VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: lek. Tomasz Nęcki

Most people have nightmares - at least once in their lifetime. People who experience it episodically should not be alarmed, but the situation is different for people who experience nightmares very often and therefore experience some problems. What problems are we talking about and when should the occurrence of nightmares really be consulted with a doctor?

Nightmares

Nightmares are dreams that cause unpleasant emotions, which may appear during the REM phase of sleep. They have a wide variety of topics, but most often they include such issues as escaping from a persecutor, the risk of losing life, catastrophes or war conflicts and the death of some loved ones.

A characteristic feature of nightmares is that after waking up, a person may even experience increased anxiety, have increased heart rate or increased sweating. The intensity of the related experiences can be such that falling back to sleep can be very difficult, sometimes even impossible.

Nightmares- at least periodically - is in fact the majority of the population. They most often appear in children, but can also occur in adults. Many people wonder where unpleasant dreams come from - there are many possible reasons for their appearance.

Causes of nightmares

Nightmares are a reflection of difficult emotions and tension that people experience on a daily basis - for this reason, they can occur with an increased frequency in people who are struggling with severe stress or whose life has changed significantly (such as e.g. . moving, losing a job or breaking up with a long-term partner).

It happens that the cause of nightmares are some mental disorders in the patient and then they may be one of their symptoms. The problems that may cause unpleasant dreams include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive disorders or various forms of anxiety disorders. However, mental he alth issues are not the only ones where patients are at increased risk of having nightmares -They can also appear in the course of various chronic diseases, such as, for example, heart failure, diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients suffering from neoplastic diseases also have nightmares.

Nightmares can result from the use of various stimulants - people addicted to alcohol and people who take various drugs have them. They may be favored by insomnia, as well as taking certain pharmaceuticals. Among the drugs, the use of which may lead to unpleasant dreams, include: antidepressants, antihypertensive drugs (lowering blood pressure) or agents used to treat Parkinson's disease.

Possible consequences of nightmares

Nightmares are definitely not pleasant in themselves, but even worse are their possible consequences. The first usually appear immediately after waking up from a terrible sleep - the patient usually finds it difficult to fall asleep again because of the fear he feels. There is no need to explain in detail what the consequences of a sleepless night may be - during the day, a person may have difficulty concentrating, feel tired or anxious, which may make him unable to perform his daily duties.

Nightmares occur more often in some, less often in others - hardly anyone decides to visit a doctor because of them. However, some situations indicate that a visit to a specialist is simply necessary.

Nightmares: when to see a doctor?

A person struggling with nightmares should consider consulting a doctor especially when unpleasant dreams appear very often. It is worth visiting a specialist in a situation where nightmares make normal functioning impaired - a person is unable to do his job or he becomes extremely irritable.

As mentioned earlier, nightmares make it harder to fall back to sleep, but for some people the problem becomes much more severe. Those people who have unpleasant dreams exceptionally often are simply afraid of going to sleep sometimes. It happens that from the early hours of the morning they think about the risk of the nightmares reoccurring the next night, which means that they struggle with irritation or anxiety throughout the day. Then, when nightmares begin to significantly affect life, consultation with a specialist becomes simply essential.

What to do to free yourself from nightmares?

In order to win the fight against nightmares it is necessaryfirst of all, finding the cause of their occurrence. It is for this reason that it is so important to see a doctor - sometimes the reason for their occurrence is quite obvious, and despite this, it is difficult for a person struggling with a problem to notice it on their own.

Usually, the first specialist seen by patients who often have nightmares is a psychiatrist. A doctor of this speci alty - after an interview and a psychiatric examination - is able to identify some possible causes of nightmares, such as depression or anxiety disorders. When such individuals are responsible for unpleasant dreams, their successful treatment may lead to the resolution of night problems.

In a situation of substance abuse nightmares, it is necessary to fight addiction in order to restore good quality sleep. If the medications used by the patient are responsible for unpleasant dreams, it is possible that their modification with pharmacotherapy will stop them from appearing.

In turn, when nightmares are a consequence of stress experienced on a daily basis, appropriate behavior of the patient himself can solve the problem. It is then necessary to take various actions, thanks to which it will be possible to reduce the experienced tension. There are many ways to get rid of it, ultimately improving the quality of night rest and reducing the frequency of nightmares, e.g. regular physical activity, relaxation training or spending time in the vicinity of loved ones.

ExpertBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

Category:

Psychology