Sleep of the dread COPING WITH NIGHTMARES
YOU wake up sweating and in terror – and the truth is, you’re not alone.
A whopping seven out of 10 of us regularly suffer from nightmares according to one poll with the average Brit having one a week.
But why do they happen, what makes them more likely and when are they a sign of an underlying health condition? Here, in a curtain raiser to Halloween, JAMES MOORE reveals the truth about the “science of nightmares”...
What are they? Defined as dreams that are memorable and bad enough to wake us up, nightmares usually happen in the rapid eye movement or REM stage sleep, when your brain is more active. REM periods last longer as the night goes on which is why we tend to get nightmares in the early hours. They shouldn’t be confused with night terrors, which usually affect children, and occur when they wake up from deeper sleep abruptly.
Why do we get them? Stress, anxiety and even the hormones produced in pregnancy are associated with nightmares. One study found a quarter of us were getting more nightmares during the pandemic. It’s thought in stressful times we need more REM sleep to process our emotions. A study from the University of Geneva suggests they could actually help us deal with fears better when we wake up.
Who gets them? According to a study by the University of the West of England women are more likely to get nightmares though it’s not clear exactly why. Other research has found women are more likely to have unpleasant dreams about spiders, monsters, falling and being chased, whereas nightmares about aliens, plane crashes or natural disasters appear to be common in men.
What might be the trigger? Watching a horror movie really does increase your chance of suffering a nightmare as it triggers a “fight or flight” response in the brain, according to experts. A poll found 1974’s The Exorcist was the most likely screen culprit. Even reading a scary book at bedtime can trigger nightmares according to researchers at Tufts University in the US.
Is the way we sleep linked? Do you tend to sleep on your left side?
People who do have more nightmares than in other positions, according to a study published in the journal Sleep and Hypnosis. Being too hot at night and going to bed too late can also set off disturbed sleep and more brain activity leading to nightmares, while scientists at Oxford University found people who sleep for more than nine hours experienced more of the phenomenon as it increases the amount of REM sleep.
Can cheese trigger them? Ebenezer Scrooge, from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, blamed his bad dreams on cheese. But don’t brie scared… a 2005 study saw 200 subjects given 20g of cheese each day for a week an hour before they went to sleep. Not one reported having a nightmare. Cheese actually contains a substance called tryptophan, known to ease stress.
What about other food and drink? The Oxford University study found no evidence alcohol can trigger nightmares, though other research indicates booze might lead to disturbed slumber. Research does suggest eating spicy fare and junk food as well as late night snacks may be linked to nightmares.
Could they be a symptom?
Usually nightmares are harmless, but they may sometimes be a symptom of an underlying health problem. For instance, they are more common in people with sleep apnoea, where your breathing stops and starts during kip, according to a study in the journal Sleep Medicine. They are also linked to heart problems, taking certain pills, post-traumatic stress disorder and may be warning signs of Parkinson’s disease and migraines. Mental health problems are also five times more common in people who have regular nightmares.
What can you do? If you are getting a lot of them contact your GP who may be able to organise counselling and in some cases, medication and other treatments.
Recurring nightmare? Expert Professor Richard Wiseman recommends rehearsing your bad dream while awake with a positive ending. He reckons it works to combat them in 90% of cases.