During sleep, the body should receive proper rest. But sometimes the whole night is haunted by nightmares, from which a person wakes up in a sticky sweat. The next day he feels overwhelmed and tired. Why do many people have nightmares, why sometimes a child cannot sleep?

Causes

Nightmares dream of both adults and children, especially younger ones. Their plots can be very diverse, but usually the sleeper experiences a feeling of anxiety, fear and hopelessness. Scientists believe that terrible dreams arise as a result of brain activity, and their causes may be as follows.

• A nightmare can be a dream after a holiday party, when a person experiences discomfort and pain due to an overloaded stomach. Alcohol can also be the cause.
• Stuffiness in the house, an uncomfortable bed, bright lights or loud music, physical overwork - all these factors can become a source of nightmares.
• Terrible dreams can be provoked by strong nervous tension caused by a personal tragedy, an extreme situation.
• Smoking also affects dreams. The human nervous system is very finely structured, and such a substance as nicotine, which in its essence is a poisonous stimulant, destroys the nervous system. And the quality of sleep directly depends on the state of our nervous system.
• High temperature during a cold is also the cause of such a dream.
• Some professions are associated with the need to deal with blood, death, violent scenes that can cause nightmares. For example, doctors and soldiers suffer from this.
• Representatives have a rich imagination, for them nightmarish visions at night are not uncommon.
• A nightmare may be evidence of some problem that needs to be solved, but a person is not yet able to make a choice.
• A bad dream can haunt if some kind of resentment or trauma was inflicted in childhood. It seems to a person that she has long been forgotten, but on a subconscious level she worries him.
• Scientists have proven that electromagnetic pulses from numerous household appliances can have a negative effect on the brain of a sleeping person and provoke terrible dreams.

Babies are vulnerable and impressionable, so nightmares are a common occurrence in childhood. Terrible dreams can be a manifestation of stress received due to:

• family scandal;
• punishment for misconduct;
• random fright;
• frequent viewing of horror films.

What to do if you have nightmares every day

To get rid of regular nightmares, it is necessary to eliminate those factors that interfere with restful sound sleep:

• do not eat heavy food at night, but be content with a light dinner 3 hours before bedtime;
• in the evening before going to bed, a quiet walk in the fresh air is useful - it should become a daily habit, a necessity;
• a pleasant relaxing bath before going to bed will provide a good rest;
• if you smoke, then try not to smoke at least a couple of hours before bedtime, but it is better to completely abandon this harmful activity. In the 21st century, there are quick and highly effective ways to quit smoking. Learn more about it;
• a cup of herbal tea will calm the nervous system;
• soothes and good music;
• from the bedroom you need to remove all objects that irritate or distract attention;
• before going to bed, you should regularly air the bedroom;
• for a good sleep, silence is an important condition, so you need to turn off the TV;
• you need to stop watching scary movies: even if you like them, fear and a sense of danger are still deposited in the brain.

What to do if a comfortable environment for sleep has been created, but it still remains disturbing? Why do I have nightmares every night, despite the creation of favorable conditions for rest? In this case, it is worth checking your health.

Nightmares can warn of a serious illness that does not yet give obvious symptoms. A recurring dream sometimes even tells you exactly where the pathology develops. It is necessary to be examined to find out the presence or absence of a problem and methods of treatment.

It happens that frequent nightmares can be a manifestation of the side effects of drugs or bad habits. You need to get rid of them, change drugs or stop taking them.

What does all this mean?

Dreams have always been a mystery. Until now, psychoanalysts, starting with Freud, put forward various hypotheses explaining their mechanism. Many of them believe that nightmares contribute to the regulation of internal conflicts of consciousness. However, their mechanism is not fully understood. Modern researchers distinguish two types of dreams that occur at different stages of rest.

• The first type is characterized by the saturation of the plot, such a dream begins to occur a few hours after a person falls asleep. When he wakes up, he immediately realizes that he saw an illusion.
• Another type of dreams develops in the first hour or two and is characterized by involuntary cries, human movements. After a sudden awakening, he does not immediately understand where he is.

In any case, dreams have some kind of secret meaning, which a person cannot yet unravel. Nightmares warn of some upcoming events, the barely noticeable signs of which are not seen by consciousness, but are noted by the subconscious of a person.

Get rid of obsessive dreams

Some techniques allow you to completely get rid of terrible dreams. If a person often sees nightmares, he needs to try to reprogram his mind and predict the successful ending of the vision.

Nightmare often accompanies critical periods of life, which are associated with certain obstacles. You can try to analyze the stages of your activity to find out why you have bad dreams:

• on a separate piece of paper you need to write out all the problems that cause anxiety;
• it is necessary to analyze them and outline possible solutions;
• one must assure oneself that there are no problems that do not have a solution;
• then you need to burn the leaflet and begin specific actions to eliminate the indicated problem.

You don't have to be afraid to take action. Fear will pass as it arises from uncertainty. Once the problem is solved, the nightmares will disappear.

Psychologists advise writing down dreams, of course, if they are remembered. Then you need to carefully analyze all the details and images. You need to share what you see with as many people as possible. A dream spoken out loud will cease to frighten, and someone close to you may notice a detail that will help clarify the problem.

Drawing gives good results. Creative people can easily depict on paper the plot and details of the dream. The drawing process itself also has a calming effect on the psyche.

Regular exercise is a great way to bring your emotional state into balance and get rid of bad dreams.

Often nightmares are beneficial, as they contribute to emotional unloading, the release of negative feelings after severe stress. But if dreams do not stop and do not lead to balance, you need to contact a specialist.

If a child has nightmares, parents should keep a diary and keep track of their frequency and possible connection with external events. It should be explained to the baby that he will definitely defeat all the enemies in his nightmare, that mom and dad will definitely protect him. It is important to create an atmosphere of safety for him at home.

Whatever the nightmare, it is not a real event and should not complicate a person's life. And if a dream reveals problems that have not yet been resolved, you just need to eliminate them in time. And then the nightmares will be replaced by pleasant color visions.