Nightmares are frightening; they can be miserable dreams that occur during the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and one can easily explain their dreams upon awakening. There are several factors responsible for these nightmares, such as stress, traumas, medications, and anxiety. Well, a nightmare can only be a dream in certain situations, repeatedly seeing horrible dreams might be dangerous. Many common nightmares are warnings of your medical ailment, underlying mental illnesses or the desire for changes.
Let’s learn more from this article about nightmares and what do they mean
What Are Nightmares?
Nightmares are a form of dream in which you experience great feelings of fear, worry, or misery. The primary distinction between a nightmare and a terrible dream is that nightmares lead you to awaken from sleep. Nightmares can be exceedingly unpleasant and expressed in a variety of ways. We can divide nightmares into three types—namely: Recurring nightmares. Simply said, recurrent dreams are dreams that occur repeatedly throughout time. Because of their recurring character, these dreams are usually thought to indicate unresolved conflict or suppressed desires. Fever dreams: they are powerful and occur intensely when you have high body temperatures but settles down as soon as the fever subsides. Vivid Dreams are forgettable and the majority of people forget about their nightmare but they can have a lasting impact on your mind.
Why Do Nightmares occur?
Common nightmares catch us all from time to time, their occurrence is a warning sign that one has a stressful lifestyle. Below are listed some common reasons for nightmares.
Regular consumption of medications
When a person is on certain medications or supplements regularly or for a small period it can trigger a variety of common nightmares. consuming medications, such as antidepressants, beta-blockers, and sleep pills affects brain activity and neurotransmitters which can cause changes to the way you dream.
Consuming Heavy meals before going to bed
It’s been always advised to consume light meals before going to bed as it helps you to stay healthy with a healthy weight but eating right before bed is the rapid cause of weight gain. Another reason is to prevent yourself from haunting nightmares. Your brain becomes more active after eating a heavy meal just before going to sleep as it increases the chances of a frightening nightmare.
Sleep Apnea causes nightmares
It is a sleep disorder involving irregular patterns of breathing. People suffering from this condition experience that their breathing tends to stop and start abruptly when they’re sleeping. They may experience choking nightmares such as dreaming about lack of oxygen, finding themselves drowning, feeling suffocated in dreams or experiencing something heavy on their chest.
Common Nightmares That Are Actually Warnings
Nightmares can’t be true but they can be something meaningful or a warning sign so that while taking important decisions you are alert and conscious enough to understand the better side of the situation. Let’s read some common nightmares that are actually warnings.
You are Being chased
Nightmares are disturbing if you experience that you are chased out by something in your dreams whether it is an 8-foot-tall monster or a large insect then it’s a warning that indicates you are escaping from someone or something in your life. When you try to suppress emotions then the change in the dream could be your manifestation.
Teeth falling out
Experiencing a nightmare that is associated with your facial features is really a haunting one. If you ever find yourself brushing your teeth in the mirror and one by one your teeth start falling out, it is really a scary nightmare.
Experiencing your teeth falling out in your dreams can mean multiple things. One interpretation could be a change involving some form of loss in your life, whether that’s a breakup, losing a job, or even losing a significant amount of money.
Catching fire
Another most common nightmares is dreaming about catching fire. The catching fire is a warning that soon you may experience a change that could potentially cause problems. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung explains that fire demonstrates change or transformation. So, if you dream about something catching fire, it could mean that you are going to deal with a situation that poses problems or end up being beneficial in the long run.
Getting shot
This is really terrifying. Generally people do not like to get involved in any situation and experiencing getting shot is a shocking nightmare, there can be multiple reasons for such nightmares. For instance, if you watched a disturbing incident or movie where you have watched someone getting shot then you’re likely to have this dream. This nightmare is a warning sign that you’re fighting for survival in your day-to-day life. This also indicates your struggles to achieve your goals or you are stuck in an uncomfortable situation.
Scary Nightmares of Tornadoes
Tornadoes are mighty and when they come they leave disaster behind them. It is a warning of commotion, your fears, worries and anxieties. Dreaming of tornadoes means that you are going to be in a challenging situation that you can’t escape. Their appearance is a sign to think twice before you make choices or big decisions in your life whether it’s related to your career, family or marriage.
Dreaming of Falling in Sleep
It’s a common nightmare. The majority of people dream of falling and waking up suddenly. It could be a warning of things happening in your life. You may lose control over situations, you may feel helpless and overwhelmed in certain circumstances.
Such nightmares also interpret anxiety, insecurity, a loss of control, a sense of inadequacy, and instability.
Nightmares of Getting Drowned
Whether you know how to swim or not you will find yourself drowning in your nightmares, it’s a warning sign that you are feeling overwhelmed and in an inescapable situation in your life. It also interprets for you to think about yourself, although there is no scientific evidence that dreams have any specific meaning they are not real and should not be given much importance
When You Are Being attacked
This dream can appear if you are intensely anxious and scared of a particular situation in your life.
Being Naked In Public
Nightmares of being naked in public spots are really scary and breathtaking, after being awakened you may feel terrible and exhausted. It’s a common nightmare that is actually a warning that you may be feeling exposed, a secret of your could be revealed, you may feel embarrassed and shameful about the secret, if it comes into light it also means that you have been dishonest about something and struggling hard to hide it from from people who are important in your life.
Stuck in Terrible Earthquakes
This common nightmare that is actually a warning sign indicates some instability in your life. Perhaps something at work or in your personal life is falling apart, you’re unsure of how to deal with the change. When you are not stable in your life, you need to change your perspective towards life. If you do not make changes your personal life may fall apart and you may not be able to deal with the situation.
Nightmares of Getting lost
Nightmares about getting lost could be a sign that you’re feeling frustrated about a situation you’re navigating through. Essentially, it might mean that you’re feeling unsettled because the problem you’re in is new, unpredictable, and scary.
Lost in Strong Hurricanes
It’s a warning of troubling times for you. Hurricane nightmares depicts that strong winds of change are going to arise in your life, you may go through intense emotion and big changes in your life
What Are The Reasons Contributing To Nightmare
Nightmares are really upsetting, they make you feel sick and unable to sleep soundly. There are several reasons contributing to nightmares, it may vary person to person, these are spontaneous and scary sometimes.
Sleep Deprivation: it can be a primary reason in young adults, a number of physiological triggers such as depression, stress disorder and anxiety issues makes people experience sleep disorders.
Too Many Stressors: your nightmares increase when your brain’s limit of digesting several stresses reaches above par. One suffering with it must seek a mental health professional who can help you in transitioning you.
Bipolar Disorder: there are Individuals with several health problems and that can also be a mental health issue. People who have bipolar disorder can experience both depressive and manic symptoms. While nightmares do occur more frequently with bipolar disorder,
Anxiety Disorders: the overactive amygdala activity is connected with both anxiety disorders and nightmares, around 16% of individuals with anxiety disorder also experience nightmare disorder.
Asthma: children, young people, adults or older adults can experience nightmares due to the asthma, getting scared at night in young children with asthma during their sleep is a common symptom but they are never frequent.
Substance Misuse: immoderate use of drugs such as alcohol, pain medications or illegal drugs causes social, physical, and mental harm. There are various substances that lead to the increase of a nightmare. Many people try alcohol withdrawal or abstain themselves from other substances that normally suppress REM sleep but it can bounce back with increased risk of nightmares.
Insomnia: insomnia is another sleep disorder that frequently coexists with nightmare disorder; 18% of individuals with insomnia report having nightmares.
Nightmares are frightening but they do not indicate anything serious. Neither one can escape a nightmare. Only understanding them can help you overcome issues that have been bothering you, if you continue to have nightmares and they do not subside with time then you must seek help from a professional expert.