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Cures for Nightmares

Millions of Americans have, at one time or another, suffered from nightmares. Often the episodes are fleeting and fade with whatever underlying anxieties that triggered them in the first place. However, for those experiencing recurring nightmares, sleep can become an enemy. Nighttime panic can spill over to waking hours and combine with interrupted sleep patterns to disrupt all aspects of the dreamer’s life. To fully cure nightmares, examination of their likely causes must first take place. Once you understand where they are coming from, it is easier to lay them to rest.

  1. Good Health

    • High fevers can often bring about nightmares and even hallucinations. If your nightmares coincide with an illness, it is probably safe to assume that once your fever breaks, your dreams will leave you in peace. Fever reducing medications can expedite the process.

    Diet

    • Certain foods and drinks can exacerbate an already overactive mind. Avoiding heavy meals right before bedtime, too much caffeine, and particularly alcohol can help to ward off nightmares.

    Medications

    • Medications intended to cure one ailment may have unintended side effects. Some medications can suppress REM sleep, that period of time in which dreams occur. As a result, rather than the typical three to five periods of REM sleep in a night most of us have, a medicated person may have fewer periods of intensified REM and correspondingly intense nightmares.

    Meditation

    • Because nightmares are often brought on by stress, meditation before bedtime can help remove this common trigger. Even 15 minutes of relaxation exercises before sleep can do wonders to reduce night time anxiety.

    Re-enactment

    • The art of lucid dreaming is something that anyone can learn and it can do much to stop nightmares before they build to full terror. If you can remember the details of a bothersome dream, write them down. Leave a pen and paper by the night stand. Once fully awake, fill in the details of your nightmare and imagine varying scenarios to remove the dangers from the dream. Question the characters; ask them if you are dreaming. Then, when you are off to sleep on a subsequent night, purposely try to recreate the nightmare and its alternate version. By rescripting the nightmare, you not only take away your fear of it, you retake control. Even within the confines of your dream world, you can remain lucid and ask, "Am I dreaming?"

    Therapy

    • Because some nightmares may be the result of post traumatic stress syndrome or other psychological afflictions, it may be necessary to seek professional help. Only by getting to the root of the problem will you be able to understand where your subconscious mind goes to when it dreams.

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