Nightmares in sleep and the origins of their formation. The article describes the reasons for the appearance of restless dreams, and also gives practical recommendations to solve the problem.

The content of the article:

A nightmare is a rather significant problem that prevents a person from fully resting after the waking phase. If such a fact is not regularly repeated, then there is no need to worry about it. In case of systematic nightmares, it is necessary to urgently get rid of the problem that negatively affects the people’s psyche.

What is a nightmare

Dream transformation is a branch of the study of psychology that examines the motivation for the emergence of frightening images in the subconscious. In some cases this concept Experts consider it a symptom of restless legs syndrome and apnea (stopping breathing movements).

Some people confuse nightmares in sleep with horrors that arise in the human mind. The second aspect is formed during a deep immersion in the kingdom of Morpheus. It occurs during the first hours of falling asleep and in most cases is not recorded by people’s minds. With a strong feeling of fear, a superficial analysis of a dangerous situation occurs without transformation in the imagination bright pictures and images.

Unlike horror, nightmares usually form during REM sleep, which lasts about 20 minutes. Such manifestations are dangerous because during this period the subject feels like a real participant in the events. When waking up, people clearly remember what they saw in a dream, and this often becomes a psychologically traumatic factor for them.

Causes of nightmares during sleep

The origins of this problem have been well studied by psychologists and psychiatrists. Experts advise looking for the causes of nightmares at night in the following life situations:

• Psychological trauma. An offensive word from loved ones or an insult from strangers often causes a significant blow to a person’s self-esteem. During the daytime, he may not think about the conflict that happened, but during sleep, the unpleasant moments he experienced may return in the form of a nightmare.
• Physical trauma. After suffering an injury, many people in their dreams replay a similar situation that happened to them. This could be a fall from a height, a water accident, a car accident, or aggression from an inappropriate person.
• Familiarization with media data. Television quite often notifies the population about tragic events that occur in the world. Cinema also tries to impress people, after watching which some viewers (especially children) have nightmares.
• Phobia. Suspiciousness, which has become a neurosis, often leads to the fact that a person cannot sleep peacefully. The fear he has formed is transformed at night into frightening images.
• Wrong lifestyle. Overeating at night, nicotine and alcohol abuse often provoke nightmares. This is also facilitated by a disruption in the daily routine, when the waking phase significantly exceeds the sleep period.

Note! The stated reasons for the occurrence of nightmares clearly depend on the person himself. It is he who is the main scriptwriter of what is formed in his mind during this period of time.

Ways to deal with nightmares

In order to eliminate the factor that interferes with the full functioning of a person, it is necessary to seek advice from a specialist. Each situation is an individual case, so it is a professional who can understand its origins and consequences.

Drug treatment for nightmares

After a visit to the doctor, you can use the following remedies to get rid of this problem:

1. Medications. Prazosin is very often prescribed to people with restless sleep after examining their physical and mental condition. It is worth remembering that it is antidepressants and drugs for regulating blood pressure that can provoke the appearance of nightmares.
2. ethnoscience. For periodically recurring bad dreams, it is necessary to use drugs or tinctures based on medicinal herbs. In this case, a decoction of hawthorn, rose hips, St. John's wort, chamomile and motherwort will help. For the greatest effect, experts recommend using a collection of all the listed plants and berries. Valerian root, known in medicine, can be replaced with blue cyanosis, which as a sedative is 10 times more effective than known sedatives. Herbal medicines after cryotreatment in the form of “Nervo-Vita” and “St. John’s wort P” will also help with the occurrence of night mosquitoes.

Nutritional tips to avoid nightmares

In any case, experts do not recommend eating after seven o’clock in the evening, because it does not have time to be digested human body. To prevent people from having nightmares, they must adhere to the following rules:

• Eating fruits and vegetables. It is undesirable to eat after 19.00, but it is not necessary to deny yourself literally everything if you feel hungry. Eating a fruit (banana, citrus fruits, apple) or vegetable (cabbage, carrots, beets) will not allow the stomach to become so full that it will cause problems in the future. The exception is avocado, which is high in calories and fat, which makes eating this fruit at night undesirable.
• Careful selection of drinks. A glass of warm milk or mint decoction will make a person's sleep deep and restful. At the same time, if you want to relax, you should not drink coffee, strong tea, energy drinks and carbonated drinks, which additionally stimulate people’s brain activity.
• Avoiding heavy foods. Meat, except rabbit, chicken and turkey, takes a long time to be absorbed by the human digestive system. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat pork, lamb and beef at night. If you want to enjoy a salad, it is better to season it with yogurt rather than sour cream or mayonnaise.
• Avoidance of foods containing sucrose. Nutritionists insist that eating such food before bed can trigger nightmares. The use of foods such as chocolate, candy, smoothies and oatmeal should be kept to a minimum.
• Limiting the consumption of pickled and smoked foods. Typically, preserved and specially processed meat causes increased thirst, which then makes it impossible to rest peacefully at night. Interrupted sleep often causes nightmares, which, with such gastronomic addictions, will be repeated day after day.
• Refusal of flour and confectionery products. This recommendation should be followed not only by those people who are watching their weight. Such products take a long time to digest, so they become dead weight for the stomach. As a result, the person sleeps lightly and experiences nightmares during the rapid phase of night rest.
• Quitting alcohol. Among the people there is erroneous opinion that strong drinks promote good sleep. In fact, when using them, a person quickly relaxes, but in most cases he is guaranteed to have nightmares. This happens due to inhibition of the metabolic process in the brain with obvious oxygen starvation.

Important! People in mature age It is worth refusing to eat five hours before bedtime, so that they do not have nightmares when their stomach is full. If the meal has already been completed, then nutritionists advise drinking a glass mineral water without gas, adding a couple of drops of lemon juice to it prematurely.

Psychotherapy to eliminate nightmares during sleep

Experts recommend that their patients use the following methods of dealing with ghostly phenomena during rest:

1. Elimination of external irritants. For some people, even dim lights make it difficult to relax at night. At the same time, a leaking faucet and loud music from neighbors can drive anyone crazy. Against the background of such aggressive sounds for hearing, nightmares often arise. If it is not possible to protect yourself from noise, you can purchase earplugs (special earplugs) at the pharmacy.
2. Walk before bed. Some people prefer to devote their evening leisure time to watching movies that do not always have a positive storyline. It is better to replace such a pastime with a walk in the park or simply in the immediate surroundings.
3. Working on stress resistance. If you want to normalize your internal state During sleep it is necessary to train willpower. To do this, it is recommended to face your fears directly in order to develop a neutral attitude towards the situation.
4. Doing something interesting. Before going to bed, it is very useful to knit, embroider, do crosswords or put together puzzles. All these actions help nervous system calm down so that after this the person can fully relax without the formation of nightmares in his mind.
5. Meditation and yoga. Such procedures are available even to those people who do not have the skills of these manipulations. Immediately before going to bed, you can start meditation, which should be accompanied by breathing exercises. You need to imagine a vast ocean or an endless field, while sitting in the lotus position (legs crossed, heels placed on opposite thighs).
6. Aromatic treatments. Before going to bed, experts recommend filling the rest room with the scent of lavender or rose using special candles. For complete relaxation, baths with the addition of pine needles, sea salt or medicinal collection from chamomile, mint, yarrow, linden blossom, arnica and blackthorn flower.
7. Relaxation music. If you want to spend a night without nightmares, you can try to immerse yourself in the kingdom of Morpheus to your favorite melody. However, it should not contain aggressive notes. The Internet is replete with offers to download melodies that calm the human psyche.
8. Method of analyzing someone else's example. In the legendary film Gone with the Wind, brave Scarlett O'Hara suffered from the same nightmare that came to her at night. The horrors stopped when the heroine understood the reason for their occurrence.
9. Bedroom improvement. First of all, you should take care of the thermal conditions in the rest room. Any temperature fluctuations in the sleeping area can cause a person a significant feeling of discomfort. You should also remember the fact that you should not organize a recreation area where the office is located.
10. Physical exercise. When asked what to do about nightmares in your sleep, you need to start working on improving your body. However, experts do not recommend performing such exercises immediately before the resting phase, because the body will be overexcited. In this case, it won’t hurt to visit the swimming pool three hours before you want to go to bed.
11. Mental image rehearsal method. Every bad dream very often ends at the climax, because the person wakes up. In this case, it is necessary to play associations during the daytime, coming up with a happy ending to the nightmare.
12. Self-hypnosis method. Before falling asleep, you need to concentrate your attention on the most pleasant episodes of the past day. At the same time, it is recommended to clearly focus your thoughts on the most pleasant things, in order to then program them for your dreams.
13. Watching comedies. Such a pastime can literally completely change a person’s well-being. You can try re-watching your favorite childhood cartoons to go to bed on a positive note.
14. Purchasing an amulet of dreams. Some people believe in such things, so they willingly buy all kinds of talismans. An amulet, which can be purchased at any antique store, will help a person spend a peaceful night without any discomfort.

How to deal with nightmares - watch the video:

Scientists say that about 5% of our planet's population suffers from regular nightmares. From time to time, any person has dreams in which he escapes from being chased, tries to hide from creepy monsters, Fall into car crashes and plane crashes, loses loved ones, dies from illness. Bad dreams can signal a real problem and cannot be ignored. It is important to understand why you have nightmares.

Nightmares are a symptom of the disease

Why do I have nightmares at night? English scientists working on sleep issues have recorded an interesting incident. For several months, a man suffered from a dream in which his mother stabbed him in the stomach with a knife. This man was eventually diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. As it turned out, the unfortunate man ate heavy, fatty food, undesirable for such a problem, and it was his mother who prepared it.

According to doctors, negative dreams can indicate a disease present in a person. It is interesting that poor sleep can serve as the first symptom of a mild cold. Night terrors can tell about a serious illness even a couple of months before the first signs appear. Of course, somnologists are trying to identify patterns by analyzing the plots of “sleepy” adventures.

Real illnesses and dreams

Studying the plots of negative dreams, according to experts, may indicate specific diseases. Why do you have nightmares in which a person drowns, falls, falls underground, and lacks air? It is possible that his illness is mild or cardiovascular system. Problems with the joints and spine are indicated by frightening dreams associated with lifting heavy objects, uncomfortable shoes, and the need to squeeze through a narrow gap.

Why do people have nightmares about teeth falling out, food disappearing, seeing blood, or smelling disgusting odors? This may serve as a signal of disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract. Toxic poisoning and infectious diseases trigger emotional, colorful bad dreams. Persecution and pursuit predict Alzheimer's disease, indicate a tendency towards it, and the possibility of memory loss.

Nightmares and psychology

Modern psychologists pay maximum attention to dreams; in their opinion, dreams are a vivid reflection of a person’s current emotional state. Night terrors become frequent guests during difficult periods of life. These could be financial problems, professional dissatisfaction, difficulties in your personal life. There are certain patterns in why nightmares with repeating plots occur.

If a person in a dream falls from a great height or flies into an abyss, one can assume lack of self-confidence and being in a constant state of anxiety. Stiffness of movements, inability to speak, run, and a feeling of paralysis indicate a non-vain search for a solution to a confusing problem. An attack, a chase, or the entry of strangers into the house indicate dissatisfaction with oneself or certain aspects of one’s personality.

Overeating is dangerous

The reason why you have nightmares is not always due to a serious illness. Even seemingly harmless overeating can become a reason for nighttime worries. Most often, those who indulge in fatty and spicy foods and are addicted to sweets complain about negative dreams. The popular Atkinson diet, which is based on protein-rich, high-calorie foods and no carbohydrates, has been sharply criticized by doctors. Such a diet “overloads” the brain, causing it to generate various horrors.

Even a small amount of food right before bed activates metabolism and digestive processes, pushing the brain to work actively. The result is often scary dreams. It is advisable not to eat anything at all for at least three hours before plunging into the sleepy kingdom. Very useful in terms of restful sleep fasting days, dreams will be positive.

Going to bed on an empty stomach is not at all necessary; it is even harmful. It is easy to get rid of hunger pangs with the help of warm milk, honey, and natural juices.

Bad habits

Alcohol, caffeine, and energy drinks are common answers to the question of why you constantly have nightmares. The agitated subconscious cannot calm down. By the way, people who have just given up alcohol often experience bad dreams.

Research has also confirmed bad influence smoking to sleep. Cigarette abuse interferes with complete relaxation and rest. You should not sleep much during the day, even if sleep comes at night, its character will take on depressing, severe forms. Only a short nap of half an hour is useful.

What position is best to sleep in?

Doctors strongly discourage people from sleeping on their stomachs. This habit becomes the source of many problems and often causes nightmares. The chest is compressed, the functioning of the lungs becomes difficult, and the amount of oxygen entering the body is reduced. The position of the head in this position is also incorrect; turning it 90 degrees reduces the quality of nutrition of the brain.

By falling asleep on your back, a person is doing the right thing. Complete muscle relaxation is ensured, neck tension does not occur, and digestive processes are improved. It is important that your shoulders do not lie on the pillow, your head does not lean forward or tilt back. This position is best for sleeping. The mystery of why you have nightmares on your back does not lie in the choice of this position.

Night fears of men and women

Numerous studies indicate that scary adventures in women's and men's dreams are different. Women more often see in their dreams the death of a loved one, rape, negative changes in appearance, and interpersonal conflicts. Men “experience” life-threatening situations, disasters (earthquake, flood), wars, job loss. Failed exams - common topic, it’s not just students who are experiencing this shock.

Why do pregnant women often have nightmares? Expecting a child is associated with hormonal changes, which always affect the brain. The main fears of expectant mothers are difficult childbirth, miscarriages, the birth of a sick baby, and kidnapping of a baby.

The child has bad dreams

Why does my child have nightmares? Children's bad dreams are associated with fears that the child often creates on his own. Their source can be horror stories- creepy old women, black houses, cemeteries, spiders. A son or daughter may be afraid of moving to a new school, worried about family conflicts, afraid of parents' divorce, or suffering due to the death of a pet.

The source of a negative dream in a child, as in adults, can be illness; often bad dreams become companions of elevated temperature. By the way, you should take a hot bath at least two to three hours before going to bed. Some medications have by-effect, for example, antidepressants, antihistamines.

Films or computer games that contain scenes of violence are contraindicated for children. Such stories often return to them in dreams.

Teenager has bad dreams

Why do teenagers have nightmares every night? Adolescence is one of the most favorable periods for scary dreams. Happening puberty, conflicts occur with teachers, peers, and parents. There is a need to choose a future profession. Psychological maturity in most cases occurs much later, which leads to fears and worries.

Like children, teenagers can have bad dreams due to illness. The problem may lie in some medicines, their side effects or discontinuation of use. Lack of sleep schedule is harmful for teenagers. Also, negative consequences are possible due to too late dinners, which activate brain activity.

Nightmares and sports

Physical activity is good for health and effectively promotes healthy sleep. However, if a person overdoes heavy training, gets too carried away with exercise, nightmares will come to him often. In no case should you exercise before bed; the body should not receive serious stress three hours before going to bed. This applies to both adults and children.

But for healthy sleep, evening walks are simply invaluable. Views of the city at night, Fresh air The setting sun is an effective lullaby. The blood is fed with oxygen, clarity of consciousness comes. If you can’t go for a walk in the evening, you should definitely ventilate the bedroom. Stuffy rooms are one of the answers to the question of why I have nightmares every day.

Meditation promotes effective relaxation. A person plunges into his subconscious, relieves stress and gains balance. All this is the key to a comfortable sleep. Sexual contacts have approximately the same property. Hugs and kisses trigger a flow of positive emotions that can turn into pleasant dreams.

Things to do before bed

The shortest path to a nightmare is an emotional shock received in the evening. You can’t worry and scream; the subconscious will work through alarming situations even at night. It is better not to leave serious matters for the evening, not to create scandals. Even an unpleasant conversation on the phone can be a source of bad dreams.

Computer games and watching television also negatively affect human dreams. Even if we are not talking about scenes of violence, cruelty, or waves, magnetic waves propagated by the achievements of progress are enough to reduce the quality of recreation. They change brain activity, which can lead to negative dreams. Therefore, it is highly not recommended to place a TV in the bedroom.

And finally, fighting bad dreams, you should carefully examine your own bed. It should be as comfortable as possible. A good orthopedic mattress, properly selected blanket and pillow will reduce the likelihood of nightmares to a minimum.

Adequate sleep is an indispensable condition for good health and Have a good mood. However, this can be prevented by a nightmare. If nightmares constantly bother you, this is a compelling argument to think about your physical and mental health. Let's start with the concept of this problem.

Nightmare concept

A nightmare is essentially a dream with a creepy, threatening, unpleasant plot. If such a dream occurs in the REM phase, then the person realizes that what is happening is unreal and quickly wakes up. But such a dream is memorable and leaves an unpleasant feeling.

If a nightmare occurs during the deep sleep phase, unpleasant symptoms may occur, such as rapid pulse, palpitations, and increased sweating. After such an awakening, a person cannot understand what is a dream and what is reality. The plots of dreams can be different, it depends on the imagination and individual characteristics of the person.

If nightmares are constant, then unpleasant symptoms appear, such as:

• constant headaches;
• fatigue;
• nervousness.

To avoid this, let's look at the causes of nightmares.

Causes of nightmares

There are many different causes of nightmares. Let's look at the most common of them.

• Psychological trauma.
• Stressful situation (see also -).
• Difficulties in the family, with health, at work.
• Something seen the day before that caused strong negative emotions (accidents, disasters, death, etc.).
• Quarreling.
• A horror movie I watched the day before.
• Overeating at night.
• Cancellation of certain medications (sedatives, sleeping pills).
• Taking alcohol, drugs, strong medications.
• Negative factors (stuffiness, uncomfortable bed, extraneous noise, etc.).
• Physical or mental abuse.

The thing is that a person has 2 levels:

• Conscious.
• Unconscious.

And when we go to bed, our brain continues to work, sorting out everything we saw and heard. Dreams are one of the ways to organize information. All our desires, doubts, and fears are encrypted in them. Sigmund Freud also wrote about this. Thus, the unconscious tries to communicate with consciousness.

Who has nightmares?

Statistics show that nightmares are most often experienced by insecure people who are experiencing difficulties in some areas of life. Such dreams are less likely to affect successful, optimistic people. Nightmares also plague people with various neurological disorders and mental disorders.

Additional Information. Nightmares often bother overly emotional people, creative individuals who have a well-developed imagination.

An interesting fact is that women have nightmares more often than men. This is explained by the greater emotionality of women. Sometimes nightmares can bother children; let’s look at how and why this is possible in more detail.

Nightmares in children

The psyche of children is more mobile than that of adults. Therefore, even a small quarrel between parents can provoke nightmare. Perhaps the child will not show a reaction during the day, but at night his subconscious will betray fear. An isolated incident is normal. But if nightmares occur regularly, this is a reason to think about the child’s health and mental state.

First, analyze the child’s state while awake. How excitable, active, irritable he is, does he show aggression, does he fall asleep well or poorly, is he high or low? muscle tone. If there is a deviation from the norm, it is recommended to consult a neurologist.

If there are no neurological causes, then most likely it is due to psychological trauma or stress. To do this, you need to analyze family relationships. How many quarrels, screams, and discontent does a child see every day? Is his upbringing too strict, etc. If yes, then you need to remove negative factors from the child’s life. Spend more time with him, studying and playing.

Sometimes nightmares begin when entering kindergarten or school. This is a lot of stress for a child, especially for those who are strongly attached to their parents.

In this case, you need to tell your child more about school or kindergarten how fun and interesting it is. Talk to the teacher or teacher, explain the situation, and ask to be more attentive to your child.

It is advisable to feed the baby 1-1.5 hours before bedtime. It’s better to tell your baby a story or sing a song before bed than to turn on a cartoon. Older children can read by themselves.

Night terrors and nightmares in children (video)

For clarity, we recommend watching a video that talks about night terrors and nightmares. Also, common mistakes made by parents that can cause nightmares are discussed.

In order to sleep soundly all night and wake up fresh and rested in the morning, you need

• Ventilate the room well before going to bed.
• Bed linen should be made from natural fabrics, pleasant to the touch. If you have back problems, the mattress should be orthopedic. The child also needs the right orthopedic mattress.
• Don't overeat at night. It's better to drink a glass of kefir. It perfectly normalizes digestion.
• Do not watch TV with a horror movie at night, and do not play computer games.
• If you are very worried about personal problems, you can take light sedatives based on motherwort and valerian at night.

• Before going to bed, take a warm bath with herbs (lavender, lemon balm, valerian, mint, chamomile). For this, a couple of tbsp. l. Pour a liter of boiling water over the herbs and let it brew for about 15-20 minutes. Pour the finished infusion into the bath.
• Fall asleep thinking about pleasant things. Leave all worries and tasks for the morning.

If you cannot cope with the problem on your own, then you need the help of a specialist (neurologist, psychologist, psychotherapist).

You should definitely consult a doctor if you have the following circumstances that recur regularly:

• suffers from insomnia (we talked about its causes -);
• constant waking up, each period of sleep no more than an hour;
• after waking up at night, it takes a long time to fall asleep;
• awakening in a state of severe anxiety, anger, irritability;
• a dream about a real negative event that you constantly dream about.
• awakening with tachycardia, headache, sweating.

If necessary, the doctor will prescribe the necessary drug therapy if the nightmares are associated with psychological trauma or stress. Psychotherapy is effective.

What nightmares can tell you

Nightmares can reveal many personal problems. To do this, you need to try to remember your dream. In the morning you can write it down or sketch it.

If your nightmares are about being in awkward situations, then this usually indicates low self-esteem.

Nightmares or frightening dreams containing threats to life or safety charge us with negative emotions for the whole day. It is estimated that about 4% of the adult population experiences nightmares; among children and adolescents the percentage is much higher, at approximately 70%.

According to the definition of the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, nightmares are classified as parasomnia sleep disorders (translated from Latin Somnus means “dream”), which are associated with disturbances in the REM phase of sleep.

Causes of nightmares

Nightmares can have different origins and go “hand in hand” with mental disorders. Conditions that can cause nightmares include substance abuse, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and traumatic stress disorder.

There are several types of typical nightmares. Deserves special attention nightmares associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. They occur in up to 80% of patients and are the most easily diagnosed nightmares because the stress underlying nightmares comes from a traumatic experience such as an accident, war zone, rape, or loss. loved one. This type of parasomnia can accompany the patient throughout his life.

Recurring nightmares are based on real traumatic events from the past. Scientists suggest that recurring dreams are stored in memory in the form of a fixed pattern (fixed in the memory of the stress experienced). The nightmare scenario is most often autobiographical. Unlike other memories, a bad dream reproduces the events of the past in full, making you worry not only at night, but also throughout the day.

Severe stress can cause nightmares. Thus, a “vicious circle” is formed, stress causes a realistic nightmare, and the nightmare brings a strong negative impact on a person’s feelings after waking up. The mechanism repeats itself over and over again. The higher the stress level, the worse the nightmare. Trying to avoid nightmares will ultimately lead to REM sleep disturbances and early awakenings. Such a person will feel not rested and not enough sleep.

Nightmares may be the result influence of psychoactive substances, which disrupt the functions of mediator (conductor) systems in the brain (mainly associated with norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine, as well as acetylcholine and gamma-aminobutyric acid, GABA).

What symptoms should you consult a doctor for?

To get rid of nightmares you need to be treated under the supervision of a specialist. The problem is that most patients do not recognize this sleep disorder as a disease. Contacting a certified specialist with work experience is the best and effective method combating insomnia and nightmares.
Symptoms that require contacting a psychotherapist or somnologist:
- experiencing great difficulty falling asleep.
- you cannot sleep longer than 30 minutes,
- you wake up several times during the night and then cannot fall back to sleep,
- repeated episodes of awakening from sleep accompanied by feelings of intense anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, disgust and other negative emotions associated with the content of the dream,
- awakening occurs in “full combat readiness”, with a feeling of confusion of thoughts, the memory of the content of the dream immediately comes very clearly,
- Availability real event their past, which carries negative emotions and echoes the content of the dream.

Treating conditions that cause nightmares

Luckily, there are many treatments and ways to combat nightmares. People who have managed to overcome this disease have improved sleep quality, they wake up rested and are less overtired at work and sleep less during the day. Getting rid of nightmares improves your overall physical condition. Every nightmare is unique and only a doctor can decide what type of treatment to use.

There are several ways to eliminate nightmares.

1. First, you should analyze your habits related to falling asleep, because in many cases a small modification can significantly improve sleep quality.

2. You can also resort to drug therapy(always used under medical supervision!!!). Sleeping pills are most often used in the treatment of sleep disorders. Their effectiveness mainly depends on the cause of the nightmares. Drug therapy is best suited for treating parasomnias associated with substance abuse and waking nightmares.

Medications.
Sleeping pills: Bromisovalum, Diphenhydramine, Doxylaminum, Temazepamum, Phenobarbitalum, Flunitrazepamum, Flurazepamum, Estazolamum, Zaleplonum, Zolpidem (Z) olpidemum ), Zopiclonum, Clomethiazol, Midazolam, Nitrazepamum.
All drugs are addictive when used for more than 4 months and are strictly prescription drugs. Hypnotics of the diazepine group are best tolerated.

Hormonal therapy.
A safer drug in the treatment of parosomnia is melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland (located in the brain, part of the photoendocrine system), but after thirty years it produces too little of it. Disturbances in circadian (cyclical) sleep rhythms occur: increased fatigue, depressive syndrome develops. You can compensate for the lack of melatonin in the body using synthetically synthesized melatonin. It is sold in pharmacy chains under the same name, only from different manufacturers (Italian, Indian and Russian).

Phytotherapy.
Lavender flowers- natural sedative, helps improve sleep. It is used not only as a medicine for parasomnias, but also as a means to alleviate stress and irritability. Lavender is often added to baths. Bouquets of plant flowers placed in the bedroom can ensure healthy sleep.
Melissa grass- an infusion of lemon balm leaves acts as a sedative. Treats sleep disorders. Especially recommended for older people.
Valerian root– an infusion of the plant helps to fall asleep, calms, and eliminates insomnia. Valerian is also used to combat stress.

Each medicine contains substances that interfere with the body's natural cycle. Therefore, you need to be careful and moderate in the use of sleep medications. Chronic use of herbs and other natural medicines can lead to psychological dependence. Swallowing pills before bed becomes a kind of ritual that is repeated every night. Falling asleep naturally will become impossible, as the brain is constantly sending signals prompting you to take the medicine.

3. Psychotherapy. Best choice Psychotherapeutic assistance will be cognitive behavioral therapy. Various cognitive behavioral therapy techniques have been shown to be effective in reducing the incidence of nightmares. Therapy is aimed at changing the mechanism of the nightmare scenario by influencing the cognitive model of dream formation.
The most widely used are: imagery or rehearsal therapy. The treatment approach is based on the destruction of bad thoughts, emotions and behavior. The therapeutic procedure itself is very structured.
- The patient retrieves his nightmares from memory and writes them down.
- Then, under the guidance of a psychotherapist, some elements and details of individual events are changed so as to replace all the negative elements of the dream with positive ones.
- Later, a positive experience is consolidated, which can influence the content of nightmares that arise in the future.

Preventing Nightmares

1. If you are a light sleeper, then eliminate all sounds in the bedroom that interfere with sleep. Noise “paralyzes” the dream.
2. Move large clock faces out of the bedroom, away from your line of sight. You can hang them above your head or place them on the ground next to your bed. If you look at the clock before going to bed, you get the impression that time is passing more slowly, which then creates stress and agitation.
3. Lighting in the bedroom is very important. The eyelids allow light to pass through very easily, and simply closing your eyes may not be enough to maintain an adequate level of darkness for restful sleep. Good curtains or blinds should protect from light, lights from the street in the evening and at night, and from the first rays of the sun in the morning. If you like to read a book before bed, you should make sure that the light has a warm, natural color, preferably a low lamp power (but enough so as not to tire your eyes when reading text).
4. If you have trouble waking up, try exposing yourself to sunlight or bright light. This will restore biorhythms and, when dusk comes, it will be easier to fall asleep.
5. Always take care to change bed linen in a timely manner. Ventilate the room for a few minutes before going to bed.
6. Avoid extraneous strong odors in the bedroom (the smell of food, air freshener).
7. Do not bring food into the bedroom, the smell of food can make you hungry at the wrong time. Additionally, the presence of food in the bedroom can increase the likelihood of allergenic mold and mildew.
8. An hour before bedtime, you can allow yourself snacks containing carbohydrates, but do not exceed the calorie value of 100 - 200 calories (the number of calories is usually on the packaging of any food product). It is better to have a short snack in the evening, which will help prevent the desire to eat at night, hunger leads to loss of sleep.
9. During the day or 3-4 hours before bedtime, you should do physical exercise for at least 30 minutes. In addition, physical activity helps prevent stress, which is one of the main factors that disrupt sleep.
10. Room temperature is very important for sleep. The bedroom should be cooler than the rest of the apartment. It is better to choose a bedroom in an apartment with the fewest windows that are not located on the sunny side, or simply equip the room with air conditioning.
11. Limit your intake alcoholic drinks in evening time. After 19:00 it is better not to drink alcohol at all. Alcohol, at first, will make it easy to fall asleep, but the sleep will not be deep and intermittent. The more alcohol you drink, the more time your body needs to process it. Sleep during this period will be of poor quality; the fast phase will not occur on time. As a result, the likelihood of nightmares will increase.
12. You should not drink coffee and strong tea more than two cups a day. After 15.00 you should not drink coffee at all. Caffeine remains in the body for a significant period of time, and its presence can cause sleep disruption and fragmentation.

Following basic sleep hygiene principles will help eliminate many of the causes of parosomnia, but in some cases it may not be enough to resolve all problems associated with nightmares. Good sleep hygiene is essential for any planned treatment to have the desired beneficial effect.

Psychiatrist Kondratenko N.A.

Do you often have nightmares? What to do and how to get rid of them?

There was a lively discussion about dreams in the childbirth preparation group. What kind of dreams do pregnant women have: rainbow and colorful or gloomy and nightmarish?

Oksana was about 30 years old and was expecting her first child. She said that she was bothered by the same unpleasant dream: “I’m running away along a deserted street, a man is running after me, but I still can’t escape.”

This dream was repeated so often that when she woke up, she felt overwhelmed. While working with Oksana, she talked a little more about her dream: “I run and run into my yard, where I spent my childhood. Mom still lives there, the man runs after me, and then I wake up.”

I, as a psychologist, said: “Let’s see what happens in your soul when I tell you that mom opened the door.”

Oksana seemed to have a push from within, her eyes opened wide, she said: “Mom, I don’t know what changes will happen to me after the birth of a child, but I’m counting on your help.”

Thus, Oksana subconsciously expected her mother’s help, and the dream clearly testified to this, but their real relationship (her mother’s everyday hyperprotection) did not allow them to say this openly.

Later, during subsequent meetings, Oksana said that she began to quarrel with her mother more often, because she perceived her care as an annoying service, and still did not want to realize that she was counting on her help.

Our dreams are our key to our subconscious!

If you are plagued by stress during the day, you have to experience aggression, feel anxiety and this whole “bouquet” of experiences has to be suppressed, problems are not solved in any way, and there is no way out for emotions, then you can expect that these experiences will find a way out in nightmares. Nightmares are a product of brain activity that cannot cope with stress and negativity in the waking state.

Our unconscious part is trying to tell us that something needs to change. Perhaps there is an unresolved problem that keeps us in suspense, and for various reasons we put off solving it, maybe even avoid thinking about it. The source of restless dreams can be work, significant changes in life, upcoming exams, worries about financial issues, etc.

A dream speaks to us in the language of symbols, signs, which we can decipher on our own. When you wake up, you can ask yourself: “What could this dream mean? What message is my subconscious sending me?

Try to treat your nightmares as advisors who help you see what you are hiding from and do not want to admit to yourself during the day. When you realize your problems, get rid of inner fear, resolve emotional conflicts, then disturbing dreams will stop visiting you.

According to S. Freud: “Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious.”

From the point of view of psychoanalysis, dreams are a reflection of a person’s unconscious images and desires.
Sigmund Freud believed that the meaning of a dream is the fulfillment of our desire, which can be conscious or unconscious.

And even if you have nightmares in which a person experiences fear or anxiety, Freud argued that every dream is the fulfillment of a wish.

Fear, anxiety, and horror experienced in a dream are censorship that prevents one from receiving pleasure from prohibited actions.
Thus, the desire to show aggression towards another person or some forbidden sexual action can be deeply hidden in a person’s subconscious and protected by internal censorship with the help of nightmares.

The subconscious speaks in symbols and images.

For each person, this or that event, this or that plot carries its own personal meaning, which is why it is so important to find out the feelings and emotions of a person in relation to what he saw in a dream.

That is why you should not rely heavily on dream books, since the same symbol, the same image, can carry completely different semantic meanings for different people.

When analyzing and interpreting dreams, it is better to rely on your own feelings. It is very useful to interpret dreams in dialogue, which allows you to see the dream both from the inside from the position of the person who saw the dream) and from the outside (from the position of an outside observer of the dream being told).

Analyzing your own dreams can be very useful.

Sleep is a reflection of our unconscious. Everything that we don’t like or don’t accept is repressed into the unconscious and from there, sometimes, like on a movie screen, it is projected to us in a dream. That is why S. Freud, C. Jung and many other classics of psychology used dream analysis to interpret real life person. At a conscious level, we do not always convey true information about our lives, our worries and fears. Everything that causes mental stress and we, for some reason, do not make decisions about the necessary actions in our daily lives, is repressed into the unconscious and we simply will not see it on a conscious level. In addition, we will clearly fight against unfair suspicions of psychologists and psychotherapists in working with us.

In our dreams, we do not always see verbatim facts from our personal lives. They can be presented in the form of symbols and images.

And yet, if we are restless after sleep, we are bothered by nightmares and unpleasant stories that are simply frightening, it means that there are unresolved problems in life and we cannot solve them on our own.

Nightmare(fr. Cauchemar, from other French caucher- press and mare- night ghost) - a frightening, disturbing, terrible dream. In mythology, nightmares are often explained by the action of otherworldly forces. In the Russian people, nightmares are considered the pranks of the brownie. Nightmares are often the subject of literary works and horror films.

Medical sleep studies show that approximately three quarters of the dream narrative and the emotions associated with it are negative and, in turn, lead to interruption of the sleep cycle and awakening. On average this happens once a month. In children under 5 years of age, nightmares are rare, more often in children of primary school (25% of children once a week) and less often in adults - from 25 to 55 years old with a decreasing frequency.

Usually a dream in the form of a nightmare takes obvious plot forms, Moreover, the dreamer himself is at the center of the plot. The plot develops in the form of a pursuit, a series of accidents, the result of which is usually the death of the dreamer, but at the very last moment he wakes up.
One of Optina elders said to his spiritual child in response to the question posed to him about dreams. “Don’t pay attention to dreams, they won’t come true.”

Excessive attention to dreams can not only deprive you of peace of mind and even lead to mental disorders, but also push you down the dangerous path of trusting temptations and suggestions.

Do you often have nightmares? Rarely for me. But just recently, for once, I was watching fascinating, but blood-rich TV series until one in the morning.... the night was a waste: I tossed and turned, and woke up, and took part in some operations - brrrrrr.

What do I want to say with this introduction? The only thing is that nightmares don’t just happen. Nightmares always tell their owner that something is wrong in his life, that there are some repressed experiences that are worth remembering. And there may be several reasons. One of these reasons, the most banal and ordinary (in my case), but which can happen almost every evening for many, is a careless attitude towards one’s emotional health - watching a lot of TV series at night. This is especially harmful and contraindicated for women and children, as well as people suffering from various diseases. In this case, you should take more care of yourself and your emotional health. Fortunately, there is now a lot of literature that very popularly explains what is useful and what is not to do before bed....read....and, perhaps, by changing your habits before bed, you will significantly improve its quality, and therefore improve your health.

The next reason that can provoke nightmares at night is emotional trauma from childhood, various fears, and emotions of fear that are not responded to in a timely manner. In this case, it is best to contact a specialist who, in a safe atmosphere, will help you remember and relive the traumatic situation.

Nightmares can also indicate that a person’s conscience is too burdened with negative actions that are not visible to other people, but the person himself knows very well about them or continues to do them consciously. In this case, it is a question of morality and the values ​​that guide a person in his life, and God is his judge, and nightmares are a signal: what are you spending your life on?

Experienced personally or as a witness of various disasters: train, plane, etc. crashes, natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, etc.), tragic death in front of a person’s eyes, and so on. All this is also “favorable” soil for nightmares. In this case, the most important thing is to talk through all your emotions with someone before the first night. If this does not happen, then at the first sign of disturbing dreams, contact a psychologist, without bringing your condition to the point of needing to see a doctor.

Of course, there are many more causes and types of nightmares. The main thing is to always remember that this is not just the case, that there is always a WHY the dream becomes disturbing or nightmarish, and to take care of yourself in a timely manner. If not you, then no one. Take care of yourself and be healthy.