What are nightmares
Like any other dreams, they appear during the REM phase of sleep. Typically occur in the middle of the night. In many cases, what a person sees is so unpleasant and creepy that the dream leads to awakening. Having woken up, a person calms down and, as a rule, soon falls asleep again.
Some people who have frequent nightmares report that if they fall asleep immediately after waking up, they may fall back into their nightmare once they fall asleep. If you spend a few minutes (about five) in a state of wakefulness, you will be able to continue sleeping without frightening images.
Causes of nightmares
Nightmares can be caused by stress, eating too much before bed, or watching a horror movie. A recurring bad dream is usually associated with some kind of anxiety. Here are the most common causes of nightmares:
- A negative, stressful or traumatic life experience, such as the death of a loved one.
- Stress at work or in the family.
- Watching a horror movie or reading a scary book.
- Heavy food before bed.
- Alcohol or drug abuse.
- Certain medications that affect the hormones or neurotransmitters that regulate REM sleep.
- Sudden cessation of alcohol, drug or medication use.
- Recurring bad dreams may also be a sign.
- Disturbed breathing during sleep (sleep apnea).
- Post-traumatic stress disorder has been identified as a leading cause of nightmares. People with it again and again experience the feeling of fear and horror of a traumatic event. A study found that 80% of people with this condition report regular nightmares.
- Sleep disturbance.
- Depression or anxiety.
Causes of nightmares
Listed below are several factors that influence the occurrence of nightmares.
Age . Before the age of 8, people have as many nightmares as they do in the rest of their lives. In childhood, the brain is actively developing, and it is exposed to a powerful flow of information that it does not have time to fully process. Because of this, during sleep, the child’s subconscious can produce strange, scary images - nightmares.
As a rule, children's nightmares feature monsters, monsters and villains (robbers, murderers). There is an assumption that strange creatures in children's dreams are the result of the fact that the child does not yet imagine most of the concrete dangers that may threaten him in the world, and therefore sees them in such an abstract form.
As for the presence of villains, child psychotherapists do not rule out the guilt of the parents. Very often, wanting to achieve obedience or teach a child to be careful, adults intimidate him with “evil uncles”, police officers, etc. This can give an unexpected result in the form of nightmares.
Dynamic rhythm of life, overload, responsible work, stress, anxiety, post-traumatic syndrome, difficult life situations. If a person is in a state of emotional stress, he has a much greater risk of becoming a constant “spectator” of nightmares than someone who lives in pleasure, in complete prosperity, harmony with himself and others.
By the way, it was noticed that if the cause of bad dreams is trouble at work or difficult relationships with people, then certain plots appear in dreams. For example, a person is beaten or finds himself in a crowded place without clothes.
If the cause of nightmares is post-traumatic syndrome, that is, a traumatic situation experienced in the past, then it very often appears and repeats itself in dream images.
Taking psychotropic drugs, sleeping pills. Not only psychological problems, but also their treatment can cause nightmares. Some drugs used to treat anxiety and depression cause vivid, frightening dreams. The same feature is characteristic of drugs of the phenazepam group. This remedy prolongs the REM sleep phase and affects the brightness and content of dreams.
Sleep disorders. Sometimes people with insomnia and obstructive apnea syndrome complain about unpleasant dream plots. This does not always happen, and sometimes these dreams cannot even be fully called nightmares, but they are unpleasant. Dreams are fragmentary, interrupted by awakenings, have an incomprehensible and often absurd, but frightening, disturbing plot. The next morning, memories of these dreams, supplemented by an unpleasant “aftertaste” from inadequate sleep, create weakness and a bad mood.
Most common nightmares
Some nightmares are repeated in different people, for example:
- I'm being pursued by someone who could kill you.
- I'm naked among a lot of people.
- I have to take an exam, but I'm not ready for it.
- I'm falling from a height.
- I'm in a car that has lost control.
- I am late for an important meeting or event.
- My teeth are falling out.
- I offend my loved one.
- I lost a loved one.
To identify the problem causing nightmares, it is necessary to undergo therapy with a specialist.
Treatment
As a rule, you can cope with nightmares without the use of medications, but with the help of communication with a psychologist.
However, the treatment program depends on the identified causes of nightmares. Often, to normalize sleep, it is necessary to cure the underlying disease (apnea, alcoholism, drug addiction).
When treating nightmares, taking sleeping pills, hormonal drugs (melatonin), and natural sedatives (valerian, lemon balm, etc.) may be indicated.
How to deal with nightmares
Set a schedule
Go to bed at the same time, especially on weekends. Changing your schedule can cause insomnia. Remember, getting a lot of sleep on the weekends does not compensate for lost sleep during the work week. It is best to sleep 7-9 hours every day.
Exercises
Exercising for 30 minutes every day helps people sleep better. But try not to exercise too hard before bed, which can also harm you.
Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol
Avoid drinking stimulant drinks that contain caffeine or other stimulants (coffee, energy drinks, tea, high-sugar foods). Smokers tend to sleep lightly and get up early in the morning due to their nicotine needs, so the best thing you can do for your health is to quit smoking. Alcohol also has a negative effect on sleep.
Learn to relax
Nightmares can occur due to anxiety and stress. Relaxation techniques can help reduce anxiety, also try to spend more time with friends and family, and pick up a hobby that gives you pleasure.
Good sleep hygiene
- Keep the room at a comfortable temperature, neither hot nor cold.
- Use a bed for sleeping, not a sofa or something similar.
- If you can't sleep, read a book.
- Don't eat 2 hours before bedtime.
Consult a psychologist
If you have experienced any trauma that is affecting you in other areas of your life, please contact a mental health professional. Talking about what's on your mind can help you manage your past or present.
Why does a child have nightmares?
On the one hand, night terrors are a normal physiological process of an undeveloped nervous system, on the other hand, they may indicate the presence of some kind of disorder. Nightmares can be caused by a variety of stressful situations, changes in sleep schedule, etc. In some cases, anxiety attacks at night can be caused by a full bladder. Children's nightmares can be triggered by a mismatch in mental or physical development, as well as various diseases of certain organs. In addition, nightmares can be a sign of developing mental illness. Only an experienced specialist can determine the exact cause of nightmares. He will help eliminate the cause, prescribe a course of treatment, as well as a course of rehabilitation.
Nightmares in children
It is normal for children to have the following nightmares:
- Realistic fears such as aggressive dogs, sharks, spiders, etc.
- Imaginary fears are like monsters.
- Stressful situations they have seen or experienced.
Depending on their level of language proficiency, children can tell adults about nightmares in more or less detail.
Nightmares are normal in children. Just because your child has nightmares from time to time does not mean he or she has mental problems. Children with vivid imaginations have more nightmares than others, but there is nothing to worry about. However, if your child has recurring nightmares and the child experiences severe stress during the day, it is worth seeking help from a specialist.
Causes
Experts identify the following causes of nightmares:
- stress;
- post-traumatic syndrome;
- complexes and fears;
- overeating before bed;
- some chronic diseases;
- use of drugs, alcohol;
- physical and psycho-emotional overload;
- uncomfortable environment (noise, light);
- breathing problems;
- traumatic brain injuries;
- taking certain medications;
- sleepwalking;
- heredity.
How to help a child if he has nightmares?
Children often cry after nightmares. They need you to comfort them. As a child gets older, they begin to understand that a dream is just a dream. Here are some ideas for managing childhood nightmares and helping you overcome them.
- If your child wakes up from a nightmare, explain that it was just a bad dream. Tell him everything is okay and he is safe. A kiss or caress can help calm your baby.
- Let him know that there is nothing wrong with being scared by a nightmare. Avoid minimizing their fear or reaction.
- If your preschooler is afraid of monsters, explain that they don't exist. Although they may seem scary, they are not harmful to children.
- Be patient if your child talks about a scary dream the next day. Listen to them and try to neutralize the events of the dream.
- Calmly talking about dreams can help remove the emotional power of these dreams. Dim lighting in the room can also help the child not be afraid.
Diagnosis and treatment of nightmares
When diagnosing, the first step is to conduct a clinical interview with the patient suffering from nightmares in order to determine what is happening in his life and how he feels about it. Next, he is sent to a video-EEG - a test in a sleep laboratory to see the relationship between brain activity and external manifestations of sleep: how a person sleeps, how he moves in bed, how he wakes up. This test shows which phases of the patient's sleep are disturbed and whether he needs drug treatment. It also helps to properly structure the psychotherapeutic treatment. Nightmares themselves are diagnosed exclusively by a clinical interview, however, in order to begin their treatment, it is necessary to identify their content. If a person starts taking sleeping pills in an attempt to get rid of nightmares, this can only worsen the problem. At the moment, there is not a single sleeping pill that would provide healthy, smooth and deep sleep.
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There is no person who never has nightmares. In most cases, they can be explained by experiencing a nervous shock, watching a thriller, or hearing bad news. But what if frightening dreams began to “visit” almost every night or their plot has a certain consistency?
There is no need to think that nightmares are harbingers of madness or that the brain is “punishing” us. The dreams themselves may contain clues about why they come and what meaning they carry.
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