- Because we have nightmares
- Symptoms that occur during a nightmare
- How to stop having nightmares
- Nightmares in children
The nightmare is a disturbing dream, associated with negative feelings, such as anxiety or fear, for example, that make the person wake up in the middle of the night. Nightmares are more common in children and adolescents, however they can occur at any age.
Having nightmares from time to time is normal, which may be associated with stress or anxiety, some trauma, poor sleep hygiene or medications, however, if they become too frequent to the point of causing distress, poor sleep quality, fear of going to sleep or even problems throughout the day, it can be considered a disorder and in these cases, medical monitoring may be necessary.
Because we have nightmares
Usually nightmares occur during a sleep phase called the REM phase and the exact cause of the nightmares is still unknown. Learn more about sleep phases.
However, nightmares can be triggered by factors such as:
- Stress and anxiety, such as day-to-day problems, receiving bad news or losing a loved one; Injuries, such as those that result from a serious accident, physical or sexual abuse or other traumatic event; Sleep deprivation, which they can occur in people who work in shifts, who travel to places with another time zone, who sleep a few hours or who suffer from insomnia; Medications, such as antidepressants, blood pressure medicines or medicines to treat Parkinson's or to stop smoking; Abuse of alcohol, drugs or even weaning from these substances; Watching movies or reading scary books, especially before going to sleep.
Nightmares can also be caused by psychological disorders, such as depression, other mental problems or post-traumatic stress, which can be caused by some of the factors mentioned above, even though it may have happened in the past. Find out what symptoms may be associated with this psychological disorder.
Symptoms that occur during a nightmare
Generally, nightmares are short-lived, but after waking up, the person may have some difficulty getting back to sleep. Some symptoms that can occur during a nightmare are the dream seeming very real and disturbing, making the person feel threatened and when awake they feel scared, anxious, irritated sad or sick, depending on the type of nightmare that occurred.
In addition, the person may perspire intensely and have a very fast heart rate, which makes it difficult for him to resume sleep peacefully.
How to stop having nightmares
There are ways to reduce the frequency of nightmares, such as setting fixed times to go to sleep and to wake up. For those who have trouble falling asleep, you can read a book or take a relaxing bath before going to bed. See other tips that can help you sleep better.
If the cause of the nightmare is stress and anxiety, the ideal is to seek a doctor to help the person solve the problem or to practice relaxation exercises. See 8 ways to calm the mind.
Nightmares in children
In the case of children, you can ask to draw about the nightmare or talk about the characters of that nightmare and try to explain that none of this is real or even build a happy ending for this story.
In addition, your child can feel safer if he sleeps with an object he likes like a teddy bear or a handkerchief he likes, with the open door of his room and his parents' room. You can also put a night light in the room so that children are not alarmed by the room being too dark.
