Nightmare disorder is a rather rare condition that affects about 4% of the population. While nightmares are a common occurrence, having frequent life-altering nightmares, or rather nightmare disorder can be problematic. Adding to that, not getting help for nightmare disorder, in the long term, it can lead to the development of anxiety and depression disorders. The classification of nightmares as a disorder depends on the frequency of nightmares, and the effect they have on one’s daily life, during daytime and nighttime other than that, the vividness of recalling the dream and its nature and the ability to fall back to sleep after waking up from a nightmare are contributing factors to diagnosing the condition. If you have nightmare disorder, medical treatment is crucial, but you can improve your condition with various home remedies. [1]
What Are The Home Remedies For Nightmare Disorder?
Nightmares and dreams generally are fueled by various factors that touch on our day-to-day lives. It is not entirely clear what attributes to nightmare disorder, but there are various risk factors that trigger the onset of the condition. Some of the ways you can manage nightmare disorder are by minimizing the risk factors among other lifestyle modifications that will hold reduce incidences of nightmare occurrences during sleep. Here are some of the home remedies you can adopt if you have nightmare disorder; Practicing good sleep hygiene by creating an ideal sleeping environment and embracing good pre-sleep habits. You can do so by ensuring that you remove any distractions from your bedroom and ensure that you switch off the light, remove any noise disturbances and keep the right temperatures.
Some of the good sleeping habits you can adopt include; keeping a regular bedtime and waking time throughout, and a good relaxation technique such as a warm bath before going to bed.
- Avoid caffeine, nicotine (smoking), and alcohol before bedtime since they affect sleep in different ways and can trigger nightmares. Also, keep nighttime snacks light and avoid eating spicy foods as well as foods that take longer to digest a few hours before bed.
- Talk or write about your nightmares in an attempt to put your dreams in perspective. This is believed to help reduce anxiety especially when you awake after a terrifying dream. You can keep a dream journal, or talk to a close friend or family, or a specialist.
- Try out some relaxation techniques after a stressful and tiresome day to help your mind and body relax. You can do some yoga, listen to relaxing music, meditate, take a warm cup of tea or a warm bath.
- Do not read or watch anything that is scary or has negative content that can induce nightmares. [2]
What You Need To Know About Nightmare Disorder
Nightmare disorder is also referred to as dream anxiety disorder and is characterized by frequent bad dreams (nightmares) that can occur several times in a night. The dream content is usually associated with situations that threaten one’s life or personal safety. Nightmare disorder falls under the category of parasomnia sleep disorders, which basically cover all unusual behaviors during sleep. This disorder can be easily distinguished from other closely-related sleep disorders including sleep terror disorder. For individuals with nightmare disorder, they exhibit symptoms such as waking up anxious or frightened due to the nightmare but can vividly recall the content of the dream. The individual also wakes up alert and oriented within their surrounding and have signs of anxiety such as sweating and have an increased heart rate.
Other than that, since it can prove difficult to fall back to sleep, individuals may experience problems with performing their normal daily routines with ease due to sleep deprivation and anxiety from the nightmares. Nightmare disorder can affect the quality of life for those with the condition as it can make one avoid sleeping, resulting in sleep deprivation and even intense fatigue and insomnia, which can further interfere with one’s interactions with other people, their work and the kind of life they lead. [3]
Conclusion
Nightmare disorder can be managed with various home remedies that can help reduce the incidences or risk for having nightmares. Some of these home remedies include adopting good pre-sleeping habits, having a regular sleep-and-wake pattern, avoiding any horrifying content before bedtime, and practicing relaxational techniques. It is crucial to understand what may be triggering your nightmare disorder, and from there you can tackle the root of the problem to improve your condition.
Also Read:
- Are Nightmares Dangerous & How Do You Know If You Have A Nightmare Disorder?
- Coping Methods For Nightmare Disorder
- What Are The First Symptoms Of Nightmare Disorder & How Do You Test For It?
- What Leads To Nightmare Disorder & Can It Be Cured?
- What To Eat & Avoid When You Have Nightmare Disorder?
- What Happens To Untreated Nightmare Disorder & When To Go To Doctor For It?
- Best Exercises/Activities For Nightmare Disorder
