Taking a Look at Nightmare Disorders

Dreaming is yet another state of consciousness. A dream is simply an unfolding episode of mental images that involve characters and events. Dreams usually tend to occur during REM sleep but can occur during NREM sleep as well. We dream on a variety of topics, subjects, and individuals. No dream can be exactly interpreted or defined, therefore people have always been fascinated with what, why, and how we dream. An unpleasant and almost terrifying type of dream is a nightmare. This is a very vivid, almost real

Night terrors are a type of parasomnia, that cause screaming, intense fear, and flailing, while still asleep. These episodes are most common but not limited to children between ages of four to twelve, for they can also still occur in adults. Mostly children are affected by this parasomnia, but only three to six percent of them have these night terrors, and the percentage of occurrences in adults are lower. Some studies show that there are some variables, such as tiredness, or drugs, may cause a development of these disturbances during sleep. While most will grow out of their sleep terrors, some may not, and must find different ways to control or reduce their chances of having night terrors. Usually, night terrors are not normally due to psychiatric disorders, so with that in mind, it is logical to assume that they are often triggered by certain environmental factors.

The US National Library of Medicine defines a nightmare as, “a bad dream that brings out strong feelings of fear, terror, distress, or anxiety.” A dream, then, is a series of thoughts or images that happen during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. Research has shown that the biggest amount of common adult dreams are in a category known as “pseudonightmarish” dreams, which is essentially any dream of being in trouble or in danger, being alone and/or trapped, something you don’t have control over (like losing your teeth), or facing natural forces.

“Night terrors are not technically dreams but are instead sudden fearful reactions that occur during transportation from one sleep form to another” usually the transition of going from non-REM to REM sleep (Edwards). NREM, or non-REM, is the stages before REM sleep. And “The longer the person is in NREM (non-REM) before the night terror strikes, the more petrified they will be when it occurs” (Richards). Terrors are called a few different things, like sleep terror, but are known medically as pavor nocturnus. Like many medical terms, pavor nocturnus is Latin, and it means “fear of the night” (Strickland).

Confrontation of the dream begins with psychoeducation about Imagery Rehearsal as well as the role of nightmares in PTSD and how nightmares can create and exacerbate insomnia and other sleep disorders which may be co-morbid with PTSD (Krakow & Zadra, 2006). Avoidance of trauma-related nightmares is another aspect of PTSD nightmares which can be addressed through confrontation of nightmares through psychoeducation in treatment. In addition to psychoeducation, confrontation of trauma-related nightmares occurs through either verbal retelling of the dream or writing the dream down (Pagel et al.,

Night terrors also known as sleep terrors can be defined as a “sleeping disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified” (Meyers, 2014). Night terrors most commonly occur with children. Many people in general not just parents get confused between a nightmare and a night terror. Nightmares occur during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep which is a state of sleep where people are conscious. When a person wakes up from a nightmare they have a “vivid memory of a long movie like a dream” (nightterrors.org). Night terrors, on the other hand, occur “during NERM-3 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered” (Meyers, 2014). Since the child is in such deep sleep he/she will not remember a night terror. Since the child cannot remember their dream it makes it hard for doctors and psychologist to figure out what the child is fearful of, and why it is occurring. Although it is difficult for professionals to diagnose, it is beneficial to the child not

Those who experience lucid dreaming in the stage of REM sleep are aware of their dreams and able to control their dreams. Lucid dreaming could be a possible treatment for those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who suffer from nightmares. During lucid dreaming in a nightmare, the PTSD patients would be able to let go of their fear by recognizing the threats they have in their dreams are not real. PTSD patients can also transform their dreams into something more pleasant or try to wake up from their sleep. A case study proved this idea to be true; the reoccurring dreams the patients would experience were going away after they were introduced into lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming could be difficult to accomplish, but there are several techniques that can trigger lucid dreaming. For a period of time, researchers have been pondering and searching for ways to help those who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. This topic is interesting to investigate lucid dreaming and how can it be a method of psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. During this research, online, primary, and book resources were used. Therefore, this essay will deal with the following research question: How can lucid dreaming be used as a method of psychotherapy in those who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder?

Dreams are generally linked with rapid eye movement sleep, or REM sleep, which is a phase that happens near the end of a sleep cycle. REM sleep is characterized by the random movement of the eyes and heightened body and brain activity. One study proposed that there is a definitive link between dreams and emotions, where the reduction of REM sleep causes a reduction in the ability to comprehend the multifaceted emotions in everyday life (Gujar, 2011, p.117). This phase of the sleep cycle has the highest inclination of vivid dreams and studies of MRIs of the brain during REM sleep show that the amygdala and hippocampus play a key role (Gennaro, 2011, p.1458). The amygdale processes the memory of emotional reactions and the hippocampus stores information from short-term to long-term memory. These findings reveal the core mechanism and perhaps the reason that humans dream. Dreams seem to aid in processing emotions by linking them to a variety of memories. The experiences within dreams may not be real, but the emotions that accompany the images and events during REM sleep are unquestionably genuine. Without processing these emotions, the emotions build up and personal anxiety increases. With less REM sleep, people tend to be more agitated and mental disorders are more easily developed

I negatively judged the difference between night terrors and nightmares. I related them to each other and made the assumption that they were different only in the dreams. This was not true and learning more about night terrors made me change my position on what the difference really was between night terrors and nightmares. Night terrors are “a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified” Myers (2014). Nightmares, whoever, occur during the early morning REM while night terrors occur during the REM 3 stage of sleep. In REM 3 the brain is more active which is why “night terror patients showed an inhibition of outward expressions of aggression and a predominance of anxiety, depression, tendencies obsessive-compulsive/,

Likewise, Isa stands agape after hearing the news about VIP tickets to Nightmare. All thoughts of finishing their lunches before the end of block leaves their minds replaced by the breaking news.

I guess we should start with what is a nightmare. Nightmare is a frightening or unpleasant dream. Nightmares that occur frequently are a parasomnia (or a disorder characterized by abnormal or unusual behavior of the nervous system during sleep) dream state event, in which visual sequences unfold that often depict imagery or situations that are particularly disturbing or frightening to the individual experiencing them, and may often come from fears in their own subconscious.

Night terrors can seem to be nightmares, but occur during NREM-3 sleep, which is a stage of sleep when you are hard to waken. Originally I considered my childhood nightmares night terrors, but unlike night terrors I could easily wake myself up and never talked or walked around during an episode. Sleep walking can sometimes be linked to night terrors, but are also they're own separate disorder. Within the NREM-3 a person can be prone to sleepwalking, especially if it runs in the family. I personally have been in

Night terrors, nightmares, and sleepwalking are all cases that fall into sleep disorders called parasomnias. Parasomnias are disruptive sleep disorders that can occur during arousal from either rapid eye movement or even non-rapid eye movement. Children from the age’s four to twelve of ages experience night terrors.

What do dreams mean? Where do they come from? There are many theories in the world about dreams, and what they mean, but it all depends on the person. Many people with BPD have vivid nightmares, causing them to lose more sleep and even develop a fear of sleeping. In 1913, Frederik Van Eeden published a book titled, “A Study of Dreams” (Turner). He went into detail about lucid dreams, and how it improves a person’s sleep. He named the deepest stage of sleep one could experience “lucid dreaming.” He defined it as, “the reintegration of the psychic functions is so complete that the sleeper remembers day-life and his own condition, reaches a state of perfect awareness, and is able to direct his attention, and to attempt different acts of free volition” (Turner). People can become fully aware that they are dreaming, and are in control, the mind relaxes completely, making it the deepest most desirable stage of sleep. It was not discovered and confirmed until 2009, by a German study conducted at the Neurological Laboratory in Frankfurt, that brain activity significantly increased during lucid dreams (Turner). This time is extremely important for people’s mental health.

Anxiety and depression have a substantial impact on recalling dreams. Consequently, when a person is anxious or depressed they tend to wake up more often throughout the night (Caceres). Waking up in the middle of a dream makes it easier to remember. If a dream has finished while you are sleeping, there is a much greater chance of not remembering it because your brain has drifted from the REM period to another stage in the sleep cycle. This can be explained with the instance of waking up during a nightmare and remembering exactly what was happening. When the waking is done naturally the body is able to recall dreams; however, when waking is unnatural it results in the opposite effect. For this reason, recalling our previous thoughts is often difficult to do with the assistance of alarm clocks, or other devices, because of their abruptness (Edwards, 2). The shocking noise can interrupt a person’s sleep pattern so suddenly, creating a blank mind when trying to reflect on a dream. The brain controls dreams and impacts how well and what we remember each morning. While the influence of outside factors can also trick the mind. Except health is not the only factor which affects