Nightmares are a sleep disorder that is a dream of a negative nature. There are many reasons why you have nightmares. Basically, they all tend to psychological conflicts. However, you should not tilt them only in a negative direction. They bring positive experience, making it possible to resolve current life problems. Most of the difficulties we experience are unconsciously suppressed within our consciousness. Therefore, by remembering the details, you can get a hint about the most significant problem that needs to be solved.
Positive effects of dreams with nightmares
Experts have found several ways to answer the question: “Why do you have nightmares?” Since bad dreams are a product of brain activity, all negative emotions and experiences are projected in our consciousness. If you constantly have nightmares at turning points in life, it means that a person is showing himself in a new light. Dreams of this kind are characterized by a positive outcome. In most cases, bad dreams appear as a result of mental trauma. This could be the death of a family member, a serious accident, etc. Thus, a person throws out all the negativity, restoring mental balance. At first I have nightmares every night and, after some time, they stop.Who is affected by nightmares?
Adults do not pay much attention to bad dreams, but young children are greatly affected psychologically. If a child has nightmares, what should their parents do? First of all, you should pay attention to what happened to him during the day. Try to adequately perceive his experiences, because the main cause of childhood nightmares is the struggle with any experiences. The right advice and detailed analysis of situations will help your child calm down and avoid a restless night.
Among the adult generation, negative dreams are characteristic of creative people with a rich imagination. In addition, anyone with a demanding profession can experience stress associated with violent scenes. These include doctors, military personnel, firefighters, etc. Causes of nightmares
Scientists believe that when nightmares occur, the reasons primarily lie in a person’s lifestyle. The main problem is eating shortly before bed. The working condition of the stomach does not allow the body to rest. As a result, the body experiences discomfort, which is reflected in dreams. An equally popular problem is alcohol. Most people often wonder why people have nightmares after a hangover? Alcohol itself has a negative effect on the body. Therefore, the presence of negative scenes in a dream is completely justified and depends on the degree of intoxication. The more alcohol you drink, the more vivid your nightmares. Also, the cause may be psychological experiences or illnesses accompanied by unpleasant sensations. Such situations are the main reason why you have nightmares every night.How to get rid of nightmares
Having dealt with the cause of bad dreams, try not to repeat the harmful effects. Take your last meal 3-4 hours before bedtime. Before you go to bed, give your body a rest. Take a hot bath, change into clean pajamas and drink tea. Go to bed at a strictly set time, allowing you to get enough sleep before starting a hard day. Fresh air plays a big role. Spend time in open spaces as often as possible, away from the bustle of the city.
You can get rid of the same nightmare by carefully studying its details. Reflect on the meaning of what you see and take action to solve the problem. Talk to a close friend. This will help you unload psychologically. Why do you have a nightmare according to Miller's dream book?
If a person has a nightmare that puts pressure on his psychological state, it means that difficult disputes and difficulties await him. For women, this means deep disappointment in something or undeserved neglect from others. You need to take such dreams as a warning and take careful care of your health. In general, we can say that nightmares are part of our lives and are not difficult to cope with. However, if you are unable to solve the problem on your own, it is better to contact an experienced psychotherapist who will help restore peace of mind.Video: why do you have nightmares?
Many people have experienced at least once in their lives fear of nightmares.
Waking up in a cold sweat, with eyes widened with fear, a person remembers in the smallest detail the horror that disturbed him. So why do we have bad dreams?
What are nightmares?
Nightmare is realistically scary, frightening dream which causes a person to wake up in the middle of the night.
As a rule, nightmares occur during periods of REM sleep, so the nightmare is abruptly interrupted, the sleeper wakes up frightened, and he can remember his dream in detail.
In such a state a person comes to his senses quickly, may feel a certain cheerfulness.
Nightmares are a consequence of brain activity. In this way, a person experiences negative emotions, stress, bad impressions, and resolves some of his internal issues and conflicts.
Constant nightmares can lead to lack of sleep, headaches, depression, anxiety, etc.
The interesting thing is that creative people have nightmares much more often the rest, thanks to their wild imagination.
How do they manifest themselves?
Nightmares manifest themselves in the fact that a person wakes up in the middle of the night from a strong fright, may scream(in a dream or even after waking up). Cold sweat occurs, heart rate increases, and blood pressure may increase.
If the nightmare has a strong impact on the sleeper, then the frightened state may persist for some time. It becomes difficult to fall asleep, which can cause problems.
If nightmares bother you every day, then during the day a person feels tired, doesn't get enough sleep all the time, he may be disturbed by disturbing thoughts and haunted by certain fears.
This condition can lead to depression and other disorders.
When nightmares come in REM sleep, then the awakened person understands that it was just a bad dream, and it is easier to calm down during this period.
The deep sleep phase is much more difficult. Having woken up, a person may not understand where he is, and it takes quite a long time to come to his senses.
It is accompanied by drowsiness, high blood pressure, a feeling of cold, and palpitations. In this phase it’s harder to remember what led to the fright.
Why are there bad dreams? What do they mean? 10 worst dreams:
Examples
Each person has their own concept of nightmares. Someone is dreaming something truly terrifying he screams in his sleep, wakes up in tears, but for some this dream would not seem so frightening.
After all, all people are different, each has their own fears and experiences.
But there are several "universal" nightmares, which will make any person, at least, flinch.
- falling into a black abyss, or falling from: many people claim that they dreamed of flying somewhere into the void and waking up just before they were about to crash;
- someone close: most people have dreamed at least once in their lives that a close and beloved person is dying;
- animal attack: such a dream is really scary, especially if a person is very afraid of dogs, and he dreams that he is being bitten by a pack of these animals;
- natural disasters;
- dreams about dead relatives;
- strange people in masks: most people say that they periodically dream of characters in strange masks, or in strange clothes.
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What nightmares do people usually have? Find out from the video:
Why do people scream out of fear in their sleep?
Sometimes you have really scary and frightening dreams about what a person once experienced and what strongly reflected in his consciousness or subconscious. Such dreams can cause screaming in the middle of the night, severe fright and panic.
Exists a few reasons, according to which a person can scream in a dream:
Causes of nightmares
What causes nightmares, from which you wake up:
I often have bad dreams - what does this mean?
If nightmares bother you often or constantly, this may indicate that there is some problem, which a person tries in every possible way to ignore and avoid.
In this case, you should understand that it needs to be resolved immediately. Because nightmares will haunt the sleeper for more than one night in a row.
Nightmares. Psychologist's comment:
How to get rid of it?
What to do to avoid nightmares? Psychologist's advice:
The same thing every night
What to do, if I have the same nightmare every night?
If the same dream bothers you every night, then you should come to the conclusion that the subconscious is trying to say that there is a problem to which the person is simply turning a blind eye.
In our life it often happens that we we don't want to decide anything or we are afraid to do it. At the same time, this worries us. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s on a conscious or subconscious level.
As a rule, all our fears and worries result in our dreams.
When a person takes too long running away from the problem, it can overtake him in the form of a nightmare.
If the same dream bothers you many nights in a row, then you should admit that there is a problem. You need to find the courage to solve it, look fear straight in the eye, then the nightmare will disappear on its own.
What to do if your child has nightmares?
When your child has nightmares, it is worth observing and finding out how often this happens. If this doesn't happen often, then nothing to worry about.
Nightmares are the norm for a child’s still unsettled nervous system. This will pass with age.
But if nightmares are a fairly common occurrence for a child, then it is worth paying attention to this problem.
First of all you need contact a specialist. It will help determine the cause. Next, he will explain what to do and how to deal with them.
Main, what should be done:
You will find information on getting rid of the fear of loneliness on our website.
What causes scary dreams in a child? About, How can mom help?, in the video:
What's the benefit?
It would seem what benefits nightmares can bring. But they can really be useful.
In nightmares, a person may experience the consequences of a trauma that has left an imprint on his emotional state. Thus, he throws out all his negative emotions in his sleep.
During turning points in a person's life, nightmares seem to help him move to the next level. As a rule, such dreams, although scary, have an ending and often a favorable one.
Nightmares may indicate about the presence of a problem that a person may not be aware of. In this way, dreams help clarify and solve it.
Nightmares are always scary and unpleasant. When experiencing them, you should not be afraid and withdraw into yourself.
You need to understand that it's just a dream, not reality. It’s worth looking deeper into your dreams, maybe they want to say something that will help get rid of problems.
What do nightmares mean:
You come home from work and do household chores. By the end of the day, your energy is running out, and you just want to sleep and relax. You fall asleep. But, after some time, you realize that there is no proper rest due to a terrible dream, which causes tension and anxiety.
Each of us has encountered this phenomenon once or repeatedly. So why do you have nightmares?
Nightmares: benefit or harm?
Nightmares are considered dreams that frighten a person. According to scientists, this is a product of the activity of our brain, which intensively fights negative emotions, stress or conflicts.
In their opinion, periodically having nightmares can even be useful, since they neutralize the unpleasant sensations that have accumulated in real life.
It’s hard for us to believe, but “watching” a bad dream should lead to a psychological “reboot”, relieve consciousness, and distract us from the experiences that we encounter during the day.
What could be their benefit for humans?
- Accompanying a turning point in life (a dream associated with overcoming obstacles, victory in a dream, solving a difficult/unrealistic task - indicate your inner strength and convince you of your ability to solve the problem). Such dreams symbolically represent your transition to another stage in development and confirm personal growth.
- Relieving the nervous system, a surge of negative emotions (resentment, anger, irritation, dissatisfaction) after breakups, loss of a loved one, changes in working conditions. “Viewing” nightmares (according to experts) in this case helps to achieve emotional balance, to come to a balance of positive and negative emotions.
- An indication of a real problem, which for some reason we do not notice or do not attach importance to. Nightmares become a kind of “warning”, a motive for concentrating on one or another aspect of your life.
Negative aspects of “nightmare” dreams
At the same time, it is difficult for an ordinary person to accept the benefits of a nightmare. Bad dreams can trigger premature awakening and then cause insomnia.
They are remembered for a long time and bring anxiety into our lives about the unknown and inexplicable. If nightmares are repeated regularly, they become a source of lack of sleep, poor mood and well-being, which manifest themselves during the daytime.
What are the causes of nightmares?
People of different ages, nationalities and religions, from different social strata, regardless of their status and financial condition, encounter terrible dreams. All of them periodically (and some often) have nightmares.
And, it would seem, what could be common between them? Modern experts have identified a number of generalized reasons for the occurrence of “frightening” dreams:
Childhood
Children who have a high threshold of emotional sensitivity very often dream of horrors.
The reasons for the appearance of frightening dreams in childhood may be frequent quarrels between parents (including at night), lack of friends or even negative attitudes of peers towards the child, physical punishment, and deception. All this leads to the formation of emotional trauma.
Overwork (physical fatigue/severe psychological stress)
A person constantly mentally “returns” to one or another unresolved situation, including during sleep. Or when you are forced to experience many stressful situations during the day.
The risk group in this area includes people from such professions as doctors, employees of various rescue services, and law enforcement agencies.
Stress/depression
Stressful conditions also quite often cause recurring nightmares. Psychologists define this as a direct correlation between such psychological states and frightening dreams.
The brain of a person who is stressed or depressed does not rest even in sleep - the subconscious continues to search for a “way out” of the vicious circle of current circumstances.
A strong emotional shock can turn into nightmares: if you become a participant in an accident, an accident, witness violence or bullying, then most likely you will be faced with a “continuation of these horrors” during your night’s rest.
There is also a stable concept of “post-traumatic stress disorder,” which experts most often observe in people who have returned from combat zones.
Particularly impressionable individuals may experience nightmares even from watching thrillers, action films or horror films before bed.
Also, the cause of stress or depression, and, consequently, scary dreams, can be unpleasant repetitive actions (unloved work, regular communication with unpleasant people).
Health problems
The causes of nightmares can be not only a person’s psychological conditions, but also poor health, discovered or not yet manifested diseases of internal organs.
The likelihood of nightmares in such cases is high if a person suffers from headaches, body temperature rises, overexcitation, neuroses, or oxygen starvation occurs. Impaired breathing due to snoring can also lead to the appearance of “scary pictures”.
Binge eating
One of the most common causes of nightmares and, perhaps, one of the most easily removable, is overeating. If you overeat before going to bed, you will most likely end up with organ dysfunction, overexcitation, and, as a result, bad dreams.
So, you are most likely “asking for” bad dreams if you eat fatty or spicy food before bed - such food increases your body temperature, speeds up your metabolism and will 100% prevent you from getting a full rest.
Poor sleeping conditions
External stimuli: bright light, flickering, loud sounds, music, lack of air - turn into dreams in an exaggerated form, including those with “nightmare” content.
One of the possible reasons for negative subjects in dreams may even be incorrect placement/location of the sleeping place! Once you move the bed or simply lie down on another bed, the nightmares may subside.
Creative person
It is believed that creative individuals have nightmares more often than others, since they are more sensitive to the outside world and deeply experience what is happening.
Sometimes people of “creativity” are able to predict in a dream the onset of negative consequences of any actions in reality. Scary dreams in such cases act as a kind of warning.
Bad habits and taking medications
People who have abused alcohol (with a hangover or after a binge), drugs (God forbid!) or products containing a high proportion of caffeine “attract” negative dreams to themselves because they are in extreme excitement, the body does not rest and does not relax, “removing » these substances.
Starting to take medications (or, conversely, stopping them) can cause nightmares in your sleep (especially if these medications are hypnotics, sedatives, or antidepressants).
The “secret” side of personality
And to conclude the list, I would like to say that nightmares sometimes become a person’s “shadow” - something that he cannot accept in himself, and in life he hides behind restraint and upbringing (for example, aggressive feelings, or uncertainty).
What to do if nightmares come regularly?
Following these recommendations will help prevent bad dreams, as well as reduce their impact on your physical and emotional state:
Sleep and diet
- Try to fall asleep before 22:00 every night.
- Eat 3-4 hours before bedtime. Avoid eating nuts, legumes, and meat in the evening.
Healthy lifestyle and relaxation
- Before going to bed, do something pleasant for yourself: take a bath, drink warm chamomile tea or milk with honey.
- Walking in the fresh air, ventilating the room, or sleeping with the window open are great ways to get rid of unpleasant dreams.
- Moderate sports and physical activity will help relieve tension, relieve stress, and reduce anxiety.
- The use of drawing therapy - with drawing individual parts of the nightmare and adding bright colors to the “picture”, introducing positive elements (sun, smiles, etc.)
- Using some elements from yoga (for example, breathing exercises accompanied by calm music).
Finding and solving problems while awake
- Finding a way out of difficult situations, finding internal or external resources to overcome stress.
- Discussing nightmares with loved ones and relatives - an outside perspective can help in identifying/solving the problem.
- Strengthening self-esteem.
- If you are in the middle of a nightmare, “reprogram” yourself for a positive outcome of the dream.
If nightmares recur even after taking the measures listed above, the best solution would be to seek help from a doctor.
Whatever the reasons that you are having nightmares, we wish you a speedy elimination of them, sweet dreams and good rest at night and during the day!
Sleep is an important part of human life. Your activity and health throughout the day depend on comfort and proper rest at night. But nightmares don't let me sleep. A person gets up broken, with a terrible headache, and a feeling of anxiety. Why do you have nightmares? How to neutralize their impact on our lives?
What is a nightmare?
From the point of view of our perception, a nightmare is a bad dream. It does not allow us to rest, sleep, makes us toss and turn, sometimes scream. After such a night, we spend the whole day thinking about our dream, experiencing the events we saw at night again and again. Plus, we don’t feel rested at all: our heads hurt, we feel tired, and it’s impossible to concentrate. This is a state of non-stay.
A common misconception about nightmare visions is that they look like some kind of horror movie. It’s as if a zombie is chasing us, a terrible vampire is trying to catch us, or evil robbers want to bury us in a dark forest. In reality, every person has their own nightmare.
For some, being fired from a job is scary. Or rather, the fear that this dismissal will happen. Someone sees the death or illness of a loved one, separation from a loved one. And for him it is a nightmare. Someone is drowning, trying to escape in a disaster. That is, human night fears are more realistic, more tied to ordinary life. This kids filmed monsters, vampires and evil werewolves.
A nightmare is a product of our consciousness. Unpleasant emotions experienced recently, unresolved internal conflicts and fears, apprehensions - all this is processed by our brain and realized in dreams in the form of nightmares. If you have a bad dream, you need to look for the reasons in real life.
With the help of dreams, the body gets rid of stress. If the same nighttime fear is repeated, then somewhere in our psyche there is a problem that needs to be solved. And so the subconscious signals about this problem.
Nightmares can manifest in different ways. Sometimes a person suddenly wakes up from his own scream or fright. But more often, people get enough sleep during a “nightmare” night. But the next morning they feel confused and scared. These sensations may persist for a day or two.
Let us remember that our sleep goes through several stages. How we feel after a nightmare depends on the stage of the nightmare:
1. Horror movies came in a quick phase - after waking up, we immediately understand that it was only a dream that scared us.
2. Nightmarish events develop in a slow phase - after waking up, we cannot come to our senses for a long time. As a rule, we do not remember the events we saw. But breathing quickens, chills appear, temperature and blood pressure rise. The feeling of exhaustion does not leave me, I want to sleep.
Are scary dreams useful?
Psychologists say yes. Changes have occurred on a subconscious level. The dream gradually signals this. It is useful when:
1. They end well.
Such dreams accompany the transition to a new level of development, some turning point in our lives. At night someone is chasing us - we escape; a tsunami comes to the city - we survive; The road is blocked by an insurmountable wall - we overcome it too. Yes, emotions are running high, but the outcome is good.
2. A bad dream is the result of serious stress.
This could be a reaction to the death of a loved one, an accident, being fired from a job, divorce, natural disaster, etc. In a nightmare, a person expresses all his grief, all his anger and melancholy as much as possible. When the negative comes out, mental balance is restored faster.
But! If such a dream repeats again and again, tormenting the person even more, you need to consult a specialist.
3. A nightmare is a hint of a problem hidden deep inside the subconscious.
A person may not even suspect its presence at the level of consciousness. But this “worm” gnaws from the inside, interferes with self-development, self-realization, restoration of mental strength, etc. That's why it's sometimes worth taking a closer look at nightmares.
Reasons for nighttime horror stories
Young children are very impressionable and sensitive. Their psyche can be traumatized quite easily. Hence the nightmares. Namely:
- after physical punishment;
- strong quarrel between parents;
- watching a film or cartoon full of events and negative characters;
- scared.
By the way, severe emotional trauma experienced in childhood sometimes makes itself felt with nightmares in adulthood.
With adults it is somewhat more difficult, since a nightmare can be triggered by many factors.
Bad habits
Overeating, drinking large doses of alcohol or drugs before bed. This group also includes smoking immediately before a night's rest.
The brain, poisoned by toxic substances, cannot relax. From overexcitation, he forms strange images. Often a person cannot fall asleep for a long time. And in the morning he still feels tired and sleep-deprived.
Severe stress
In the same group of reasons we include overwork (physical, emotional, mental), and depressive states.
A person may experience emotional shock after
- death of a loved one;
- layoffs;
- accidents;
- rape;
- making a fatal diagnosis;
- parting with a loved one, etc.
The nervous system has received such a shock that it cannot immediately recover. Need time. And sometimes - the help of specialists.
Watching horror movies before bed
Horror films are contraindicated for very impressionable people. They will replay the events they saw on the screen over and over again and relive them. Too vulnerable individuals need to choose books carefully.
External stimuli
Something is preventing the person from sleeping. The acrid smell often makes you dream of fires and suffocation. Extreme cold can drive us to the top of an iceberg or into icy water. And so on.
Diseases of the nervous system and internal organs
Already existing or just starting. There are a number of studies that have found a connection between sleep events and diseases:
a) violence, fight, war, shootout - severe overexcitation, neurasthenia, high body temperature;
b) for some reason there is not enough air, it is difficult to breathe - lung disease, sleep apnea syndrome;
c) strong fear of death – heart pathology;
d) someone crawls on the body, bites, insects attack - skin diseases;
e) cold muddy water, cold shower, stuffy throat - any colds, flu, sore throat.
How to get rid of horrors from your dreams?
Firstly, stop being afraid of them. This is only a product of our subconscious. We need to thank him. There are problems in life, in our psyche, in our brains, in our organs. But we don't see them. A nightmare helps you see the problem. As soon as it is resolved, the bad dream will disappear.
Secondly, write down the events of terrible dreams on paper (if they are preserved in memory). Analysis of details, images, actions will help to quickly identify the cause of a bad dream. Knowing the enemy by sight makes it easier to fight him.
Thirdly, tell the whole world in confidence about your dream. If you repeat the plot of a nightmare several times, it will dissolve, disappear, and stop frightening. In addition, a loved one will help us see those details that we ourselves did not notice. And this is a positive moment in analyzing your problems.
Fourth, change your nightmare. You can talk to the main character. You can think of a happy ending.
And the most important thing is to improve sleep hygiene. Here are some simple tips:
- always ventilate the bedroom before going to bed;
- three hours before the night's rest, do not eat anything;
- go to bed at the same time;
- do not use strong drugs (alcohol, drugs, caffeine, nicotine) before bedtime;
- Devote a few hours before bed to relaxation, walking in the fresh air, listening to pleasant music, reading an interesting book, making love.
Have pleasant dreams!
Nightmares or frightening dreams containing threats to life or safety charge us with negative emotions for the whole day. It is estimated that about 4% of the adult population experiences nightmares; among children and adolescents the percentage is much higher, at approximately 70%.
According to the definition of the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, nightmares are classified as parasomnia sleep disorders (translated from Latin Somnus means “dream”), which are associated with disturbances in the REM phase of sleep.
Causes of nightmares
Nightmares can have different origins and go “hand in hand” with mental disorders. Conditions that can cause nightmares include substance abuse, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and traumatic stress disorder.
There are several types of typical nightmares. Deserves special attention nightmares associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. They occur in up to 80% of patients and are the most easily diagnosed nightmare because the stress underlying nightmares comes from a traumatic experience, such as an accident, a war zone, rape, or the loss of a loved one. This type of parasomnia can accompany the patient throughout his life.
Recurring nightmares are based on real traumatic events from the past. Scientists suggest that recurring dreams are stored in memory in the form of a fixed pattern (fixed in the memory of the stress experienced). The nightmare scenario is most often autobiographical. Unlike other memories, a bad dream reproduces the events of the past in full, making you worry not only at night, but also throughout the day.
Severe stress can cause nightmares. Thus, a “vicious circle” is formed, stress causes a realistic nightmare, and the nightmare has a strong negative impact on the person’s feelings after awakening. The mechanism repeats itself over and over again. The higher the stress level, the worse the nightmare. Trying to avoid nightmares will ultimately lead to REM sleep disturbances and early awakenings. Such a person will feel not rested and not enough sleep.
Nightmares may be the result influence of psychoactive substances, which disrupt the functions of mediator (conductor) systems in the brain (mainly associated with norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine, as well as acetylcholine and gamma-aminobutyric acid, GABA).
What symptoms should you consult a doctor for?
To get rid of nightmares you need to be treated under the supervision of a specialist. The problem is that most patients do not recognize this sleep disorder as a disease. Contacting a certified specialist with experience is the best and most effective way to combat insomnia and nightmares.
Symptoms that require contacting a psychotherapist or somnologist:
- experiencing great difficulty falling asleep.
- you cannot sleep longer than 30 minutes,
- you wake up several times during the night and then cannot fall back to sleep,
- repeated episodes of awakening from sleep accompanied by feelings of intense anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, disgust and other negative emotions associated with the content of the dream,
- awakening occurs in “full combat readiness”, with a feeling of confusion of thoughts, the memory of the content of the dream immediately comes very clearly,
- the presence of a real event from their past, which carries negative emotions and echoes the content of the dream.
Treating conditions that cause nightmares
Luckily, there are many treatments and ways to combat nightmares. People who have managed to overcome this disease have improved sleep quality, they wake up rested and are less overtired at work and sleep less during the day. Getting rid of nightmares improves your overall physical condition. Every nightmare is unique and only a doctor can decide what type of treatment to use.
There are several ways to eliminate nightmares.
1. First, you should analyze your habits related to falling asleep, because in many cases a small modification can significantly improve sleep quality.
2. You can also resort to drug therapy(always used under medical supervision!!!). Sleeping pills are most often used in the treatment of sleep disorders. Their effectiveness mainly depends on the cause of the nightmares. Drug therapy is best suited for treating parasomnias associated with substance abuse and waking nightmares.
Medications.
Sleeping pills: Bromisovalum, Diphenhydramine, Doxylaminum, Temazepamum, Phenobarbitalum, Flunitrazepamum, Flurazepamum, Estazolamum, Zaleplonum, Zolpi demum ), Zopiclonum, Clomethiazol, Midazolam, Nitrazepamum.
All drugs are addictive when used for more than 4 months and are strictly prescription drugs. Hypnotics of the diazepine group are best tolerated.
Hormonal therapy.
A safer drug in the treatment of parosomnia is melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland (located in the brain, part of the photoendocrine system), but after thirty years it produces too little of it. Disturbances in circadian (cyclical) sleep rhythms occur: increased fatigue, depressive syndrome develops. You can compensate for the lack of melatonin in the body using synthetically synthesized melatonin. It is sold in pharmacy chains under the same name, only from different manufacturers (Italian, Indian and Russian).
Phytotherapy.
Lavender flowers- natural sedative, helps improve sleep. It is used not only as a medicine for parasomnias, but also as a means to alleviate stress and irritability. Lavender is often added to baths. Bouquets of plant flowers placed in the bedroom can ensure healthy sleep.
Melissa grass- an infusion of lemon balm leaves acts as a sedative. Treats sleep disorders. Especially recommended for older people.
Valerian root– an infusion of the plant helps to fall asleep, calms, and eliminates insomnia. Valerian is also used to combat stress.
Each medicine contains substances that interfere with the body's natural cycle. Therefore, you need to be careful and moderate in the use of sleep medications. Chronic use of herbs and other natural medicines can lead to psychological dependence. Swallowing pills before bed becomes a kind of ritual that is repeated every night. Falling asleep naturally will become impossible, as the brain is constantly sending signals prompting you to take the medicine.
3. Psychotherapy. The best choice of psychotherapeutic help would be cognitive behavioral therapy. Various cognitive behavioral therapy techniques have been shown to be effective in reducing the incidence of nightmares. Therapy is aimed at changing the mechanism of the nightmare scenario by influencing the cognitive model of dream formation.
The most widely used are: imagery or rehearsal therapy. The treatment approach is based on the destruction of bad thoughts, emotions and behavior. The therapeutic procedure itself is very structured.
- The patient retrieves his nightmares from memory and writes them down.
- Then, under the guidance of a psychotherapist, some elements and details of individual events are changed so as to replace all the negative elements of the dream with positive ones.
- Later, a positive experience is consolidated, which can influence the content of nightmares that arise in the future.
Preventing Nightmares
1. If you are a light sleeper, then eliminate all sounds in the bedroom that interfere with sleep. Noise “paralyzes” the dream.
2. Move large clock faces out of the bedroom, away from your line of sight. You can hang them above your head or place them on the ground next to your bed. If you look at the clock before going to bed, you get the impression that time is passing more slowly, which then creates stress and agitation.
3. Lighting in the bedroom is very important. The eyelids allow light to pass through very easily, and simply closing your eyes may not be enough to maintain an adequate level of darkness for restful sleep. Good curtains or blinds should protect from light, lights from the street in the evening and at night, and from the first rays of the sun in the morning. If you like to read a book before bed, you should make sure that the light has a warm, natural color, preferably a low lamp power (but enough so as not to tire your eyes when reading text).
4. If you have trouble waking up, try exposing yourself to sunlight or bright light. This will restore biorhythms and, when dusk comes, it will be easier to fall asleep.
5. Always take care to change bed linen in a timely manner. Ventilate the room for a few minutes before going to bed.
6. Avoid extraneous strong odors in the bedroom (the smell of food, air freshener).
7. Do not bring food into the bedroom, the smell of food can make you hungry at the wrong time. Additionally, the presence of food in the bedroom can increase the likelihood of allergenic mold and mildew.
8. An hour before bedtime, you can allow yourself snacks containing carbohydrates, but do not exceed the caloric value of 100 - 200 calories (the number of calories is usually on the packaging of any food product). It is better to have a short snack in the evening, which will help prevent the desire to eat at night, hunger leads to loss of sleep.
9. During the day or 3-4 hours before bedtime, you should do physical exercise for at least 30 minutes. In addition, physical activity helps prevent stress, which is one of the main factors that disrupt sleep.
10. Room temperature is very important for sleep. The bedroom should be cooler than the rest of the apartment. It is better to choose a bedroom in an apartment with the fewest windows that are not located on the sunny side, or simply equip the room with air conditioning.
11. Limit your consumption of alcoholic beverages in the evening. After 19:00 it is better not to drink alcohol at all. Alcohol, at first, will make it easy to fall asleep, but the sleep will not be deep and intermittent. The more alcohol you drink, the more time your body needs to process it. Sleep during this period will be of poor quality; the fast phase will not occur on time. As a result, the likelihood of nightmares will increase.
12. You should not drink coffee and strong tea more than two cups a day. After 15.00 you should not drink coffee at all. Caffeine remains in the body for a significant period of time, and its presence can cause sleep disruption and fragmentation.
Following basic sleep hygiene principles will help eliminate many of the causes of parosomnia, but in some cases it may not be enough to resolve all problems associated with nightmares. Good sleep hygiene is essential for any planned treatment to have the desired beneficial effect.
Psychiatrist Kondratenko N.A.