Almost all of us have had nightmares. These bad dreams wake us up in the middle of the night, with our hearts pounding and the feeling that something horrible has happened. In fact, nightmares generate intense feelings of fear, which in some cases can turn into real anxiety or even terror. Therefore, they trigger a series of neurovegative responses, such as sweating or shortness of breath.
Nightmares, usually, occur occasionally. However, there are periods when nightmares become a daily occurrence. Why do I have nightmares every day?
Problems that predict the appearance of nightmares
A study conducted at the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Turku in Finland has revealed the most common factors that underlie nightmares and contribute to bad dreams.
In fact, in this study, carried out with 13,922 people, it was found that 3.9% of the participants suffered from frequent nightmares. These people filled out questionnaires in which they were asked about their lifestyle habits and general psychological state, as well as the content of the dreams they had had during the previous month.
In this way, 45% of people reported occasional nightmares. It was also noted that bad dreams are more common among women than men.
Furthermore, a clear correlation was found between psychological well-being and nightmares. In practice, the calmer and more serene we are, the sweeter our dreams will be.
Thus, the three factors that can predict the appearance of nightmares are:
1. Negative attitude towards oneself. Depression was one of the most reliable indicators of nightmares. In fact, it was found that 28.4% of people who suffered from severe depression had frequent nightmares. In reality, this is not a strange correlation since the recurrent negative thoughts that depressed people tend to have can remain active in the unconscious and are the basis on which the content of nightmares is woven. In fact, nightmares are more common in periods of great worry and stress, when we are unable to maintain a state of tranquility and well-being.
2. Insomnia. Not being able to fall asleep was also one of the indicators that predicted the appearance of nightmares. In fact, 17.1% of people with chronic insomnia also had bad dreams often. It is important to bear in mind that nightmares usually occur during the REM phase of sleep, which represents between 20 and 25% of total sleep. Curiously, in people who suffer from insomnia and who do not sleep well, what is known as the “REM phase rebound effect” occurs. That is, these people, as soon as they fall asleep, fall almost directly into the REM phase, without that latency period of about 90 minutes occurring. Therefore, the probability of having nightmares and remembering their content upon awakening increases considerably.
3. Mental fatigue. We tend to think that the more tired we are, the better we will rest. However, this equation only refers to physical fatigue; when it comes to mental fatigue, it works against us and prevents us from having a restful sleep. In fact, we must not forget that mental fatigue is often linked to stress, anxiety and worries, so it is not strange that these states surface in the form of nightmares. And the problems of the day continue to haunt us during the night.
Avoid nightmares by using your imagination
There are different strategies to avoid nightmares. In fact, performing a relaxation technique before going to sleep or learning to manage stress can be very helpful. However, when it comes to nightmares that revolve around a recurring theme, these psychologists discovered a much simpler solution: it involves imagining a happy or even surreal and funny ending to the dream that scares us.
In practice, the main problem with nightmares is that they are distressing and terrifying, and are the expression of some inner fear. However, if we imagine that same situation and give it a pleasant and even happy ending, we will take away some of its negative influence and the likelihood of them coming back to haunt us at night will decrease.
Reference:
Sandman, N. et. Al. (2015) Nightmares: risk factors among the Finnish general adult population. SLEEP; 38(4):507–514.
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