Nightmares are a response that the body has as a reaction to any type of shocking stimulus, fear, anger, frustration among many other feelings that has occurred in a day or in a period of time, but it is a problem that must be known how to avoid.
Every individual can have a bad dream at some point, from the smallest of the house who are more likely to have them because of any horror movie they have seen and because of their innocence, adolescents and of course adults because of their various problems.
It is thought that children between 5 and 10 years old usually have bad dreams or nightmares which mean that the infant loses restful sleep at night and health problems arise due to this, since this type of condition continues until old age. adult.
Many nightmares reflect the discomfort and feelings that are experienced during the day, and that are manifestations of situations that, despite myths and beliefs, affect the subconscious much more than is believed, causing bad dreams or nightmares to occur.
What do you need to avoid nightmares?
- Origin of nightmares.
- Dream functions.
- Nightmare concept.
- Differences between dream and nightmare.
- Research on dreams.
- Biological functions of nightmares.
- Our everyday life.
- Problems.
- The thought.
Instructions to avoid nightmares
When we lie down to sleep during the night, phases that are part of sleep occur and that we can identify as follows:
- Stage of numbness, being the beginning.
- Light sleep about 50% of the entire process.
- The transition stage, which is moderately short because it lasts a few minutes, is the step prior to deep sleep.
- Deep or delta sleep.
- REM sleep (rapid eyes movement) or rapid movement of the eyes.
This last stage is where dreams or nightmares arise since it is where a greater brain activity is established and that is why there is a movement of the eyes, even if they remain closed for a duration of between 20 or 30 minutes or even a little more.
Generally the phase where you rest the most are phases three and four, where the body tends to relax more and let itself go, before of course the REM phase where dreams originate or, failing that, the horrendous nightmares that end with rest.
Understanding nightmares step by step
- The study of dreams. For a better understanding of nightmares, the meaning of the various dreams we have during a restful night must be known for sure, among which we must distinguish those that are bad from those that are good and even nightmares. In addition to all this, there is the idea that a copious meal before going to bed, a cup of coffee, drinking alcohol, having problems at work, stress, among other factors, can cause a person to suffer from nightmares at night.
- Work while you sleep. Another theory points to the possibility of working while having nightmares, since these can often have the various solutions to problems that we have during the day with any activity that we carry out and in which we mobilize daily. Although it is not known what the reality of dreams and nightmares is, at least one has the possibility of having them, whether they are harmless or a warning that something is going to happen within the family, being a premonition that must be attended to.
- Accumulated tensions. Nightmares are usually also a release from the many tensions, problems and worries that happen to us during the day, having to resort to some form of relief that removes the negative influence that can accumulate in the subconscious. In addition, these types of problems can cause the gland that releases the sleep hormone or melatonin to suffer some type of imbalance and prevent us from resting, the effects of insomnia appear and we have serious health problems.
- Stimulus and factors that cause nightmares. Some external factors or stimuli that can cause nightmares can be mentioned in: Age. According to this, it is the factor that attacks the most innocent of the house since they are more prone to bad dreams, since many times they do not understand what is happening around them and they are witnesses of many bad experiences that remain in their memory. and they reflect it during the nights; The sex. Females tend to have more dreams and nightmares, although it does not necessarily have to be a connotation of the rule, because males also experience nightmares at some stage of their lives without meaning to or because they are abducted by fatigue and anxiety; Some biological malfunction. Perhaps on some occasion while being asleep a bodily function is lost without realizing it for a few seconds, sending electrical impulses to the brain to wake it up and thus be able to do something to counteract this problem so that it does not cause a serious illness; Hormonal changes. During various stages of life, changes may arise that affect the person’s body such as development, menstruation, menopause, pregnancy, among many of the factors that can govern hormonal changes in the body; Stress and anxiety. Work, study, home are factors that cause us to have many tasks and responsibilities that have caused the body to react with such a strong injection of adrenaline to finish everything on time, generating a state of alertness and anxiety that ends in a nightmare; A succulent meal. People sometimes commit the folly of eating too much at night, before going to bed and instead of walking so that the body begins to digest what it has eaten, a consequence is generated that is having many nightmares during deep sleep and not to rest; Energy drinks before bed. These are quite harmful and offer your body to stay awake to reset the body when more strength and stamina is needed to perform various tasks and if taken during the time we need to go to sleep, it has quite a negative effect on the body. organism; Drugs to prevent sleep. It is possible that when a job is needed immediately or an answer is needed to learn the content or information for an exam, we expose the body to doses of drugs to stay awake, when the action passes and we want to sleep, nightmares appear; Alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol and tobacco have stimulating effects, which is why they are harmful for bedtime. It is therefore a fatality that both are used during the hours prior to sleeping or resting. It is advisable to have access to tranquilizing infusions or sedatives; Antidepressants. When you are in a state of deep sadness where you do not want to get out of bed or room, many times we spend so much time with the body in lethargy due to the feelings that overwhelm us that we cannot rest later due to the nightmares that accumulate when we want to sleep; Diseases. There are conditions and diseases that can cause nightmares such as depression, sadness, diabetes, stomach problems, gastritis, migraine, apart from not letting you rest, it can cause you to have many nightmares that will not allow you to relax.
- Other factors are: Violent or bloody television programs. When we stay up late at night watching bloody, horror, murder or simply true events that affect our nerves can have a fatal consequence for rest and relaxation; Increased body temperature. When you have a fever, the product of any type of condition or infection, it is possible that the delirium causes nightmares, tending to wake up many times during the night, it is important to have permanent surveillance, especially when it comes to children; Do therapy. It is possible that the help of a specialist in sleep disorders is needed who can offer help to the subconscious in addition to prescribing some treatment or alternative medicine to seek improvement in terms of sleep or nightmares that you may have. Nothing is impossible and you can resort to improving the way you rest every day so that you feel good about yourself at the same moment that you stop having any type of manifestation against relaxation, rest or the desire to sleep well; Break. Try to take a few days off to rest or the desire to sleep well; Break. Try to take a few days off to rest or the desire to sleep well; Break. Try to take a few days off to prevent stress from winning the battle and not being able to rest, since this can be the reason that you feel worse every day and suffer from multiple nightmares at night, waking up with serious health problems. Remember that when you go on a trip for a few days or a weekend, it is not about taking your problems with you but rather about going to rest forgetting everything for a short time and you will find that it is so relaxing that you will not have problems sleeping.
Tips to avoid nightmares
- Learn relaxation or motivation techniques to avoid nightmares.
- Do not use beverages that contain caffeine or are stimulants, especially drink infusions that have sedative effects.
- Learn to use ear plugs and avoid different external sounds as well as masks or blinds to avoid excess light.
- Have a schedule for waking up and going to bed.
- Do not overeat dinner and with foods that offer rapid digestion.
- Do not use drugs or drugs to sleep.
- Practice a sport with which you feel comfortable or do yoga postures to relax every day.