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We leave behind our fears of monsters under the bed when we say goodbye to our childhood, but one can follow us into adulthood looming over our heads.
Nightmares are More common in childhoodbut anywhere from 50% to 85% of adults report experiencing occasional nightmares.
Almost everyone can experience nightmares.
“dreams They usually involve things that happened during the day, leading some researchers to assume that dreams and things that happen during the day do not involve anything Rapid eye movement “Sleep is essential for memory consolidation and cognitive renewal,” said Joshua Tull, a sleep and health psychologist based in Manhattan.
“Nightmares are the mind’s attempts to make sense of these events, by replaying them in images during sleep.”
Nightmares are what American Academy of Sleep Medicine “Vivid, realistic, and disturbing dreams that typically involve threats to survival or security, and which often elicit feelings of anxiety, fear, or terror.”
If someone has recurring nightmares — more than once or twice a week — that cause distress or impairment at work or interpersonally, they may have nightmare disorder. Treatments include medications and behavioral therapies.
Treating recurrent nightmares is important because they are also associated with them insomnia, depression and Suicidal behaviour. Since nightmares can also cause sleep deprivation, they are linked to heart disease and obesity as well.
Trying these 10 steps can help you relieve your nightmares and improve your sleep and quality of life.
Nightmares occur during REM sleep, the stage in which our muscles relax and we dream. Waking up during REM sleep enables recall of the dream and resulting distress, said Jennifer Martin, MD, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, California, and a board member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. .
“One of the most effective ways to treat nightmare problems in adults is to actually get them to sleep better (and therefore) wake up less,” Martin said.
A healthy sleep routine breeds sound sleep. Develop one By exercising, setting regular bedtime and wake-up times, making sure your room is dark and cool, avoiding stimulant drinks after mid-afternoon, and participating in relaxing activities.
Alcohol can cause insomnia and waking up throughout the night, which may help you remember nightmares, Martin said.
She added: “Many people use alcohol as a way to relax and feel sleepy at the end of the day, but in reality it is not the right solution.” Instead, try it Herbal teas and other drinks Helps sleep. If drinking is the only part of your relaxation routine, talk to your partner or read instead.
Having one drink more than three hours before bed is fine, Martin said. All you have to do is pay attention to whether it causes an after-dinner nap and wakefulness at bedtime, and eliminate this drink if it does.
Snacking can boost your metabolism, making your brain more active and can lead to nightmares, according to the British Daily Mail. National Sleep Foundation.
While some people sleep better after eating a snack, you should stop eating Two to three hours Before bed. If you notice that you have nightmares afterward, try to avoid eating snacks during the night or heavy meals before bed.
Some medications can cause nightmares by interrupting REM sleep.
“If people can determine that their nightmares either started or increased when they changed their medication, that’s definitely a reason to talk to their doctor” about their medication schedule or alternatives, Martin said.
Melatonin, although a common sleep aid, affects our circadian rhythm that regulates REM sleep, and can lead to more or fewer nightmares. If you want to take melatonin for better sleep, work with a sleep specialist to make sure you’re taking it at the right time and not exacerbating the problem, Martin said.
Progressive muscle relaxation — tightening muscle groups while inhaling and relaxing them while exhaling — was effective in reducing nightmares.
“Nightmares activate the sympathetic nervous system, the fight-or-flight system, which is the body’s natural reaction to impending danger,” Tal said via email.
“The body also has an innate relaxation system: the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the ‘rest and digest’ system.” Progressive muscle relaxation and other relaxation activities can help activate this system.
Write down your fears to get them all out ahead of time, lest they rear their worrying heads at night. Journaling can be helpful in alleviating nightmares and stress in general, Tal said.
Since our nocturnal feedback can surface during sleep, “spend some energy engaging with more emotionally neutral or even positive things” before bed, Martin suggests.
During the pandemic, our daily lives seem very scary too. “Reading the media and then jumping into bed is more likely to lead to disturbing and disturbing dreams than looking at pictures from your last vacation with your family,” she added.
Visualization rehearsal therapy is effective “when chronic nightmares show similar themes and patterns,” Tal said.
Since nightmares can be learned brain behavior, This practice It involves writing down the narrative elements of the dream in detail. Then rewrite the dream so that it ends positively. Just before you fall asleep, set the intention to re-dream by saying out loud: “If or when I have the same bad dream, I will instead be able to have this much better dream with a positive outcome.”
“By practicing rewriting during the day, you increase the chances of it happening at night during your sleep rather than in your nightmare,” Tal said.
Silence is key to a sleep routine, but “for people who don’t like to be completely quiet or who are woken by noises they can’t control during the night, background noise is a good strategy,” Martin said.
Try using a fan, white noise machine, or app several nights in a row to help your brain adjust, she added.
If nothing works and you’re still having nightmares, talk to a therapist or sleep specialist.
“Nightmares may be a sign of a larger problem, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or a mood disorder,” Tal said. “It is possible to treat nightmares without treating the underlying disorder, but it may also be helpful to treat both the symptoms and the disorder.
“Much progress has been made in psychological treatments for nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, and mood disorders,” Tal added. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help; Psychotherapy is successful and often short-term and accessible.
