HOW TO DEAL WITH NIGHTMARES

8 Tips on how to deal with nightmare

1.  Put your worries to rest when you put your head down to rest. As much as possible, try to clear your head of your day’s annoyances and unpleasant events. Focus on the positive events that happened to you during the day or, if you had none, try to put a positive spin on what you did experience.

 

2.  Avoid scary television shows. Keep your child away from scary TV shows, videos or stories that may add to his fears.

 

3.  Avoid sleeping on your stomach.       Are you prone to racy dreams? Well, sleeping in the prone position (that is, on your stomach) might have something to do with it. A new study published in the JournalDreaming found that lying on your belly in bed was linked to blush-worthy dream themes, like having sex with a celebrity or being tied up. Researchers hypothesize that it might have to do with your breathing patterns in this position. To stop the sexy thoughts—or keep 'em coming—adjust your sleep posture accordingly.

4. Visualize a safe place. 

visit that place during the day if the nightmare causes anxiety. Think of that place before falling asleep, says Fischer, who helped launch the National Nightmare Hotline (1-866-DRMS911).

 

5. As you fall asleep, remind yourself that if you have a dream about X, you want the ending to be Y. "Falling asleep is a good time to influence dream content, because you're in a suggestive state, much like hypnosis," says Deirdre Barrett, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

 6. Talk to someone about your nightmare. "The act of telling is a release, it's similar to how crying works to relieve grief," says Jill Fischer, a Norwich, CT psychotherapist.

 

7. According to these dream experts, we can help our children--and ourselves- overcome the nightmares by using a few simple tools. (Nightmares resulting from a particular trauma, such as rape, may require professional help.)
For children, Siegal offers four "Rs" of nightmare relief.
(i) Reassurance. Talk to or physically hold your child to help break the nightmare's spell.          
(ii) Re-scripting. Change the storyline to a safe ending.                                                                 (iii) Rehearsal. Iife the child can't verbally communicate either because he's too young or too upset, draw or paint new endings.                                                                                           (iv) Resolution. Once the child figures out how the dream connects to his life, the dream will resolve itself.

8.  Anxiety and Stress

Stress and anxiety can come in many forms, from temporary everyday things like moving to a new place, changing roles at school or work, or failing at a task, to more major things like divorce, losing a family member, trauma, or anxiety disorders. Being stressed and feeling anxiety is associated with poor sleep in general, and both may also trigger a nightmare.          Anxiety regarding performance is one a common theme you may have recognized in your own dreams. For example, about 15 percent of German athletes in one study reported distressing dreams before a big event, most often involving athletic failure. Many students also experience bad dreams related to impending tests or finals, sometimes even years after they’ve finished 

school.