What Causes Nightmares, and How Can You Prevent Them?

nightmares and how to prevent them. For the article this episode is based on, Has to Work. Spoke by email with clinical psychologist and sleep expert Dr Michael Bruce. He explained nightmares typically happened during rim sleep, during the middle and later portions of the night. Because of where nightmares tend to fall in the sleep cycle, and because of the intensity of their imagery and emotions, nightmares will result

in some degree of awakening. You may bolt upright in bed and have trouble returning to sleep thanks to a nightmare. We don't know exactly why nightmares happen, but Bruce says it's possible that they helped the brain quote practice, prepare, and even anticipate difficult or dangerous experiences in waking life.

Sometimes such issues need attention in daylight hours. Maybe if you're dreaming about car accidents, that's an anxiety about driving that may be lessened by getting work you've been putting off done on your car, or by talking to a therapist about your fears. Bruce said, of course, it's possible that nightmares, like dreams in general, don't have a primary function, that they are a byproduct of other activities in the body, but most sleep scientists think that dreams and nightmares exist

for some purpose. Certain circumstances and characteristics may make some people more prone to nightmares than others. Folklore often attributes nightmares to eating too much rich food before bedtime, but the jury is still allowed on whether this is true. One study from did find a link between eating dairy or spicy foods before bedtime and having disturbing dreams, but the study authors noted that this couldn't be proven conclusively because the data were self reported and there were a

lot of other variables to consider. For instance, some of the participants were binge eaters, a practiced inter minute fasting, or may have had undiagnosed reactions to certain foods. Physical and mental health issues are more reliably linked to having nightmares. How staff works also spoke the Dr Barry Craiko, a Savannah,

Georgia based internist and sleep medicine specialist. He explained that people who have been traumatized are at higher risk of nightmares, offering examples like war veterans, those who have suffered sexual or criminal salt, or those who have been in a life threatening accident. And bad dreams are more common in people who experience it's anxiety or depression, or who misuse alcohol or other drugs, and research in recent decades has shown that people who experience sleep disorders are also more

likely to have nightmares. Specifically, people with undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea are at a higher risk. People will sleep apnea stop and then start breathing again hundreds of times throughout the night. Although it's largely associated with snoring, a person doesn't have to snore to have sleep apnea. People will sleep apnea are often very tired during the day, even when they've supposedly slept all through the night. Other symptoms are gasping for air while sleeping, dry mouth or

headache in the morning. Problems staying asleep, and irritability and attention issues. According to Craiko, the many misconceptions regarding sleep apnea make it tough for a person to get diagnosed, and this is a big deal because, in addition to nightmares, sleep apnea is associated with greater risk of diabetes, brain dysfunction, heart disease, and other disorders. He said, so many children have sleep apnea and they don't get diagnosed until they're

fifty years old. There are so many deaths caused over the course of time by oxygen not getting to the brain. Quaco's practice helps treat mental health patients who have sleep disorders, including nightmares. He said, so many of these have undiagnosed sleep apnea. The vast majority report reducing sleep apnea by using a c PAP machine, which then appeared to decrease nightmares. A c PAP is continuous positive airway pressure therapy, a

standard treatment for people with obstructive sleep apnea. The problem is that many mental health professionals, whom people typically approach for help with nightmares, aren't aware of the link. Craikko said, some people go into psychotherapy for years for PTSD and the nightmares don't go away. But if sleep apnea isn't the root cause of nightmares, other treatment options are of

a ellable. One endorsed by the American Sleep Academy is image rehearsal therapy or i r T. Craiko explained how it works, quote, if you teach somebody how to picture a new version of your dream in your mind's eye while you're awake, and that has a very powerful impact over your dreams. By picturing new images, they seem to be activating and imaging system that sets into motion the process of decreasing disturbing dreams. He noted that it only takes a couple of weeks to see clear cut decreases

in nightmares. A study he helped publish back in two thousand one showed dramatic results in the group that received the I r T treatment, of patients had their post traumatic stress symptoms decrease by at least one level of clinical severity. In the control group, meanwhile, of patients experienced

their symptoms either not changing or worsening. Craiko notes that i r T is just as powerful as somebody useing a PTSD medication, and he notes that for many people it's not even necessary to visit a professional to engage in I r T, you can look into Imagery Rehearsal Therapy online. The lessons and workbooks are available for download for low or no cost. Today's episode is based on the article what causes Nightmares and how can You Lessen Them?

On how stuff works dot Com written by A. Leah Hoyt. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows