A gun is about to be detonated in front of a family member, a circle of fire as hot as it is difficult to escape, and a brutal tsunami enters the house. These are the passages that Pablo Montes, 25, recounts when asked about his most memorable childhood nightmares.
As an adult, he has experienced other more terrifying ones. The last ones were six months ago, but he prefers not to delve into them. However, he says that today he feels calmer, since after having been in psychological therapy, he understood that months ago he had experienced a series of recurring nightmares.
But what are recurring nightmares? What other types of nightmares are there? Do they affect everyone equally?
To explain these questions, neurologist, and somnologist Gustavo Cosenza, who has been working in sleep medicine for over 20 years, says that we must refer to the definition of REM sleep ( Rapid eye movement ).
This is a phase that occurs every 90 minutes during deep sleep, during which so-called daydreams – the correct word to refer to images that occur during rest, says the doctor – and nightmares usually occur.
“Every 90 minutes we have REM sleep, which lasts between 10 and 20 minutes. These are common periods in the early morning when the brain accesses memory banks, something it cannot do during the day,” says Cosenza, who adds that this cycle represents 25% of the total rest period.
During REM sleep, various data coexist, which the brain defragments and releases to give more capacity to the mental content that is retained during the day. Thus, during rest, the material in the mind is transformed into “extremely varied and complex files,” which in summary define daydreams and nightmares.
And what are nightmares? To explain them, Dr. Cosenza refers to Freudian theory, which defines them as “hidden truths of the personality,” which appear as representative images of the complexes and particular situations of individuals.
From a neurological perspective, they are seen as “brain waste” or as variable and difficult to predict content.
Where do nightmares come from?
For psychology, these are disturbing images that trigger negative feelings such as sadness or fear, and that generate conflict during rest. “They are normal,” says clinical psychologist Manuela Méndez, who, through her profession, has been able to follow up with people who are conflicted by this issue.
“Nightmares start to appear from the age of three. From that age onwards, we can all have them: both children and adults,” says the mental and emotional health specialist, who adds that it is a situation that cannot be controlled or prevented.
This is reinforced by Dr. Cosenza who argues with grace: “Nightmares are inevitable. They must be accepted as we do with COVID-19, accidents, or taxes.”
Psychologist Méndez points out that anxiety, stress problems, and sometimes, after-effects of alcohol or drug abuse, and traumatic situations are among the causes of these episodes; but it is not known when they may arise.
Whatever the cause, the subconscious abstracts disturbing emotions from everyday life and releases them during rest.
According to Cosenza, people tend to attach great importance to nightmares due to their dramatic nature which produces mental disturbances, as well as a strangeness that prevents them from being fully understood.
Nightmares can be easily remembered, as people almost immediately wake up from REM sleep after feeling scared or sad, and the images remain fresh, Cosenza says.
Specialists distinguish the experiences that can occur during REM sleep into:
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Strange daydreams:
They are not related to particular feelings and they have no logic. They seem to have been put together in pieces.
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Common nightmares:
The images seen are linked to an everyday and fleeting emotion. Like daydreams, they usually have emotional content, but in this case, they become disturbing.
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Recurring nightmares:
These are the most peculiar since their background is equally emotional and their “themes” vary, but there is a negative feeling that occurs constantly over days, months, or years.
In these cases, people begin to feel exhausted, as this is a common situation during rest. It is caused by traumas that have not been treated and accumulate in the subconscious.
Psychologist Méndez confirms that, beyond being seen as an omen, nightmares are episodes that can reflect a person’s emotional state. Therefore, when faced with recurring nightmares, patients need to see a specialist to understand where the negative and constant feelings come from.
“A child may say that he is afraid of a monster, but we know that monsters do not exist. In that case, we start by finding out what the related feeling is, which is fear,” explains Manuela.
Speaking of children, Méndez says that nightmares can often be confused with night terrors, which are parasomnias that occur during sleep. When they occur, patients may scream or cry, but after waking up they do not know what happened.
Dr. Cosenza explains that this is the most closely related to sleepwalking. It can occur in some cases from the age of 2 or 3 and can extend up to the age of 8 or 9. Unlike nightmares or daydreams, night terrors do not present visual content in the mind of the patient.
Psychologist Méndez points out the importance of parents distinguishing between a night terror and a nightmare since this will make it clearer how to proceed in response to the experience.
How to deal with nightmares
Recurrent nightmares can be addressed through therapy, as they can lead to complicated conditions. Specialists in the area can delve into the problems that the patient has in their different daily spaces, possible cases of violence, as well as doubts and problems that constantly plague them.
Options such as behavioral and cognitive therapy promote working from the “here and now,” acceptance, and confrontation with emotions, which is why they can help in these situations, adds the specialist.
On the other hand, when common nightmares generate a discouraging effect on people (both children and adults) Manuela Méndez recommends facing them with these actions:
- Evaluate the scenario experienced during the nightmare. Ask yourself why you think you dreamed that and what relationship it has with recent feelings.
- Rethinking behaviors. Often, the disturbance in nightmares is due to actions that occur during the day, such as harmful habits that the person understands.
- With children, reassure them and tell them that nightmares are common. In a calm moment, ask them what they remember, without being too incisive, to glimpse the feelings that may be behind what they experienced. Finally, invite them to rest with a dim light on, or sleep with them, but warn them that this should not always happen (this will build their trust and security).
- Be careful about what you consume visually. Many audiovisual contents are disturbing and can have negative effects on susceptible people, so it is recommended to measure what you watch during the day.
- If nightmares worsen and recur, consult a sleep specialist or mental and emotional health specialist.
Dr. Cosenza recommends that, regardless of the frequency and content of nightmares, routines for good sleep hygiene should be implemented. Working on this will not prevent disturbing episodes, but it will facilitate a restful rest.
Among his recommendations are: not going to bed with worries; using relaxation techniques before going to sleep; establishing a regular schedule for rest; maintaining a fresh and welcoming space; and practicing constant exercise.
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