During normal sleep, the brain emits waves with a lower frequency but higher amplitude. However during dreaming, flurries of irregular waves occur. Two main stages of sleep are non-Rapid Eye Movement and Rapid Eye Movement. During the non-REM sleep (normal sleep), the metabolic rate decreases, breathing slows, and blood pressure decreases.

Every 90 minutes or so, a sleeping person enters the REM stage from non-REM stage. During this stage, the eyes move rapidly beneath the closed but fluttering eye lids. Brain waves change to desynchronized pattern. Dreams become strongest at the REM stage.

Everyone dreams, but dream that simply more frightening or upsetting and causing a person to wake up in a state of panic, fear or feeling shaken is considered nightmare.

Nightmare happens occasionally in normal person. It tends to be caused by stress, anxiety, or sometimes reaction to medications.
There is a belief that use the bathroom if you wake up from a nightmare. But is this a myth that using bathroom will break the nightmare? Actually it is recommended to use bathroom when you are wake up from a nightmare simply because it will relieve the stress and trick your body to think it’s time to sleep as most people use bathroom before they go to bed.

How do we prevent nightmares that haunting us:

1. Fix sleeping schedule

The myth that fatigue can bring you to deeper sleep is actually wrong. Exhaustion, fatigue and stress are all the potential causes of bad dreams. Fixing a sleeping schedule can regulate your biological clock to sleep and wake up in a right time, and hence improve your sleep.

2.Meditation

Meditation is one tactic to relax your mind and achieve peace and happiness. Some may think that travelling is a mind relaxing tactic. But why do we feel exhausted after the trip. Since meditation is free, let’s find a place that is comfortable and perform a meditation.

3.Exercise

During exercise, body releases endorphins that trigger positive feeling in body, and body often feels more relaxed and calm. However, intense sport and competition sport aren’t necessarily to make you happier because it can cause stress.

4.Cut off screen time before bed

Phone that emits blue light and the alerting information on phone are the culprit that contribute to poor sleep and delay REM stage.

5.Mindful Diaphragmic Breathing

Taking deep breath and aware of your breathing can be more mindful of your body’s response to stress. You can perform by monitoring your body when you inhale, and relax your body when exhale.