What are the 5 Ways to Get Away from Your Nightmares?



There are many people who have worried in their dreams, being chased by a dreadful monster, and waking up because of their fear, and being unable to sleep.

Jade Wu, a psychologist who specializes in sleep, summarizes five ways to look at how many times you have been suffering from nightmares.

5 Steps to Overcoming Nightmares | Savvy Psychologist
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/overcome-nightmares

In folklore around the world, nightmares are said to be the work of the soul of the devil or the unlucky person who died, and the manifestation of all evil spirits. 'Why people have nightmares' has not been scientifically elucidated, but it has been found to be part of the sudden mental activity that occurs during REM sleep .

According to Wu, about 2-5% of the population has nightmares frequently or nightly, with women more likely to have nightmares than men. It is also said that people who suffer from alcoholism or drug poisoning, or who have some kind of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) often have nightmares. There is also a sleep disorder called ' Nightmare Disorder ', where nightmares repeatedly cause nightmares . Having a nightmare disorder interferes with sleep and can cause severe physical and mental damage such as lack of concentration and fatigue during the day.



Wu enumerates the following five ways to prevent such nightmares.

◆ 1: Keep a regular sleep / wake-up schedule
If you have a nightmare, some people may find it difficult to fall asleep because they are afraid of having a nightmare. However, prolonging bedtime to get away from nightmares reduces the time you spend dreaming REM sleep. According to Wu, if the REM sleep time is shortened, ' (PDF file)

REM sleep rebound effect ' will lengthen the REM sleep the next day, and as a result, the nightmare time will be prolonged.

Also, even if you work on an irregular schedule, such as when you work on a shift basis and the lifestyles on weekdays and weekends are very different, REM sleep also becomes longer and the probability of having a nightmare increases. I will. Therefore, Wu argues that even if you are afraid to sleep, you should sleep and wake up regularly.



◆ 2: Reduce alcohol intake and review sleeping pills with your doctor.
Some people may be blind and drink alcohol or take sleeping pills to get to bed early. However, drinking alcohol interferes with sleep and reduces sleep, resulting in insufficient brain rest. On the other hand, if you take too much alcohol, you can easily get into

non-REM sleep where you can sleep deeply without dreaming. Therefore, the REM sleep rebound effect makes REM sleep longer and makes nightmares easier to see.

In addition, Wu says he should review the medications he is taking, such as sleeping pills and antidepressants, with his doctor to see if they are having a nightmare. 'Check with your doctor to see if you can take your medicine at night, because not only the effect of the medicine, but also the timing of your medicine will affect your dreams,' Wu said.



◆ 3: Be fully awake and immediately aware of reality
'The first thing you need to do from a nightmare is to wake up to all means,' Wu said. If you don't wake up when you wake up, you may end up in a nightmare. When you wake up, wake yourself up, get out of bed, drink water, and hug your partner or pet. Wu argues that what you need to do to fully wake up and return to reality is before you lie down and close your eyes.

◆ 4: Rewrite the ending and rehearse a new script
One of the treatments for nightmares is

image rehearsal therapy (IRT), which is based on the idea that nightmares are learned behaviors of the brain and learning can be stopped. Since the brains of people who often have nightmares have acquired the habit of creating nightmares, the more they see nightmares, the easier it becomes to see nightmares, and IRT is a treatment method to get out of that vicious cycle .

IRT is a treatment method that addresses nightmares you often see and themes that you often dream about, writes them out as specifically as possible, and then recreates what you remove from scary elements over and over while you are awake. Wu rewrites the contents of the dream that he wrote down, and if you imagine that image many times, you may have less nightmares and less fear. The dream is in your heart, You are the boss of your heart. '



◆ 5: Receive treatment for PTSD and other mental health problems
Taking care of your sleep health means taking care of your overall health. Nightmares are often caused by PTSD, etc., and successful treatment in psychiatry can reduce nightmares. Not only that, treating PTSD can help stabilize your mental status during the day, reduce anxiety, and build better relationships. There is also the idea that not only directly treating PTSD, which causes nightmares, but also using IRT etc. to prioritize the improvement of nightmares. Wu speculates that not only 'PTSD creates a nightmare' but also 'the nightmare exacerbates the symptoms of PTSD', 'it may be possible to improve PTSD by reducing nightmares'. I will.

Wu said, “Take good care of yourself during the day and at night. Your brain is always working hard, so at night you may need a little extra help to relax instead of watching a horror movie. Yes, remember that nightmares can be controlled. '

Related Posts:

in Note, Posted by log1i_yk