How to Prevent Nightmares & Sleep Better
Are you the kind of person who spends all night tossing and turning?
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, your heart racing from
an imagined experience that you might not even fully remember?
Maybe you try staying awake for as long as possible to avoid the nightmares that will
come when you close your eyes.
A bad dream or nightmare can be a troublesome experience, sometimes setting your mood for
the rest of the day.
But is there anything you can do to prevent these nightmares from happening and ensure
a better night’s sleep?
Well, the good news is, the writers at Bestie are eager to find some answers to make sure
that you get all the peaceful bedrest that you deserve.
But before we start talking about nightmares,it would make our dreams come true if you would
consider subscribing to Bestie to stay up to date on our daily videos.
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While bad dreams and nightmares are typically a common experience in children, there are
plenty of adults who find themselves vulnerable to bad dreams as well.
According to epidemiological studies in the United States, about 2 to 6 percent of the
adult American population is said to experience bad dreams at least once a week.
That might not seem like a large number, but if you’re one of the millions of adults
that fall under this category, chances are that you’d be more than happy to find a
solution.
Bad dreams can be triggered by a variety of external factors, such as anxiety, stress,
depression, or even something as simple as poor sleeping conditions.
In some rare but severe cases, recurring nightmares might even result in what’s known as a “nightmare
disorder”, in which repeated instances of bad dreams and sudden awakenings completely
disrupts the individual's life on a regular basis.
The good news is, once you’re able to identify what’s causing your bad dreams, you can
begin to take the steps to find ways of making them happen less often.
Here are some potential ways that you can stop your bad dreams from happening and get
a good night’s sleep.
Don’t Eat Before Going to Bed
We’ll start with an easy one.
If you’re the kind of person that likes to help themselves to a late night snack before
bedtime, it might be having a negative effect on your dreams.
Eating before bed increases your metabolism, which in turn increases activity in the brain.
When the brain is more active, this might cause you to experience more vivid dreams
which also means more vivid nightmares.
Not only does eating before bedtime have an effect on your dreams, but specifically what
you eat before bedtime can have a significant effect.
According to a study published by the International Journal of Psychophysiology, spicy foods and
foods that are high in sugar can both lead to increased brain wave activity when you’re
trying to sleep.
In other words, think long and hard about whether you really want to eat that piece
of cake in the fridge before heading to bed.
The temptation might be strong, but chances are you will likely be able to sleep better
without it.
Set a Proper Sleep Schedule
This might come as a surprise, but if you frequently suffer from bad dreams and nightmares,
it might be because you’re not getting enough sleep.
I know right?
It sounds like a vicious cycle: not getting enough sleep leads to bad dreams, and bad
dreams often lead to not getting enough sleep.
Fortunately, there are ways for you to break this loop and make sure you are getting a
full and restful sleep every night.
The best way to make sure you’re getting enough sleep is to keep a consistent sleep
schedule and practice proper sleep hygiene.
To maintain a proper sleep cycle for your body, it is recommended that you go to bed
and wake up at the same times every day-- yes, even on weekends.
It’s also suggested that you avoid taking naps during the day, as these can make it
more difficult for you to fall asleep at night.
Avoid bright lights, such as the one from your phone or TV screens, for at least 30
to 60 minutes before it’s bedtime, and try to establish a consistent bedtime routine
of peaceful and relaxing activities to unwind before going to sleep, such as taking a warm
shower or reading.
All of this might sound like a lot to consider for something as simple as sleeping, especially
if you’re the kind of person who’s used to just flopping into bed and refreshing your
social media feeds until you eventually fall asleep.
But if you commonly and persistently suffer from bad dreams, then there is a definite
chance that your sleep schedule might be to blame.
Even if you don’t have bad dreams or nightmares on a daily basis, setting a proper sleep schedule
and getting enough sleep every night will make you feel more awake, refreshed, and prepared
for whatever challenges you face in the real world every day.
Be Active During the Day
Like we said before, not getting enough sleep at night can be a significant factor in whether
or not you experience bad dreams and nightmares.
One of the reasons you may find yourself unable to fall asleep at night is because your body
is still full of energy that you didn’t adequately burn off during the day.
A sufficiently active lifestyle during the day can lead to better sleep at night, and
by extension a better sleep can lead to better dreams.
If you’re a particularly athletic sort of person, taking part in a sporting activity
at least two or three times per week will help you burn off that excess energy, as well
as any stress or tension that may be impairing your ability to fall asleep at night.
If you’re not a big fan of sports, other ways to stay active during the day include
going on walks and spending time working out at the gym.
Just make sure you’re getting your exercise at the right times: working out or being overly
active too close to bedtime might make your brain feel more awake, which could make it
harder for you to properly fall asleep.
Try to schedule your workouts in a way that doesn’t interfere with your sleep schedule,
and everything should line up perfectly.
See a Sleep Specialist
If all else fails and you still continue to experience bad dreams and nightmares on a
regular basis, then that might mean that it’s time for you to seek out professional help.
By seeing a sleep specialist, you can be sure to find out just what exactly is causing your
bad dreams and nightmares to persist, and as a result, you can be more prepared to take
measures to prevent them from happening.
There are also a number of therapeutic strategies and behaviours that specialists can recommend
to you in order to make your bad dreams and nightmares less common.
Some techniques, such as Imagery Rehearsal Therapy, aim to make nightmares more manageable
by making their scariest aspects less frightening.
By taking a scary image from a recurring nightmare and by mentally and repeatedly imagining it
in a less scary scenario, you take away some of the frightening associations with that
image and gain some degree of mastery and control over these frightening and unwanted
images.
If necessary, you can also discuss with a professional whether or not there are any
medications available in order to stop these bad dreams and nightmares from occurring.
There are a number of prescription drugs and medications that can potentially be helpful
in ensuring a more peaceful or undisturbed night’s rest, so if you’ve tried everything
else to stop the bad dreams from happening and nothing has worked, this could be an option
that is worth exploring in a safe and controlled environment.
Bad dreams and recurring nightmares can be terrifying, disrupting, intrusive, and above
all else, incredibly detrimental when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep.
If you happen to suffer from bad dreams or nightmares on a regular basis, it might put
your mind at ease to know that there are options and things you can try to lessen the impact
of these bad dreams andget the best sleep possible every night.
Was this video a dream come true for you?
Do you have some tips and tricks that you’d like to share to help prevent bad dreams?
If you do, please feel free to share them in the comment section below, and feel free
to share this video with anyone you think might find it useful.