Why we have nightmares

LONDON: Nightmares fall into two categories: posttraumatic nightmares and garden-variety nightmares.

The latter have a fantastic narrative and can be interpreted, with the terrifying threat often one sees in film or fiction – a witch chasing you, teeth falling away, or a murder.

Psychologists usually define a nightmare as “a terrifying dream”. Most children experience them, some even nightly, but they usually outgrow them, says Dr Deidré Barnett, an author and a psychologist at Harvard Medical School.

Adults with frequent nightmares have traits related to either the “terrifying” aspect and/or to the “dream”. These are: 1) Anxiety: often the same people experiencing terrifying dreams are more afraid of their daytime world.

2) High dream recall, and vividness of dreams and waking imagery: many of the people with frequent nightmares also report more vivid, beautiful dreams.

Most of the drugs which increase nightmares also increase either general anxiety (some malaria meds) or vivid dreaming in general (anti-depressants).

Likewise, rarebit (cheese) or spicy foods may wake you up more to remember all sorts of dreams but are not specific to nightmares.

Nightmares themselves fall into two categories. One is “garden-variety” nightmares. Much like other dreams, these have a fantastic narrative, and the terrifying threat is often one manufactured only in a film or fiction.

There is a flood of relief upon awakening and finding oneself in the sane, safe world.

When I was researching my book, The Committee of Sleep, I found writers and artists used their dreams in their work, but nightmares had an especially high rate of incorporation – probably because they are such unusually dramatic, powerful dreams.

All victims of posttraumatic nightmares want them to stop. Fortunately, there is a good treatment that helps many victims. The most effective is what is called “imagery rehearsal therapy”. – The Independent