What makes nightmares

However, nightmares are more common in children, especially those under age Girls are more likely to be troubled by their nightmares than boys.

However, nightmares can become a problem if they persist and interrupt your sleep pattern. This can lead to insomnia and difficulty functioning during the day. Consult with your doctor if you are having trouble coping with nightmares. They also differ from night terrors, also known as sleep terrors. They may also have a tendency to sleepwalk or urinate in bed during night terrors.

Night terrors usually stop once a child reaches puberty. However, some adults may have night terrors and experience limited dream recall, especially during times of stress. Most children and adults have nightmares from time to time. However, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor if nightmares persist over an extended period of time, disrupt your sleep patterns, and interfere with your ability to function during the day. Your doctor will ask you questions about your use of stimulants, such as caffeine, alcohol, and certain illegal drugs.

They will also ask you about any prescription or over-the-counter medications and supplements you are currently taking. If you believe a new medication is prompting your nightmares, ask your doctor if there is an alternative treatment that you can try. There are no specific tests for diagnosing nightmares. However, your doctor may advise you to undergo a sleep study.

During a sleep study, you spend the night in a laboratory. Sensors monitor various functions, including your:. People who are deeply affected by nightmares can be treated in a variety of ways. First, the cause of the stress, if there is one, must be determined. If a stressor is identified, effective ways to manage it should be found. For medication-induced nightmares, dosages might need to be altered or different drugs administered.

People with post-traumatic or chronic nightmares can be treated with psychological therapy or with medication. Psychological therapy for nightmares is called image rehearsal therapy, or IRT. In this form of cognitive therapy, individuals, especially those who repeatedly experience a given type of nightmare, are asked to recall and write down their nightmares, then asked to rewrite the nightmare and give it a positive ending.

The individual then rehearses the rewritten version before going to sleep with the aim of displacing the unwanted content during sleep. IRT has been investigated in a number of studies, says Winkelman, and found to reduce nightmare frequency and distress.

A study published in in the "American Journal of Psychiatry" reported that the drug prazosin could help relieve nightmares in people with PTSD. The drug, traditionally used to treat hypertension, reduced the level of neurochemicals in pathways that become overstimulated in PTSD. The Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute hosts a public lecture series to continue its efforts to educate the public on the latest scientific discoveries in neuroscience and translate how these discoveries are relevant in our daily lives.

Since its founding in , the Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute has helped advance neuroscience at Harvard Medical School by promoting public awareness of the importance of brain research and by helping to fund research at the School's Department of Neurobiology. Campus Alert. They are also very common among children. Nightmares typically occur during rapid eye movement REM sleep when the brain is most active, but the body is in a state of temporary paralysis.

This is often very frightening to the sleeper. So they wake up and may have a little bit of anxiety. Nightmares belong to a category of sleep disorders called parasomnias, or unwanted experiences that occur during sleep. And a lot of times people are afraid to go to sleep because of the nightmare. And when that happens, you can have a lot of issues with insomnia and sleepiness, because you are not getting enough sleep.

But if they do become a recurrent problem, Dr. Szumstein says the main treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy. But this only occurs when nightmares affect sleep in a chronic and severe manner.