Nightmare Disorder in Adullts

Nightmares are more common among children, but one out of every two of the adult population is plagued by nightmares.

Are nightmares causing you significant distress and are they interrupting your sleep on a regular basis?  Determining what is causing your adult nightmares can help you to make changes to reduce their occurrence.

Nightmares are vividly realistic, disturbing dreams that cause you awake from a deep sleep.  Nightmares tend to occur most often during REM sleep, when most dreaming takes place. Because periods of REM sleep become longer as the night progresses, you may experience nightmares in the early morning hours.

If you've gone through a traumatic event, such as an attack or accident, you may have recurrent nightmares about your experience.

Nightmares and night terrors are different experiences. Night terrors occur in the first few hours after falling asleep. They are feelings, not dreams people who have night terrors do not recall why they are terrified upon awakening.

Nightmares in adults can be caused by a variety of factors and underlying disorders. Some people have nightmares after eating too late at night, which can increase metabolism and signal the brain to be more active. Medications also contribute to nightmare frequency. Drugs such as antidepressants and narcotics are often associated with nightmares. Non-psychotropic medications, including some blood pressure medications, can also cause nightmares in adults.

Withdrawal from medications and substances, including alcohol and tranquilizers, may trigger nightmares. Any difference in your nightmare frequency after a change in medication should be discussed with your doctor.

Sleep deprivation may be part of the cause of adult nightmares, which themselves often cause people to lose additional sleep.

There can be psychological triggers that cause nightmares in adults. Anxiety and depression can cause adult nightmares. Post-traumatic stress disorder commonly causes people to experience chronic, recurrent nightmares.

Nightmares in adults can be caused by certain sleep disorders; including sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. When there is no other cause, chronic nightmares may be a sleep disorder. People who have relatives with nightmare disorder may be more likely to have the condition

A person experiencing nightmare disorder may have trouble going through everyday tasks; the lack of sleep and anxiety caused by the dreams can hinder the individual from completing everyday jobs efficiently and correctly

Nightmares can be caused by extreme stress or anxiety the death of a loved one or a stressful life event can be enough to cause a nightmare.

There are many ways to treat nightmare anxiety without seeking the help of a doctor. Alleviating stress in the home and personal life may eliminate any anxiety upon going to bed. A regular fitness routine and relaxation therapy can help to make you fall asleep faster and more peacefully. Yoga and meditation can also help to eliminate stress.  Formal Psychotherapy can also help you to learn how to cope and deal with the various stressors in your life.

Medication can only be prescribed by a psychiatrist or other physician. Therapy usually helps to deal with the subjects of the nightmares that cause fear and alleviate the recurrence of the dreams.  Treatments are generally very successful with few relapses.

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