How to stop bad dreams: The five ways to beat nightmares
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Nightmares can be extremely distressing and lead to sleep deprivation, especially if you experience them often. Don’t worry, making sense of the psychological meaning behind your dreams can help you to stop them from happening. Express.co.uk chatted to leading dream expert and Happy Beds partner Theresa Cheung and Katherine Hall, a psychologist in sleep from Somnus Therapy to find out the most common nightmares we have and how to stop them.
Every single dream is unique and unusual, but there are a few specific themes that are common.
Ms Cheung said: “These dreams mean that there are feelings or situations in your current waking life which you are having difficulty fully processing.
“You should not fear nightmares. Think of nightmares as a form of tough love.”
When it comes to the meaning of these dreams, it’s a lot less dramatic than you might think.
She added: “Your dreaming mind is using shocking images because it knows you are more likely to recall them and ponder their meaning than everyday dreams.”
Night terrors are very different from nightmares and these are common among children aged between three and eight.
Night terrors are characterised by screaming, trashing and not recognising those comforting them, and they occur on waking abruptly from deep, non-dream sleep.
Nightmares, on the other hand, occur from dream sleep (REM sleep).
Children and adults have nightmares and can normally remember them when they wake up, unlike night terrors.
The most common nightmares include themes of murder, apocalypse, teeth falling out and drowning.
A dream that involves a murder of some description can mean an unexpected change is being forced onto you, while an apocalypse dream means your subconscious feels that everything is shifting in your life and it’s time for a fresh start.
Dreams about your teeth falling out could mean that you’re concerned about ageing or your appearance, or even that you have unexpressed anger inside.
Drowning nightmares could suggest that you’re feeling emotionally overwhelmed.
How to beat bad dreams
Regular bedtime
You should keep your bedtime and wake time as consistent as possible.
Ms Hall said: “Consistency is likely to result in more restful and stable sleep, preventing the likelihood of a nightmare-inducing REM rebound from sleep deprivation.”
Daily relaxation practice
Relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) can be incredibly useful in helping you to get to sleep and reducing the stress around not being able to sleep.
The expert said: “PMR is a form of mindfulness that guides you through tensing each muscle group then relaxing them, to promote a sense of complete body and mind relaxation.”
Expressive writing
Expressive writing has been shown to enable the writer to better regulate their emotions.
It can also help the writer break free from the endless mental cycling of brooding or rumination.
Ms Hall explained: “Acknowledging your emotions and writing them down reduces the need for your mind to constantly fight and be in battle with any negative and stressful thoughts.
Avoid alcohol
Alcohol is a REM sleep blocker and causes an overall reduction in REM sleep – also known as dream sleep.
The sleep expert said: “When the alcohol starts to wear off it’s not uncommon to experience really vivid dreams or nightmares.”
Get treated
When nightmares become a frequent occurrence and recurring, speaking with a professional may be the best option to help discover and treat the underlying issue.
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