I woke up from a horrible nightmare the other night which left me terrified and paralyzed in bed. This used to happen a lot, but hasn’t in a long time. Apparently, this isn’t uncommon as adult nightmares are usually associated with stress, anxiety and trauma. I often have bad dreams (which don’t wake me up), but I rarely have nightmares. Both can have similar themes, but it seems nightmares are significantly worse as they leave a person in a state of fear even when a dream is over.
When I do have nightmares, I rarely convince myself to get up and check the house to dismiss worries that someone is there, but evidently this can help. Psychology Today suggests some other nightmare-management techniques:
· Seek support from friends or relatives when suffering from extreme stress.
· Avoid stimulants such as caffeine or long-term use of tranquilizers.
· Call your doctor if you have nightmares more than once a week that prevent a good night’s rest or persist for a long period of time.
· Follow the usual suggestions such as setting a sleep schedule, exercising, relaxing before bed, setting a cool room temperature, etc.
While uncommon, frequent nightmares are called nightmare disorders. If you’re worried, an article on sleepeducation.com can help determine if you have the disorder:
1. Do you often wake up due to a disturbing dream?
2. Do these dreams evoke emotions of fear, anger, sadness or disgust?
3. Are you alert and able to think clearly as soon as you are awake?
4. Do you clearly recall details of the dream?
5. Do these dreams occur during the late portion of your sleep period (near morning)?
6. Do you have trouble going back to sleep after these dreams?
Hopefully, this information can give you a couple ideas to relieve any fear or anxiety when waking up from a nightmare. Sweet dreams!
By Emily S.
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