Nightmares

Am I the only one that still has nightmares? They are so horrible. Hence the reason I am up blogging at 4am when I have to wake up in like an hour and a half for work. There is nothing worse then being woken up in the middle of the night with your heart racing from a nightmare. Especially when you do awake there is that eery silence of being up in the middle of the night alone. So I decided to look up the causes of nightmares.

Axiety or Stress are the most common cause:

A major life event precedes the onset of nightmares in 60% of cases.
Illness with a fever
Death of a loved one (bereavement)
Adverse reaction to or side effect of a drug
Recent withdrawal from a drug such as sleeping pills
Effect of alcohol or excessive alcohol consumption
Abrupt alcohol withdrawal
Breathing disorder in sleep (sleep apnea)
Sleep disorders (narcolepsy, sleep terror disorder)

A nightmare is a dream occurring during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep that brings out feelings of strong, inescapable fear, terror, distress, or extreme anxiety. They typically occur in the latter part of the night and usually awaken the sleeper, who is able to recall the content of the dream. Nightmares tend to be more common among children and decrease in frequency toward adulthood. About 50% of adults experience occasional nightmares, women more often than men. Eating just prior to going to bed, which raises the body's metabolism and brain activity, may cause nightmares to occur more often. Adults who experience repeated nightmares that become a significant problem should seek help.