Nightmare disorder

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Description

Nightmare disorder, or dream anxiety disorder, is a sleep disorder characterized by frequent nightmares. The nightmares usually occur during the second half of the sleeping process, called the REM stage. These nightmares often portray the person in a situation that jeopardizes their life or personal safety.

Symptoms

During the nightmare, the sleeper may moan and move slightly. The victim is always awakened by these threatening and frightening dreams and can often vividly remember their experience. Upon awakening, the sleeper is unusually alert and oriented within their surroundings, but may have an increased heart rate and symptoms of anxiety, like sweating. They may have trouble falling back asleep for fear they will experience another nightmare. A person experiencing nightmare disorder would have trouble going through everyday tasks; the lack of sleep and anxiety caused by the fearful dreams would hinder the individual from completing everyday jobs efficiently and correctly.

Causes

Nightmares can be caused by extreme stress or anxiety if no other mental disorder is discovered. The death of a loved one or a stressful life event can be enough to cause a nightmare but mental diseases like post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychiatric disorders have been known cause nightmares as well. If the individual is on medication, the nightmares may be attributed to some side effects of the drug. Amphetamines, antidepressants, stimulants like cocaine can cause nightmares. Blood pressure medication, levodopa and medications for Parkinson’s disease have also been known to cause nightmares as well as SSRIs like Prozac and Effexor.

Demographic

Children are more apt to experience nightmares than teenagers and adults. Young kids normally have nightmares once or twice a week and will usually not develop a nightmare disorder unless they are under severe psychological stress. Children who have persistent nightmares range from 10% to 50%. A child would usually not be diagnosed with nightmare disorder however, since children normally experience many nightmares when they are young. Students normally experience 4 to 8 nightmares a year and adults only have nightmares once or twice a year. About 3% of young adults report having recurring nightmares and 1% of adults recount having nightmares once or twice a week. If a student or adult is suffering from excessive nightmares, they may want to seek help.

Treatment

There are many ways to treat dream anxiety without seeking the help of a therapist. Alleviating stress within the home and personal life is a good way to eliminate any anxiety the individual may have upon going to bed. A regular fitness routine and perhaps relaxation therapy would help to make the individual fall asleep faster and more peacefully. Yoga and meditation can also help to eliminate stress and create a more peaceful sleeping atmosphere. Psychotherapy can also help an individual learn how to cope and deal with the various stressors in their life. Diagnosis and medication can only be given to patients that report the recurring nightmares to a physicians or psychiatrist. Therapy usually helps to deal with the frightening themes of the nightmares and alleviate the recurrence of the dreams. The persistent nightmares will usually improve as the patient gets older. Treatments are generally very successful^[1].

References

1. ^ Nightmare Disorder

Nightmares are a sub-category of Parasomnia Sleep Disorders.