What do nightmares mean ?

Nightmares can be really stressful and can affect us long after we're asleep. We'll explain here why they occur, what the bad dreams mean and what you can do to deal with nightmares better.

Table of contents

1. What are nightmares?
2. What do nightmares mean?
3. How do nightmares arise?
4. Causes of nightmares
5. Are nightmares dangerous?
6. What can you do about nightmares?
7. Conclusion

1. What are nightmares?

Nightmares are intense and extremely stressful dreams that are usually accompanied by negative feelings such as fear, sadness, anger or disgust. Unlike "normal" bad dreams, however, you are torn from your sleep and can remember the dream content well the next morning. Nightmares occur more frequently in the second half of the night, as we spend more time in REM sleep. A nightmare can last from a few minutes to 20 or 30 minutes and ends with waking up, after which you are usually wide awake and clear-headed.

Each of us has certainly had a bad dream at some point. However, frequent nightmares (3-4 times a week) are considered a serious nightmare disorder in sleep medicine.

Nightmares occur especially in children between the ages of 6 and 11, but can also occur in adulthood. Women Up to three times more often affected than men. Why we dream at all, you can find here read it.

2. What do nightmares mean?

When we dream, we process the experiences and thoughts of the day. In nightmares, we encounter our greatest fears and threats, which burden us emotionally and make us think. The bad dreams can therefore have a real background and stress, stress or deal with everyday worries. Some researchers also believe that nightmares could serve as a kind of training for us to deal with inner conflicts. Our brains play through various possibilities and try to capture diffuse or unconscious emotions in concrete images. Confronting these fears and feelings in dreams gives us the chance to perceive them and learn how to deal with them.

However, waking up from a nightmare has a lasting effect and the emotions it awakens often continue to burden us the next day when we are awake.

The most common contents of nightmares:

1. fall into the depths

2. persecution by other people

3. inability to move

4. being late for an important appointment

5. Disappearance or death of a loved one

6. film scene

7. Failure at work or an exam

8. Physical defense against attackers

3. How do nightmares arise?

dreams occur in all phases of sleep, but are REM sleep particularly intense, which occurs more frequently in the second half of the night. When dreaming, the areas of the brain responsible for processing emotions are highly active – the so-called limbic system and in particular the amygdala, which plays a role in the processing of negative feelings such as fear and anger.At the same time, the body is in the sleep paralysis, in which muscle tension decreases and we cannot move. The inability to move sometimes also finds its way into dreams, for example when you want to flee from danger but just stop, or want to scream for help and remain completely silent.

There can be various reasons why nightmares occur. Many stress, severe psychological stress, trauma and a "thin-skinned" personality can intensify nightmares and their long-term stressful effect. But individual experiences, scenes from a film you have watched or taking certain medications can also encourage the development of nightmares.

4. Causes of nightmares

Biological predisposition

Nightmares can actually be genetic, as investigated in a study with identical and fraternal twins.

Stress & strain in everyday life

Stress is mentally and physically stressful. This often results in intense negative feelings such as sadness, anger, fear or frustration, so people with low stress resistance are also more likely to suffer from nightmares.

personality

Sensitive or nervous people reach high levels of stress more quickly and perceive situations or feelings more intensely. After a grueling horror film, intense action scenes or similar experiences, they may have bad dreams. A negative self-image and low life satisfaction can also encourage bad dreams.

Mental Illnesses / Traumatic Experiences

Traumatic and frightening experiences have a strong impact on the psyche and nervous system, which means that nightmares occur more frequently. But depression, anxiety disorders and other mental illnesses can also be a cause of nightmares.

medication intake

Nightmares are a side effect of many medicines, especially medicationsthat affect the nervous system and on a psychological level. These include certain sleeping pills, antidepressants, some blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering drugs, and drugs for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. If you are taking medication and are suffering from nightmares, you should speak to your doctor directly and not stop taking the medication on your own.

5. Are nightmares dangerous?

Whether you are flying or falling into a black hole, nightmares are generally not life-threatening. During REM sleep, the body is in sleep paralysis, so movements in the dream world are not actively carried out. If nightmares occur repeatedly, they can lead to lack of sleep and mental problems. They can also cause stress and worry beyond the night. Last but not least, many people also search for the meaning of their dreams and sometimes get lost in details that the brain arbitrarily extracts from the memory If you suffer from nightmares more than 3 times a week and over a longer period of time, you should contact a doctor or therapist.

6. What can you do about nightmares?

Dreams play an important role in the memory formation, so you can't do without them completely. In order to prevent frequent occurrence of stressful nightmares or waking up immediately in or after a nightmare, the first thing to do is to reduce stress and achieve mental balance.Anyone who experiences many stressful events during the day is likely to process them immediately the following night.

Psychotherapeutic methods are also best suited, as dreaming ultimately takes place in the brain and is closely linked to the emotional system. Anyone suffering from traumatic or psychological stress should definitely seek professional help and work through their experiences therapeutically.

One of the best-known methods of dealing with fearful experiences and nightmares is so-called imagery rehearsal therapy. This involves imagining the events again in vivid detail and trying to give the plot a logical twist so that the dream ends well and the threat is averted. This type of coping strategy is also recommended by the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine (DGSM) for treating nightmares. It consists of 3 steps: confrontation, coping and practicing the new strategy.

1. Confrontation: Write or record the dream experience in detail, for example in the form of a dream diary.
2. Coping: Choose a dream and try to find an active solution to the situation you are experiencing. In other words, think of a new strategy that you can use to actively avert the danger/fear/threat. Escape or avoidance strategies such as running away or waking up are not ideal, as you are only avoiding the problem. Once you have created a picture, it is best to draw what could help you.
3. Practice the new strategy: Go through the chosen dream and the new strategy in your mind every day. Practice it over a period of about 2 weeks so that you internalize the solution and end the inner conflict that triggered your nightmare.

7. Conclusion

• Nightmares are distressing dreams that are accompanied by negative feelings and lead to awakening from sleep.

• Nightmares could serve as a kind of training for dealing with inner conflicts and processing emotions.

• To prevent nightmares, you can reduce stress and deal with them using a confrontational coping strategy (also known as imagery rehearsal therapy).

Best regards and see you soon!