6 Causes for Frequent Nightmares

About 50 percent of all adults have nightmares now and then. But what if they keep waking us up? You should know these causes of nightmares!

Suddenly you are startled out of sleep, your eyes wide open, your pulse racing, your neck sweating: nightmares can considerably disturb our well-earned night’s rest. Although children in particular often have nightmares, around 50 percent of all adults are also affected from time to time.

When Do Nightmares Become Alarming?

Awake from a nightmare every now and then disturbs the actually important sleeping through, but it is not yet harmful to health. It becomes difficult when the bad dreams restrict our everyday life. For example, when we can no longer concentrate on our work or even try to avoid sleep for fear.

Although this only affects a few people – only about one percent of all adults suffer from nightmares so often that they seek professional help. But that does not mean that every bad dream should simply be dismissed. If nightmares occur more often than once a week, they exhaust us physically and psychologically and, if left untreated, can increase the risk of depression and anxiety disorders. Therefore, you should actively deal with your nightmares – often it helps to know the possible cause of bad dreams and to act accordingly.

You Should Know These Causes for Frequent Nightmares

1. You are Mentally Stressed and Exhausted

According to a Finnish study, people with depression or a negative self-image suffer more often from nightmares. But general everyday stress can also cause nightmares: The trigger can simply be the mountain of work on your desk, the accident of a family member or the unpleasant conversation with your girlfriend that you have been putting off for weeks.

“Our brains run like computers. What you enter is also played out,” explains John Mayer, a clinical psychologist from Chicago. “When you go to bed with negative thoughts, you practically load them into your brain and force it to play them again in your sleep.” According to this, nightmares are like an unpleasant byproduct of the worries we face every day.

2. You Have Certain Personality Traits

Several studies suggest that certain personal characteristics can increase the frequency of nightmares. According to this, particularly sensitive people, but also those with creative interests, suffer from nightmares more frequently.

3. Your Medication Disturbs Your Sleep

With some drugs, nightmares are listed in the package insert as a possible side effect. These include certain drugs that lower blood pressure and cholesterol, antidepressants and so-called antihistamines, which ironically are used in some sleeping pills. But drugs for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease can also cause nightmares.

4. You Drank too Much

It can indeed happen that alcohol makes it easier to fall asleep. However, sleep is not really restful then: the alcohol ensures that we do not sleep through the night and have more frequent nightmares. And these are then also much more intense than usual because of the drinks.

5. You’re Dealing with a Trauma

So-called post-traumatic stress disorders are one of the main causes of nightmares, according to a study. The dream often revolves around what has been experienced. Triggers can be, for example, maltreatment or serious accidents with permanent injuries. If such nightmares return again and again, you should definitely seek professional help.

6. You Ate Something before Going to Bed

It is well known that eating late is not good for your health. But nightmares are also encouraged by the midnight snack. This is because the food raises our body temperature and our metabolism also starts to rise. This in turn makes the brain more active, which increases the probability of nightmares.

How can I prevent nightmares?

Starting from the causes, there are several ways to avoid bad dreams:

• Do not eat for at least three hours before going to bed. So that you are not tempted in the first place, you will find our tips against ravenous appetite here!
• Discuss possible alternatives with your doctor if your medication causes nightmares
• Drop negative thoughts before you go to sleep – meditation and autogenic training, for example, can help
• Face your fear (e.g. of heights) with psychological support through confrontation therapy