You wake up in a cold sweat, panting and with your heart racing. You peer into the dark room furtively. Nothing. Reassured, you relax: it has been nothing more than a nightmare. But still that feeling of hazy horror lingers and you struggle to fall back asleep.
We have all had nightmares and it is never pleasant to experience them. We tend to remember them more than normal dreams because they are emotionally charged and, if distressing enough, they wake us up halfway, increasing the chances that we will be able to remember them.
Sometimes people come to me saying they are worried about the intensity of their nightmares. But although they tend to be vivid and often threatening or strange, in all but a few cases, having nightmares is perfectly normal.
In fact, nightmares are believed to be a form of emotional processing. They are our brain’s way of trying to organize and understand something that worries us: a means of exploring fears or worries, or dealing with memories of events that have caused us distress and that are sometimes too big, complex or disturbing to think about. in them when we think. Are you awake.
Interestingly, the risk of having nightmares increases in certain physical conditions, such as when you have a fever or when you have eaten just before going to bed.
Nightmare disorder is a true sleep disorder in which nightmares occur so frequently that they interfere with sleep, mood, and daytime functioning.
The theory is that both stimulate the body’s metabolism and make the brain more active.
Certain medications also increase the chances of them occurring, as do psychological problems such as depression or anxiety.
More than 80 percent of people with PTSD suffer from nightmares. In healthy people, its frequency is assumed to decrease with age.
They are most common in children ages three to six and then disappear as we grow older. Still, about 5 to 8 percent of adults report having problems with nightmares, and for some, they can be truly threatening.
Nightmare disorder is a true sleep disorder (also called parasomnia) in which nightmares occur so frequently that they interfere with sleep, mood, and daytime functioning.
Sufferers not only wake up scared and anxious, which can prevent them from falling asleep easily again, but in some cases they are so afraid of it happening again that they postpone going to bed.
The problem is that this type of sleep avoidance only serves to make the situation worse. They are so exhausted and sleep deprived that the normal sleep cycle is disrupted, triggering even more intense dreams and nightmares.
Of course, this can affect people’s mental health, increasing depression and anxiety, which increases the risk of more nightmares. While sometimes there is a clear underlying factor contributing to the malignant appearance of a bad dream (for example, some traumatic event), this is not always the case.
Psychotherapy can often help uncover hidden causes and address them, but sometimes, when no clear reason can be found, recurring nightmares can be difficult to treat.
Some therapy techniques focus on improving people’s sleep hygiene, thereby improving the quality of sleep they get, which can help overall.
Simple things like avoiding alcohol and caffeine before bed, as well as putting away screens at least an hour before bed, can prepare the brain for a restful sleep.
Patients often ask if I can prescribe them any pills. But unfortunately, there is no reliable anti-nightmare medication.
However, over the years I have found a remedy that really seems to help: exercise. I often recommend it to patients and last week a study confirmed that this advice works.
Researchers at the University of Texas found that when people got at least 60 minutes of physical activity during the day, they not only slept better at night, but they spent less time in the period of sleep during which dreams and dreams take place. nightmares: REM or rapid eye movement, sleep.
By making ourselves less physiologically vulnerable to nightmares (literally, reducing the time they have to occur), we may be able to avoid them.
It often comes down to several different approaches to tackling nightmares, but an hour of exercise a day seems like a pretty good starting point.
According to one study, vaping has been linked to a 20 percent increase in the risk of heart failure. But don’t let this statistic discourage you if you’re trying to quit smoking cigarettes. Vaping is still much less risky than tobacco.
Ellie is right to pause her social media
Singer Ellie Goulding took a break from Instagram following the breakup of her marriage to art dealer Caspar Jopling and temporarily deleted her account, which has almost 14 million followers.
What a sensible thing. For some people going through a rough patch, social media can seem like a source of support. But all too often it is harmful.
Singer Ellie Goulding took a break from Instagram following the breakdown of her marriage to art dealer Caspar Jopling.
When patients are going through difficult times, one piece of advice I often give is to stay away from social media. If you are in a fragile state, some unpleasant, malicious or thoughtless comments can send you into a spiral; and their false, sanitized version of the world often makes you feel worse about yourself.
Who wants to see photos of other people frolicking with the love of their life when you’re going through a breakup?
About a decade ago, women were bombarded with horror stories about HRT. The increased risk of breast cancer, strokes, and heart attacks was well documented (or so it seemed) and doctors were wary of prescribing it.
But in recent years, a deeper look at the research has shown that some of it exaggerated the risks. At the same time, several celebrities have become strong advocates of HRT, describing how it helped them address the unwanted effects of menopause.
Now, a new study has shown a particular physical benefit that should not be underestimated.
A precipitous drop in estrogen at menopause triggers plaque buildup in the arteries, leading to a sharp increase in the risk of heart problems.
However, HRT, which stops this sudden drop, has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease in women who take it.
Dr. Max prescribes… Hayfever Balm
HayMax Drug-Free Balm (£8.49, hollandandbarratt.com) is rubbed around the nostrils and works by trapping more than a third of the pollen before inhaling it.
Spring seems to have finally arrived, but with it comes a rise in pollen levels and, for some, the inevitable misery of hay fever.
HayMax Drug-Free Balm (£8.49, hollandandbarratt.com) is rubbed around the nostrils and works by trapping more than a third of the pollen before inhaling it. It also works if you have dust or pet allergens.