Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Nightmares and night terrors – two different things




  
About 6% of children experience night terrors.  Their symptoms are similar to those described below.  Almost all children outgrow the propensity by adolescence.  When adults have night terrors, it’s considered to be a sleep disorder and a very unpleasant one at that.

Dear SMYD,

My husband has the worst nightmares of anyone I’ve ever heard of.  He wakes up screaming!  Once our neighbors even heard him it was so loud!

He doesn’t seem to have any trouble falling asleep, but several times a month he bolts upright in the bed, sweating and his heart is racing.  Mostly he yells, “NO!  No!”  But other times I can’t understand what he’s saying.  It’s scary to me!

Sometimes he thrashes around like he’s running in his sleep.  I’ve had to duck to keep from getting hit more than once.  One time he stood up on the edge of the bed and I thought he was going to run out of the room.
When this happens, it takes a while for him to even recognize me.  He won’t talk to me or answer my questions.  No matter how hard I try to tell him everything’s going to be OK, he’s inconsolable. 

Then he kind of snaps out of it and says he doesn’t remember anything except trying to get away from something or someone who was going to kill him. 

We’re both afraid to fall asleep!  What should we do?


Signed,
Afraid to Sleep with My Husband!

Dear Afraid,

You have described the classic symptoms not of nightmares, but ‘night terrors.’

Many parents have rushed to their child’s bedside in the dark of night after hearing the screams of night terrors.  Most children will fall back to sleep after being assured that mom or dad is close by to protect them.  Next morning, most kids have no recall of the events of the night before.  Thank goodness, young ones typically outgrow the night terrors.

Only 1 to 3% of adults experience night terrors.  In adults they are considered a sleep disorder.  They do not occur during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep associated with the dream state where a ‘normal’ nightmare might occur.  Just as you’ve described, the details of what was terrorizing the sleeper are rarely recalled.  In more extreme cases, sleep walking and more dangerous activities have been reported – using kitchen appliances, leaving the house and even driving a car!

Your husband might try a before-bed snack as some research indicates that those experiencing night terrors may be hypoglycemic.  It’s uncertain how low blood sugar might be contributing to the terrors, but it’s worth trying as the correlation is documented. 

Also, some have experienced success in breaking the cycle of night terrors by waking themselves up a few minutes before they typically fall victim to the distressful event.  So, if he usually starts screaming at 2AM, set the alarm for 1:45, Dear Dreamer. 

If the night terrors continue, it’s time to visit the doctor.  Some medications have been effective in treating this disorder.

Sweet Dreams to You!

SMYD



Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Scary dream? Good for you!




Our dreams come in service of our health and well-being – even the scary ones. 

Dear SMYD,

About a month and a half ago, I was turned down for a supervisor position at my job and moved from one supervisor to another.  My new supervisor is great but my old supervisor and I had issues. She started rumors and tried to hurt my reputation.  I'm working hard to rebuild a positive reputation again now.  I was shocked that someone who called herself my friend (my old supervisor) would be so nasty to me.

Then I started having this recurring dream.  Basically, it starts off that I'm in the hospital with a headache and the doctor tells me I am having a baby.  My first feeling when told I was having a baby was shock and disbelief.  

Next thing I know, I have a baby that is about 6 inches long!  I felt warm and happy when I saw the baby the first time, but worried that the baby is so small.  It looks very premature.  The hospital sends me home with the baby even though I keep telling them the baby is too premature.  Once home, I keep checking the baby's pulse and feel for breathing.  I was afraid I or someone else would hurt the baby.  I never can tell if the baby is alive.  

This dream is very frightening to me and I can't seem to sleep because of it.  Can you help?
Signed,

Afraid to Sleep/Dream

Dear Afraid,

I'm sorry you had to endure so much unpleasantness at work and in your recurring dream.

It’s important to note a parallel occurrence – Your difficulties at work and your new job began about six weeks ago and the baby in your dream is about six inches long.  This is a tip off to your dream’s topic.

Babies in dreams often signal hope and new beginnings.  Your dream suggests that there is more faith in you at work than you currently believe.  They entrust you with a new baby – a new position.  But it's hard for you to believe that you have new life at work.  You can't believe the baby is alive.

In fact, you keep checking to see if it's true that this new baby, this new life/opportunity, is alive and well under the circumstances.  You're afraid that somehow you will hurt the baby.

There is also a fear that someone else will hurt the baby.  This is a reflection of what happened to you – a trusted person surprised you and hurt you.  Your dream reflects your fear that this will happen again in your new position.

After such a stressful time it's hard to get back to believing in yourself and trusting others, Dear Dreamer. 
Your dream offers an urgent affirmation through repetition that you are well thought of and have a true start fresh in your new role.  Don’t ruin it with constant worry.

You may have follow-up dreams, but this frightening dream most likely will not recur again now.  

Sweet Dreams to You!



Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Brain soup is good for you

Photo: Flickr.com



Many dismiss dreams as the random firing of synapses; sort of a fireworks of the brain, letting off of steam and nothing more.  Today’s dreamer seems to fall into this group of dreamers.

Dear SMYD,

What’s all the fuss about dreams?  I think people read too much into them!  Here’s the way I see it:
Every night scenarios of my previous day and thoughts still anchored inside as I go to bed combine to make what I call “brain soup…” the ingredients are tied together in a flavorless mass. 

Don’t give too much attention to the night’s nonsense!

Signed,

A Skeptic

Dear Skeptic,

Certainly many manage their lives and personal growth without the assistance of their dreams.  Some eschew help from any source, seeking a sense of independence and self-sufficiency even when faced with complex problems and emotional dilemmas they’ve tried unsuccessfully to resolve on their own. 

I’m reminded of the ramps built for handicapped access to public buildings.  Certainly, the elderly, those in wheelchairs and others needing assistance, got it when the ramps were put in place.  But maybe you’ve noticed that many able-bodied folks use those ramps too. 

So it is, or can be, with dreams.  They provide easy access into original and inspired problem-solving that eludes us during waking life.

No one is required to take the ramp and delve into the creative language of metaphor.  No one is mandated open another perspective into the work of his or her daily life and relationships.  But those who do find a rich resource there for the asking, a wealth of insights and possibilities laid out for them to consider and implement as they choose.

Photo: nl.wikipedia.org

I’m so glad Robert Lewis Stevenson worked with scenarios from his dreams as he created many of his stories and novels, most notably his masterpiece, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Mozart and Beethoven both heard compositions in their dreams before bringing them into existence in the waking world. 

Dimitri Mendeleyev saw the basic elements of the physical universe in a dream and woke to create the first model of the periodic table. 

Photo: Flickr.com

Albert Einstein credited a sledding dream with providing his early understanding of the principle of relativity:  “You could say, and I would say, that my entire scientific career has been a meditation on that dream!”

On one point at least, Dear Dreamer, your assessment of dreams proves true:  In each of the famous cases of dreams’ contributions cited here, those dreamers of towering intellect and talent had examined the problems facing them from every viewpoint they knew and understood in their waking lives.  When they laid their heads on their pillows, those scenarios and thoughts still anchored in their brains went to work, applying the wisdom and creativity of the dreaming mind to offer up new ways of deciphering clues and unraveling mysteries.

Thank goodness for our Brain Soup!  Anything but a flavorless mass.

Sweet Dreams to You!

SMYD
sendmeyourdreams@yahoo.com