Introduction
Bad dreams can be terrifying. Bad dreams can raise fear and anxiety, and they can also ruin your sleep. You may also have physical exhaustion, mental stress, and excessive dystrophy sleepiness (EDS).
However, before learning to treat bad dreams, you need to identify the real reason behind them. To better understand the source of your bad dreams and to prevent them from coming back, start with the steps given below.
How to get rid of bad dreams and nightmares?
Method 1 – Understanding bad dreams
Understand this, that bad dreaming in an adult is quite normal:
Nightmares often come in the form of some fresh real images, thoughts, and emotions, which make your heart beat faster, and sometimes, it forces you to wake up from sleep. Sometimes the details of bad dreams are remembered, and they are so weird or disturbing that it can be very difficult to forget them.
As a result, bad dreams affect the quality of sleep, which leads to physical exhaustion and mental enzymes and stress. If there is an obstruction in your sleep due to bad dreams, it can also affect other parts of your life and may even give a long-term health problem. Therefore, understanding the real source of bad dreams and then taking steps to stop them is necessary.
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Identify the difference between nightmares and night terrors:
Nightmares and Night Terrors, both of which are disturbing in sleep, are two different types, which are sometimes understood to be identical.
Nightmares often come from the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, so you usually do the experience in the morning hours. They are felt as scary or disturbing dreams, which seem to be genuinely realistic.
The contents of these dreams will be different for every person, while the adults often tell about the nightmares coming about by anyone or about falling from the height. Those who have experienced a painful incident they see that incident in their nightmares.
Night terrors often come in a state of a deep sleep, and because of this, they often feel within a few hours of going to sleep. These usually have a lot of fears like experiences, which often do not come with dreams or images.
It is often associated with a movement (slamming or sitting directly on the bed), due to which the human sleep is broken. Usually, the person cannot even remember that, why he was so scared when he woke up.
Understand that nightmares can also be an indication of any significant problem:
Although adults do not have any serious hidden problems behind bad dreams, sometimes bad dreams, depressions, or post-traumatic stress also appear as a result of psychological conditions such as anxiety disorder (PTSD).
Especially when they are more likely to come when someone has recently done a traumatic or life-changing experience, such as the death of a close person, changing or losing a job, having a baby, a surgery to go through, or had an accident.
Occasionally bad dreams come due to other sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or restless leg symptom. On the other hand, people sometimes go only to genetically on nightmares, as per research, night vision often goes with the family.
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How to stop bad dreams?
Method 2 – Stop bad dreams
If you have a hidden problem such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, REM disorder, or restless leg syndrome behind your bad dreams, then take help for these conditions. It will help you to reduce bad dreams.
If your nightmares are associated with enzymes, depression, or PTSD, some specific types of therapy or medicines can help you to overcome these conditions and reduce bad dreams.
Typically, Prazosin is prescribed to help patients suffering from PTSD, enzymatic, and panic disorders to reduce bad dreams.
Together with your doctor, it is essential to talk to you about the best suits treatment.
Avoid eating before sleeping:
Eating before bedtime can also cause nightmares because food gives speed to your metabolism and gives your brain the signal to be more active. Therefore, especially for those people whose sugar is high, they should avoid bedtime snacks.
Reduce your stress:
Stress can also be divided into bad dreams, so take some time to relax throughout the day and then aim to sleep with a calm and clear mind.
Yoga and meditation are both very good for relieving activity and to cleanse the mind. Think about taking a class or practice a few minutes daily in your home environment.
Reading, knitting, running, or just spending a bit of time with your family or friends can also help to relieve stress.
Taking a hot (warm) bath just before sleeping can also help you overcome your stress throughout the day, as well as make the relaxes even calmer.
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Talk to your doctor about any types of medicines you take:
Some specific drugs can also increase the chances of getting nightmares, so if you feel like this may also be a reason. If so, talk to your doctor about it.
Anti-depressants and some types of blood pressure medicines can also be the reason behind bad dreams, so talk to your doctor about changing any kind of medication.
Occasionally, changes in dose or taking a specific drug may also make nightmares, in which case, once the body is adjusted, these bad dreams are reduced by itself.
Improve your sleep:
Even if nightmares may be due to lack of sleep. Therefore, taking some steps to improve your sleep quality can also prevent your dreams.
Make your bedroom a relaxed environment:
Keep your bedroom clean and tidy, confirm its plenty of darkness, and optimize such a temperature, which is too cold or too hot. Confirm your bed being comfortable.
Use a noisy machine to block any unwanted sound. Keep your bedroom reserved for sleep only – working in your bedroom also adds it to the stroke.
Do maximum physical exercises:
Tired of physical exertion is also the best way to improve sleep. Find a habit that you enjoy, whether it is running, tight training, dancing, rowing, or rock climbing 3-5 times a week.
If possible, schedule it for mornings. Don’t do any activity before bedtime – due to this; you will be highly excited that you will not even sleep.
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Reduce caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine intake:
Substances like caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine can interfere with sleep, so it would be OK to take them off entirely or at least start taking them in a low amount. Along with this, try to stop smoking, or and use of caffeine just 3 to 4 hours before sleeping.
Avoid Blue Light:
Electronics supplements such as phones, computers, and tablets suppress hormones and also affect your sleep quality. Avoid using these devices right before sleeping.
Try Imaging Behavioral Rehearsal Treatment:
Imaging Rehearsal Treatment is one of the only cognitive therapy that is very effective in the reduction of nightmares on patients with PTSD and insomnia.
With imagery rehearsal treatment, the patient is awake, while awake – the second ending of his nightmares, a very good or satisfying result – is anchored to imaging.
For example, if you have such a dream, as if you are being followed, then you can immigrate to your master who chases after you catch him, then say, “Hey, I caught you” And this is a real escape game.
If you dream that you are falling, you can do imagery that the parachute is opening, and it saves you.
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How to get rid of nightmares?
Method 3 – Be inspired to dream
Find a pleasant place:
Imagine a happy, peaceful place, such as a tropical beach or a secluded mountain place. If you want, you can make one for yourself or even make it anywhere in the real place.
It does not matter where it is, confirm it’s calm and relaxed. Just imagine a scene, try to imagine the sound, fragrance, and the whole atmosphere of the whole.
Think about good ideas:
As soon as you go to sleep, start thinking about good ideas. It can be anything of your choice – just like a superhero who saves the world, try imaging of an actor or actress or with you want to go for a dream holiday.
It will also help you to focus on your goals and thinking of achieving them – getting that dream job, achieving the thing you want, or getting your true love.
Talk to someone about your dreams:
Explore your trustworthy person and explore your dreams. Simultaneously, explain to them why they are so afraid of them. Just taking your fillings out can make you feel better.
If you want, you can keep track of your dreams by writing about your dream, but also understand that sometimes it is more effective to talk to someone who is listening.
Control your nightmares:
See if you can do some things and control its outline by making it a little less scary or painful. These abilities come in many people faster than others, so if you cannot manage it in the beginning, then do not frustrate it.
Relax:
You may also get bad dreams because of stress, like thinking about whether you will get a job or not. Let all your worries go and start looking too good dreams again.
You can also relax by meditation or by having a good time on the beach. Just confirm that there is such a peaceful place where you can relax.
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Advice
Try to see something funny on TV or mobile before going to bed.
Before going to bed, do listen to happy and relaxing music. It can help in removing negative thoughts from the mind. A happy dream will be just like the positive thoughts you think.
Think about some good things in your life. Think about the good things you can achieve. This will be nothing much, just a pleasant idea.
Remember, most of your dreams are not real, and they are not going to happen in your real life too. Just relax, take some time to get healthy sleep, keep a big smile on your face, and warmly welcome the new day.
Use herbal calming natural oils (e.g., lavender oil is the best ) to help calm the mind.
Continue reading until you feel exhausted so that you can sleep fast
If you have nightmares in the middle of the night, then ask yourself, how do you reach that dream and how that bad dream will be a change in a good dream.
It may be that, due to repeated and excessive thinking about any disturbing thing, you may have nightmares due to too much stress.
First, try to solve that problem, which is bothering you. If this is not the case and you do not have any such issues or troubles, then consult a doctor and ask them.
Warning
If nightmares are not stopped even after one month, then you should seek out medical attention. It may be that, after losing a close friend of your own, and the nightmares start; in this case, it may be very difficult for you to overcome it.
If you find it hard to recover from your life continuously, and you constantly get bad dreams about something, then talk to a professional. They can help you for sure.
In just a few serious cases, a nightmare can frighten a person so badly that they are afraid of sleeping next night. In the ensuing nights, that person may have been afraid of coming to a nightmare or worse, or that bad nightmare has been so much more dangerous that his image, scenes, thoughts, and emotions remain in that person’s sleep.
If that’s the case, you can call a friend or a roommate (if you are not a married) to sleep with you, or you can talk about your dream coming with your doctor or a trusted person and even listening to calm, relaxing music while sleeping will also help you.