DOI: Pagel JF. Nightmares and disorders of dreaming. Up to 71 percent of people with post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD experience nightmares. Levrier K, et al. Nightmare frequency, nightmare distress and the efficiency of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. Sometimes these flashbacks can manifest as nightmares.
For people with PTSD, recurring nightmares can have a variety of negative effects, including:. The content of these nightmares can vary from person to person. For some people, these dreams are replicative nightmare s in which the original trauma is replayed over and over again. How trauma can affect your dreams. Certain sleep disorders can lead to recurring nightmares. Sleep apnea is a condition characterized by interrupted breathing during sleep.
Narcolepsy is a disorder of the nervous system that causes severe daytime drowsiness, hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. Conditions such as these can affect the quality of sleep and may be an underlying cause of recurring nightmares. Certain medications, such as antidepressants, blood pressure medications, and other drugs used to treat specific conditions, can cause nightmares.
One older study from found that the most common nightmare-causing drugs included sedative and hypnotic drugs, beta blockers, and amphetamines. Thompson DF, et al. Drug-induced nightmares. There are many symptoms of withdrawal that occur from substance abuse, including nightmares. These nightmares may be more intense at the onset of withdrawal but usually taper off within a few weeks of sobriety.
Alcohol withdrawal most commonly causes nightmares. Nightmares are scary, vivid dreams that usually cause the person to awaken immediately. These dreams are often easily remembered. People with sleep terrors very rarely have any awareness of the episode.
Nightmares are more common in the second half of the night while sleep terrors happen more often in the first half. Many different factors can contribute to a higher risk of nightmares: Stress and anxiety : Sad, traumatic, or worrisome situations that induce stress and fear may provoke nightmares.
People with chronic stress and anxiety may be more likely to develop nightmare disorder. Mental health conditions : Nightmares are often reported at much higher rates by people with mental health disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD , depression, general anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
People with PTSD often have frequent, intense nightmares in which they relive traumatic events, worsening symptoms of PTSD, and often contributing to insomnia. Certain drugs and medications: Using some types of illicit substances or prescription medications that affect the nervous system is associated with a higher risk of nightmares. Withdrawal from some medications: Some medications suppress REM sleep, so when a person stops taking those medications, there is a short-term rebound effect of more REM sleep accompanied by more nightmares.
Sleep deprivation: After a period of insufficient sleep, a person often experiences a REM rebound, that can trigger vivid dreams and nightmares. Personal history of nightmares: In adults, a risk factor for nightmare disorder is a history of having had recurring nightmares during childhood and adolescence. Sign up below for your free gift. Your privacy is important to us. Was this article helpful?
Yes No. Paul, F. Nightmares affect the experience of sleep quality but not sleep architecture: an ambulatory polysomnographic study.
Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation, 2, 3. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Darien, IL. Pagel J. Nightmares and disorders of dreaming. American family physician, 61 7 , — Schredl, M. Gender differences in nightmare frequency: a meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 15 2 , — Levin, R. Disturbed dreaming, posttraumatic stress disorder, and affect distress: a review and neurocognitive model.
Psychological bulletin, 3 , — Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep. Scarpelli, S. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16 19 , Markov, D. Update on parasomnias: a review for psychiatric practice. Psychiatry Edgmont Pa. Simor, P. Disturbed dreaming and the instability of sleep: altered nonrapid eye movement sleep microstructure in individuals with frequent nightmares as revealed by the cyclic alternating pattern.
Sleep, 36 3 , — Gieselmann, A. Both nightmares and dreams occur during the REM rapid eye movement cycle of sleep. People spend about 2 hours dreaming every night. Nightmares usually occur in the latter part of the REM cycle.
Nightmare disorder is a condition in which people experience chronic, intense nightmares over a prolonged period of time. Night terrors is another disorder that is very different from a standard nightmare. Night terrors occur during the first few hours of sleep, causing a person to scream loudly and thrash around violently in his or her sleep. Unlike standard nightmares, it can be difficult to wake up a person who is experiencing night terrors.
When they do wake up, typically they will not remember much about their dream. Nightmares are most common in children. Typically, children start having nightmares before the age of Some may start having bad dreams as young as 3 or 4 years old. Scientists know very little about nightmares and dreams. However, there are many different theories about what causes a nightmare. REM sleep stimulates regions in the brain that are used for learning.
During REM sleep, the brain fires various different signals at random. If this theory is correct, then nightmares and dreams have no deeper meaning. They are simply a side effect of deep sleep. Only during sleep, when the conscious mind is silent, do these repressed emotions come to the surface and manifest themselves as nightmares and dreams.
This theory implies that all dreams are significant and that they all have some sort of underlying meaning. Although nightmares are common, nightmare disorder is relatively rare. Nightmare disorder is when nightmares happen often, cause distress, disrupt sleep, cause problems with daytime functioning or create fear of going to sleep.
You're more likely to have a nightmare in the second half of your night. Nightmares may occur rarely or more frequently, even several times a night. Episodes are generally brief, but they cause you to awaken, and returning to sleep can be difficult. Having a child with nightmare disorder can cause significant sleep disturbance and distress for parents or caregivers.
Occasional nightmares aren't usually a cause for concern. If your child has nightmares, you can simply mention them at a routine well-child exam. However, consult your doctor if nightmares:. Nightmare disorder is referred to by doctors as a parasomnia — a type of sleep disorder that involves undesirable experiences that occur while you're falling asleep, during sleep or when you're waking up.
Nightmares usually occur during the stage of sleep known as rapid eye movement REM sleep.
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