Nightmares can be triggered by many factors, including: Stress or anxiety. Sometimes the ordinary stresses of daily life, such as a problem at home or school, trigger nightmares. A major change, such as a move or the death of a loved one, can have the same effect.
People with a mysterious sleep disturbance called REM sleep behavior disorder, or RBD, experience a sudden change in the nature of dreams. Dreams increasingly become more violent and frequently involve episodes in which an attacker must be fought off.
Indeed, studies suggest that nightmares are often linked to unmet psychological needs and/or frustration with life experiences. Yet those links aren't always easy to make—except in cases of trauma (discussed below), our nightmares tend to reflect our troubles through metaphor rather than literal representation.
The cause is unknown but night terrors are often triggered by fever, lack of sleep or periods of emotional tension, stress or conflict. Night terrors are like nightmares, except that nightmares usually occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and are most common in the early morning.
Night terrors can occur in adults however it is rare. This may be indicative of underlying neurologic disorders that require more work up and investigation.
Night terrors occur in deep sleep or NREM stage three. During night terrors, the front part of your brain that controls executive functioning and memory is asleep while the back part that controls motor movement is awake. This is similar to sleepwalking.
Nightmares may be a common clinical characteristic for people experiencing psychotic symptoms. Further, the distress associated with them is associated with worse daytime symptoms.
1. Being chased. Being chased is one of the most common nightmares. If you dream that you're being chased by something, whether it's an 8-foot-tall rabbit or a shrouded figure, then it's an indicator that you're running away from something or someone in real life.
In a way, chronic nightmares can be a warning about your physical or mental health. If chronic nightmares are disturbing your sleep, it's worth bringing it up to a doctor or therapist. They'll be able to help you create a plan for more peaceful sleep.
Aggression symbolizes the stress in ones life. Some people deal with daily life stress using anger or hiding their anger and therefore it may come out in their dreams. The ideas may be broad, such as; self-image, insecurities, secure ideas, sexual orientation, desires, jealously, rage and love.
If you have experienced violence or have unresolved issues pertaining to violence in your waking life, then these can manifest in your dreams. Dreams about violence can also be about changes and transformation that you may be going through or about to go through.