People are always scared of something. When we are scared, our sympathetic nervous system activates and triggers our “flight or fight” response. However, they can reach our mind too, particularly in our dreams. These dreams can be so extreme that they can bring people back into consciousness. Most people recognize these dreams as nightmares. Most young children experience nightmares and ten to fifty percent of children between the ages of five and twelve have severe enough nightmares to disturb their parents. These dreams tend to come from something that they witness or felt during the day, such as a scary movie, the loss of a family member, or simply stress from the first day of school. As people get older, the amount of people who experience nightmares is reduced to two to eight percent. Nightmares caused by stress tend to be a way for our mind to deal with our problems from the day that are unresolved. However, this is not the only reason that nightmares occur. Another reason is poor eating habits due to carbohydrates causing an increase in brain activity and body metabolism. This is why a late night snack is not typically recommended before one goes to bed. Nightmares can also be used to potentially protect you from harmful situations. For example, if you are allergic to peanuts but are unaware of this allergy, nightmares could continue occurring until you stop eating peanuts. Nightmares do not just have an effect on you externally, it also has an effect on you internally.
R.E.M. Sleep is how one feels well rested during the day (read R.E.M. Sleep: The Science behind it all). It occurs in stages, each stronger than the last. Nightmares occur during the final level of R.E.M. sleep, when rapid eye movements and inhibited voluntary motor activity are the strongest, and tend to wake people up from this deep sleep. This results in an abrupt halt in the processing of memories, which can leave someone feeling exhausted the next day. The area of the brain that causes this is called the amygdala, which is the center for anger and fear in the brain. This area of the brain is particularly active during R.E.M. sleep, which can theoretically cause uncontrollable rage within a dream if the situation calls for it. Although I have portrayed nightmares as bad, they are actually incredibly productive. This is because life comes with changes that people do not want to accept. Nightmares may leave you exhausted one night, but they end up helping people deal with change or ending in their life, ultimately allowing them to move forward in life. An example of this is my friend Alex. Alex decided to join the Coast Guard right out of high school, which was heartbreaking because that meant we would not be able to talk anymore as they are never allowed on any form of electronics. Alex said that he was fine for the final few weeks, but he confided in me and a few others that he was having nightmares about dying on the battlefield. After a week straight of that nightmare reoccurring, he admitted he was scared about going and we helped him adjust through this big change. He left yesterday, sending texts about how he will never forget us. Although those nightmares seemed bad at the time, they helped him get over his fear and move on with his life. Life does not stop moving so you have to keep moving forward, no matter how hard.
Good luck Alex!
https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/nightmares
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