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Don't stop dreaming because of Nightmares. 'All about Nightmares'

Nightmares

By Dr. Tulika SarkarPublished about a year ago 8 min read
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Did you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night? Woke up in the wake of a nightmare? A nightmare that is much more miserable than reality, haunting you too? When everyone around is asleep in peace, you are looking for shelter near a glass of water with your body soaked with sweat. After a while, you may fall asleep again, but the nightmare may not have ended so easily, the remnants remain the next morning.

We have all been victims of such nightmares at one time or another. Some may be better off forgetting, some may want to look into the matter again. Today's article is for people who want to check this out.

Analize the nightmare you had last night after the question of why you are having nightmares came to your mind. Find the connection to the nightmare, how the characters in it relate to your real life. If you understand the panic in the nightmare that your subconscious is trying to present to you, you will get the interpretation of your nightmare.

Dreams basically come to the REM level of sleep, and nightmares come towards the end of this level. Nightmares are not born in an unreal or illusory world, they are a distorted form created by a mixture of different events in our real life. After most nightmares, a scene or event becomes intense, so it takes time to distinguish between true and false.

Children have more nightmares than adults. According to a report from the Mayo Clinic, the onset of nightmares begins between the ages of three and six and decreases after the age of 10. This is a general statement, there must be exceptions. The reason why children have more nightmares may be their wandering in their imaginary world. It is not surprising that when the time is spent thinking about fairies and demons, they will attack even in their sleep.

John Lennon has a very interesting statement about this:

"I believe everything until it is unproven. So I believe in fairies, legends, dragons everything. They all exist, even if they are in your brain. Who is to say that dreams and nightmares are not as real as they are today?"

Nightmares can be regular or irregular. However, no matter how regular, it is desirable that no one is accustomed to nightmares. In the book 'Interpretation of Dreams', Sigmund Freud has given a detailed explanation of that dream. So he must be remembered in discussions about any branch of the dream. According to him, the repressed desires of the mind come to our dreams in the form of a mixture of imagination, and nightmares are not out of it.

The difference between a dream and a nightmare is that 'All nightmares are dreams; But not all dreams are nightmares'. That is, the ‘negative’ form of nightmare, which will frighten you and provoke negative thoughts. How much of an impact that will have will depend on the endurance of your brain??? The symptoms of nightmares are as follows :

1. The dream will seem very real and frightening to you. You will want to wake up for a certain amount of time, but you will not be able to do so unless you come in contact with someone outside.

2. Nightmares will wake you up after a while.

3. There will be a lot of sweating and heart rate will increase.

4. When you wake up, you will not be able to think clearly, and you will think again and again about what you saw in the nightmare.

5. Your next emotional response will be based on the type or subject of the nightmare. It can be any feeling of anger, deep sorrow, resentment, jealousy all negative.

Nightmares can be considered normal to a certain extent, but if the limits are exceeded, it can lead to mental problems. Now that we know a little bit, what exactly are the features that make a nightmare a mental problem?

✓ Regular nightmares.

✓ Not only after falling asleep or waking up, but also at other times of the day, thinking about this nightmare again and again, not being able to forget, etc. That is, if nightmares ruin the peace of the day after depriving you of sleep at night, then it is time to be careful.

✓ Feeling very tired during the the day or at work, falling asleep repeatedly, not removing the sleeping curtain from the front of the eyes, etc.

✓ Fear in the dark.

✓ Fear of sleeping alone.

✓ Negative effects on memory.

If you have these above features, it is called Parasomnia in the language of medicine. It is not possible to pinpoint the exact cause, but there are a number of factors or factors that contribute to the problem. These can include personal grief, long-held anger, fear of losing a loved one, separation, guilt, fear of losing someone, physical illness, an old wound, and much more. Excessive drug use can also cause parasomnia. Ghost books or movies are on the list of favorites of many, but they not only create "joy of fear" while watching, but can also awaken all the horrible scenes and characters to fall asleep after watching.

Some researchers have suggested that nightmares can help us cope with negative emotions in some cases. Nightmares cause negative feelings and events to become memories, and we begin to think that what happened is a thing of the past. In this way, a strange defense mechanism develops in the human brain through nightmares.

How to Avoid Bad Dreams?

Nightmares not only disturb our sleep cycle but also ruin our physical and mental peace. Bad dreams often wake you up at night, disrupt your sleep cycle, and make you uncomfortable during the day. This can have a worse effect on the body. Is there any way to actually ‘stop’ nightmares? Let's find out :-

• Nightmares and sleep — Notice that nightmares are part of our human experience. If you are frightened by stimulant nightmares and feel anxious and tired almost every day as a result, you may need to pay special attention to your sleep habits.

• You need a good night's sleep to prevent nightmares — According to experts, in order to fight against bad dreams and keep them away, we should do something that helps us to sleep better. Insomnia and changes in sleep schedule can cause annoying nightmares. If you don't sleep well at night, it turns into a vicious circle. Because nightmares also hinder you from getting a good night's sleep.

• Drop the smartphone at least an hour ago — We all know about harmful blue light. It destroys our sleep cycle. But how many of us actually follow this rule? Then when you wake up with a nightmare, notice how long before you go to sleep you put the smart phone away? The blue light emitted from digital devices actually mixes with the production of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that regulates your sleep.

• No coffee or tea after dusk — If you want to stay away from nightmares, avoid tea or coffee after two in the afternoon. Remember, caffeine is a stimulant and it can cause sleep disturbances by increasing adrenaline production.

• Calm your mind before going to bed — Every day we go through different emotions, not all of which are positive. If you go to sleep with those thoughts, it is normal to feel the effects of sleep. Then even in a dream you see about them. So, prepare yourself for sleep by doing things that calm your mind and body : You can listen to quiet music, turn off the lights, meditate or pray, light a scented candle, or read a book. The main thing is to do something that calms your mind.

• Adhere to a sleep schedule — This is old advice, but no less effective. Schedule a time to go to sleep and wake up according to your routine. Do not make exceptions to this rule even on holidays.

• Pay attention to the position of sleep — Sleeping upside down or sleeping somewhere other than the bed is more of a nightmare. So pay attention to this matter. Use a comfortable bed for sleeping. Practice sleeping by leaning to the left in the right way. Because when the position of the head, neck and arms and legs are reversed, many people have nightmares.

• Avoid watching anything scary at night — Many people have a habit of watching movies or dramas at night. This thing has the biggest impact on people's dreams. If you can't change the habit of watching dramas or movies, change the habit of watching something in the corner of fear. Laugh or watch dramas or movies in a romantic corner at night.

• Try to look at nightmares differently —Thinking more about nightmares and having more nightmares can cause nervous breakdowns. So take steps to solve the problem as soon as possible. When you wake up from a nightmare, write down what you saw in the notebook. And try to look at it in a fun way. This will change the fear of nightmares in you.

• Make it a habit to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day — Because people have nightmares when they sleep less or when their sleep patterns change. A certain amount of sleep can relieve nightmares.

• Try to get rid of all the fears from the mind — Nightmares are more common when you are scared about something and are emotionally upset. So keep trying to get rid of the thing you are afraid of. If you can't overcome it yourself, try to overcome this fear with the help of family or friends. You will see that nightmares will decrease.

The answer to the question of how to get rid of nightmares is hidden in your own subconscious. There is no substitute for keeping your body and mind healthy in order to get rid of nightmares. Learn to keep yourself away from harmful events, people and products. Not in a nightmare, live in a dream from now on!

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About the Creator

Dr. Tulika Sarkar

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