Causes of Nightmares

A distressing dream that forces an individual to partially awaken from sleep is called a nightmare. Many people do not understand the difference between nightmares and night terrors. You see these two types of distressing dreams occur during different stages of sleep. During the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, one may visualize a night terror. The person may scream and thrash about in bed. Nightmares on the other hand, occur during the rapid eye movement (NRM) sleep. One rarely remembers the nightmare clearly and does not scream or thrash about in bed. One just recollects nightmares as a bad dream and remembers none of the facts related to it. But, have you wondered about the causes of nightmares? If, yes, then the following paragraphs on what causes nightmares will help you find some answers.

What Causes Nightmares

Dream anxiety disorder or nightmare disorder or nightmare is a repetitive dream that makes the sleeper feel frightened and threatened. The person is scared to death, he may wake up from his sleep. These nightmares are a bit long in duration and cause intense fear. The person dreaming a nightmare feels the may die or will be killed by someone or something. The person generally wakes up at the climax of the nightmare before the dream completes. When the person wakes up he maybe sweating and develops a heart in throat feeling. The heart beats rapidly and suffers from anxiety. He maybe able to recall the nightmare and what frightened him the most. One the person realizes it was just a dream and he is safe and sound, he may calm down and fall asleep. There are different causes of nightmares that may awaken a person from his sleep.

Nightmares in Children
The bogeyman is the most common cause of nightmares in children. Jokes apart, there are many causes of nightmares in children. It is a normal part of their growing years and children tend to develop fear of things they do not understand. Monsters and ogres, spiders and insects, anything can cause fear in the innocent mind. Let us have a look at some of the causes of nightmares in children.

• Fear of new school
• Pre-existing illness or fever
• Conflicts between parents
• Misinterpretation on of an overheard adult conversation
• Separation anxiety
• Traumatic incidence in life-like loss of a loved grandparent, parent or maybe pet
• Post traumatic stress disorder
• Watching too many violent or horror movies or scenes
• Side effects of medications like decongestants, antidepressants, antihistamines, etc.
• Peer pressure, being bullied at school
• Fear of darkness, unknown sounds, etc.
• Stress due to parent separation, etc.

Nightmares in Teenagers
Adolescence is an age when all things go topsy-turvy. This is an age that is plagued with confusion, rebellious streak, puberty, school pressure and parental pressure. Teens are blogged down with many issues that they are not mature enough to understand. Their biological clock is ticking away and their erratic lifestyle causes more problems. Many teens suffer from different types of nightmares. Some of the causes of nightmares in teenagers are discussed below:

• Sleep deprivation or erratic sleeping hours
• Insomnia due to stress, illness, excessive traveling and medications
• Sleep apnea where breathing stops for a brief time.
• Narcolepsy where the teenager falls asleep suddenly without control while driving, swimming, studying, etc.
• Later night eating before going to bed may cause increase in metabolism that sends signals to brain to move. This may lead to nightmares in teenagers.
• Drug withdrawal after using prescription drugs and narcotics may trigger nightmares.

Nightmares in Women
Studies have found men and women suffer from different kinds of nightmares. Men are more likely to dream about being fired from their job or a violent situation. Women would have nightmares about being sexually assaulted, death of a loved one, losing their hair, or becoming unattractive. Men and women both dream of failing in exams even if they are not students any more. Causes of nightmares in women include the following:

• Depression medications, sleep medications and some over the counter drugs and medications are suspected to be cause of nightmares
• Pregnant women are more likely to have pleasant as well as distressing dreams. This is because they are undergoing hormonal changes that sends signals to their brains. They will dream about losing their baby due to miscarriage, delivering abnormal children or giving birth to an animal. They may even have nightmares about the impending responsibility of having a child.
• Excess of vitamin B6 in the body can lead to neurological disorders like nightmares.
• Hypoglycemia may also cause nightmares in women.
• Illnesses like fever, flu, apnea, etc, may cause nightmare.
• Use of narcotic drugs may also be one of the causes of nightmares.
• Women who are going through post traumatic stress disorder may also have distressing dreams.
• Loss of loved ones like spouse, parent or child

Nightmares in Adults
Like I said there are different causes of nightmares in adults. It can be due to a physical illness or mental stress. Nightmares in adults eating a late night snack that sends impulses to brain and creation of vivid dreams. Fear of being sacked at job, a childhood fear, traumatic brain injury, financial problems, phobia, emotional disturbances, sleep disorders, family issues, etc. all relate to nightmares in adults.

This was all about what causes nightmares. Nightmares bring out the feelings of terror, distress, haplessness, anxiety and fear in an individual. They usually occur during the second half of sleep and one is able to remember the dream to some extent. Hope the above causes of nightmares helps you find reason behind your bad dreams.