Understanding The Health Risks Of Frequent Nightmares

I'm sure that any time any of us have had a nightmare, youi wake up really glad it wasn't real. Then you take a deep breath, and might even say, "well, that took a few years off my life". But it would be in a sort of joking tone.

Turns out, that is actually true. Kind of.

LETS EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS TRUE

Let's be clear. It's actually not the nightmare that is causing you to lose years on your life. It's actually because the nightmare will stress you out, and will interrupt your sleep. Therefore, adding stress and sleep deprivation which could possibly take years off your life. You don't have to have a nightmare to have that happen, just stress and lack of sleep can do that to a person.

WHAT CAN YOU DO

The best thing to do is to not read or watch scary stuff before bed. It's actually not great to have any screen time before bed. That's why it's recommended to not have a TV in your bedroom, and to leave your phone in another room. I know that people use them as alarms, but it might be a good time to just use a standard alarm clock.

Try to make the room that you sleep in the most peaceful place in the house with a no screen zone. That means phones too. I personally sleep with the phone not even in the room, but I also have a regular alarm clock. I am such a light sleeper that the notifications that come through will bother me, even on vibrate. And then I feel compelled to look at it, even though it's more than likely be nothing to worry about. Probably ever.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE A NIGHTMARE

“Our sleeping brains cannot distinguish dreams from reality. That’s why nightmares often wake us up sweating, gasping for breath, and with our hearts pounding – because our fight-or-flight response has been triggered. This stress reaction can be even more intense than anything we experience while awake,” Dr Abidemi Otaiku, a medical doctor and neuroscientist at Imperial College London, said in a statement sent to IFLScience.

If you have regular anxiety about things happening in your life, not from a nightmare, this could actually trigger a nightmare. So, it's best to figure out how to manage your stress, fatigue and anxiety.

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