Dreaming is amongst the most mysterious and complicated aspects of sleep. While some dreams can be pleasant and euphoric, others can be scary, stressful or even make you feel helpless. Dreaming about something scary doesn’t mean it will happen in real life. There are times when such dreams are so bizarre that you can even laugh them off. However, nightmares have a tendency to disrupt your sleep. While it’s completely normal to have nightmares once in a while, what can you do when they become so frequent that the possibility of sound sleep eludes you?
What are nightmares?
In sleep medicine, nightmares have a more strict definition than in everyday language. This definition helps distinguish nightmares from bad dreams. Nightmares are vivid dreams that may be threatening, upsetting, bizarre, or otherwise bothersome. They occur more often during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage of sleep associated with intense dreaming. Nightmares arise more frequently in the second half of the night when more time is spent in REM sleep
What causes nightmares? 5 reasons why you get bad dreams?
There is no proven or leading cause for why we have nightmares. However, don’t mistake nightmares to be random. They are usually the result of what goes on in the back of your mind. Here are five possible causes of having nightmares frequently:
- Stress and Anxiety
High levels of stress or anxiety can increase the chances of nightmares. This could be due to stress at work, personal problems, or even anxiety. These feelings easily lead to you having dreams in the form of disturbing or frightening images.
- Sleep disorders
Conditions like insomnia or sleep apnea will disrupt normal sleep patterns and further lead to nightmares. Poor quality sleep due to sleep disorders can cause vivid or unsettling dreams.
- Medications
Certain drugs, particularly those affecting brain activity, such as antidepressants, blood pressure drugs, or sleeping medications, may cause nightmares. Consult your doctor if you notice an increase in nightmares after you start taking any new drug.
- Eating before bed
Eating heavy or spicy food directly before bedtime jolts up your metabolism and increases brain activity, which can lead to intense dreams and nightmares.
- Trauma or PTSD
Traumatic events, such as the ones that result in post-traumatic stress disorder, oftentimes leave the victim with nightmares. These nightmares can be a replay of traumatic events or other unpleasant scenarios related to the trauma.
Tips to stop having nightmares
While you can’t control your dreams which can turn into nightmares, you can take steps to improve your sleep hygiene and reduce your chances of having a nightmare:
- Deal with stress and anxiety
Stress and anxiety are major contributors to nightmares. These could be practices in relaxation techniques, such as mindfulness meditation, deep breathing, or yoga before bed, to help your mind be at ease. You can also write in a journal about your concerns to managing stress that is one of the leading causes of nightmares.
- Have a regular sleep schedule
A regular sleep cycle can perform miracles on your sleeping. Try to sleep and wake up at the same time daily so that the inner body clock regulates itself. It regulates the brain in such a way that sleep is deeper and less disturbed, hence reducing or eliminating the possibility of intense, unsettling dreams.
- Limit screen time before bed
Too much screen time in bed over-stimulates the brain, setting it running so that wind-down becomes tougher. Interference with the sleep cycle is caused by the blue light from phones, tablets, and TVs. Instead, one may read a book or engage in any other relaxing activity to make it easier for them to transition into sleep.
- Avoiding heavy meals and caffeine
Heavy meals, consumption of caffeine or alcohol before sleep, will disrupt sleep. These foods can activate your brain, increasing the possibility of nightmares due to the increased vividness of the dream. Keep your food lighter during evening hours, and avoid afternoon drinks containing caffeine for sleep that is less disturbed.
Nightmares are an unpleasant but a daily part of life — unless they become very frequent. If being mindful about your bedtime routine isn’t helping, you can take the support of a health and wellness app like RightLife for more personalized tips.
How SleepRight can help you prevent nightmares
- Sleep Aids
SleepRight has a variety of sleep aids that can help prevent nightmares, from short audio stories and resonators to calming soundscapes. These tools will help your brain slide into deeper, restorative sleep-including bedtime stories for relaxing and resonators with frequencies that calm the body-and reduce unpleasant dreams. Nature sounds and soothing ragas also form a part of the program and are believed to bring about relaxation of the mind to create a serene environment for better sleep.
- Sleep Disorders
Certain sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome can cause nightmares. This section educates users on the various sleep disorders which can not only help them prevent bad dreams but also maintain a healthier lifestyle.
- Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene is very crucial as the prevention of nightmares solely depends on good sleep habits. The Sleep Hygiene section guides users on maintaining bedtime routine, avoidance of caffeine or heavy meals before sleep, and maintenance of a healthy sleep environment. This section also touches on the limitation of screen time before going to bed. These simple, yet effective habits will improve sleep quality in its entirety and ensure you don’t get nightmares often.
Reducing these underlying causes should help you decrease nightmares and improve sleep quality.
