Nightmare Disorder involves recurrent, distressing dreams that are vividly recalled and often center around threats to one’s safety or well-being. These nightmares cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning.
Key Points:
- Characteristics: Occur during REM sleep (often in the second half of the night), leading to awakenings with detailed memory of the dream’s content.
- Contributors: Stress, trauma, anxiety, sleep deprivation, certain medications, or substance use.
- Impact on Health: Persistent nightmares can disrupt sleep quality and exacerbate daytime fatigue, anxiety, or mood issues.
- Treatment: Imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) to rewrite frightening dream scripts, CBT for insomnia, relaxation techniques, and addressing underlying conditions (e.g., PTSD).
