Scientists - researchers have always been interested in the nature of dreams, in which unconscious fears of people are manifested. No one was able to fully explain why nightmares dream, but certain steps have been taken in this direction.
The first thing that we managed to find out is that people dream only in a state of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. Between REM and non-REM dreams, the brain switches literally every 90 minutes. If during the REM stage a person wakes up, then it is easier for him to remember his visions.
Most nightmares are in the early morning. First of all, this fact is due to the fact that it is at this time that the longest phases of REM sleep fall. Scientists believe that the main causes of nightmares are anxiety and stress, spicy and fatty foods, medications (side effects), alcohol and various stimulants. Sometimes nightmares dream during illness - during the development of influenza or ARVI. Usually they are accompanied by a high temperature.
What are the most common nightmares?
Of course, the chaotic nature of the nightmare, the irrational horror experienced by a person, defies clear classification. Nevertheless, the specialists of the German company GfK managed to find out what nightmares most often torment people at night.
1. The first place belongs to dreams about escape from pursuers. About a quarter of all interviewed respondents stated that they most often have dreams in which they have to run away from people.
2. In second place in popularity are nightmares in which a person finds himself in the face of danger (maniacs, paranormal entities), but cannot do anything, because he loses the ability to move. A variation of such a nightmare comes to mind - you try to escape and you fall, you fall …
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3. About 23% of the surveyed respondents are horrified by dreams in which they are late for an interview or their own wedding. One in five had nightmares about friends and close relatives disappearing or dying.
4. And finally, more rare plots for second-rate horror films. Approximately 12.5% of respondents see nightmares about natural disasters, UFO attacks. 7% of respondents wake up in a cold sweat, having seen in a dream how they are fired from work. All the most interesting in the end - 7.2% of respondents had nightmares that their hair and teeth were falling out, or some parts of the body were missing - legs and arms.
Notable is the fact that children have nightmares more often than adults. Of course, the increased impressionability of the child also affects, but the determining factor is the need to process the enormous amount of information that the child encounters every day. Children have proven to benefit from nighttime fears by helping them adapt to the stresses that await them in adulthood.