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Why do we have nightmares?

Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by Iwind in People

Everyone dreams. A person may or may not remember dreaming, but everyone does it. Occasionally, the dream may be a bad one, something that is called a nightmare. The term “nightmare” actually comes from the Middle Ages and refers to the bad dreams sent to us by goblins. The “mare” portion of the word is an old English term, “maere,” meaning incubus or goblin. By the early 19th century, it became a common term to refer to bad dreams as nightmares.

The purpose of dreaming is not completely known. Science is still trying to figure why we dream in the first place. Dr. Sigmund Freud forwarded the theory that dreams are disguised wish fulfillment. Other, more biologically-based studies suggest that the physical functions of the body and brain are the cause for certain brain activities, not the least of which is the function of dreaming. The brain, trying to interpret the electrical impulse activities, may simply be reacting to this stimulus by giving us dreams.

Dreams (and nightmares) are made up of emotions, thoughts and images. Dreams occur during the phase of sleep known as REM, which is an acronym for Rapid Eye Movement. REM cycles tend to get longer as the night progresses, and many people find they have nightmares closer to morning.

So, why do we have nightmares? The answer to that is not completely known, but one theory about dreams is that, when we sleep, we take the events of the day (or even of a longer period, if we are under constant pressure), and try to re-interpret them. In trying to understand and cope with our daily problems, our brains may put on elaborate dramas — mind-shows, if you will — in the hopes of helping us sort through our personal lives.

If this is the case, then nightmares, for this reason, might be a warning that our stress levels are getting too high.

Nightmares appear to be an emotional response to stress, acted out during a person’s sleep phase. This is especially true in children, who face the stress and pressure of learning new things almost constantly. We tend to outgrow them as we get older, which may support the theory that we are working out our stress and fears in our dreams, but adults do still get them. About 50% of adults have occasional nightmares, women more so than men.

There are other reasons why we have nightmares, as well. Taking certain drugs and the withdrawal from certain drugs and alcohol will cause nightmares. We can have nightmares because of traumatic events that have occurred in our lives. War veterans and PTSD sufferers frequently have nightmares, as do some people afflicted with depression and anxiety disorders. It has not been confirmed, but not lack of sleep — and lack of dreaming — may cause nightmares when sleep does finally arrive.

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Tags: bad dreams, dreams, emotions, featured, goblins, images, incubus, mare, middle ages, nightmares, rapid eye movement, REM, REM cycle, scared, sleep phase, stress, stress level, thoughts, why bad dreams, why dream, why nightmares