Definition
Nightmares are terrifying dreams that occur during REM sleep and wake up the subject in a state of anxiety, disturbing his nightly rest.
In fact, these manifestations cause a strong emotional response and are accompanied by feelings such as intense agitation, fear, anger, sadness and other unpleasant emotions (defined as dysphoric).
The dream may contain situations of psychological distress or physical terror.
Nightmares tend to occur in the early hours of dawn and are characterized by the fact that the subject can remember the content and details of the dream when he awakens completely and vividly.
As a rule, the duration of the event is short (around 4-15 minutes), but often, after the episode, the subject may not be able to go back to sleep.
Before waking up, the person emits some sound or can move involuntarily, but rarely occur manifestations that indicate the activation of the autonomic nervous system, such as palpitations, excessive sweating, muscle stiffness and accelerated breathing (as opposed to night terrors or pavor nocturnus) .
Nightmares are part of the parasomnia group, that is, non-pathological disturbances of sleep, such as sleepwalking and hypnagogic hallucinations. These dreams of terrifying content occur especially in children between the ages of 4 and 12; nightmares tend to occur intermittently and for short periods, so they show a gradual and spontaneous remission associated with growth.
Nightmares occur mostly during times of stress, but can also be related to watching a movie or television program with scary content. Therefore, these terrifying dreams are not a cause for alarm, except in cases where they occur very often.
Among the possible causes, various conditions can be identified: sound or light stimulations during rest, high fever, bladder distension, sleep apnea and alterations of the hydro-saline balance.
In adults, other factors that can favor the onset of the disorder include: irregular sleep-wake rhythm, sleep deprivation, too heavy evening meal, use of antidepressants and / or narcotics, alcohol intake and restless leg syndrome.
Moreover, in adulthood, nightmares can indicate psychological problems such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The phenomenon is particularly present in subjects with borderline disorder and schizophrenia.
Possible Causes * of Nightmares
- Alcoholism
- Anxiety
- Night apnea
- Major depression
- Bipolar disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Restless legs syndrome
- Brugada syndrome
