How do bad dreams occur

The person usually wakes up at least once during the dream. In a further bad dreams, as opposed to nightmares, interpersonal conflicts were common. Just over half contained primary emotions other than fear. In another study, German athletes discussed distressing dreams that occurred on the nights before an important competition or game. About 15 percent of the athletes reported having had at least one distressing dream before an important competition in the last 12 months.

Most of these related to athletic failure. Elsewhere, a survey in which 30 women who were dealing with relationship violence described their dream experiences, half reported having weekly nightmares, and just over half had recurring dreams. One theory about recurrent dreams is the threat simulation theory.

According to this theory, dreams are an ancient biological defense mechanism that aims to repeatedly simulate threatening events, presumably to prepare people for threats they might face in their waking life. Researchers have proposed that children who live in a threatening environment would dream more actively than those who do not, and at least one study has confirmed this. In one investigation, children who had undergone severe trauma experienced a significantly greater number of dreams and a higher number of threatening dream events, featuring more severe threats, compared with children who had not experienced trauma.

However, in a study that looked at the dreams of school children aged 4 to 12 years who had not undergone any trauma, the following was noted:. Fears relating to scary dreams were common among children aged 4 to 6 years old, and more so among those aged 7 to 9 years. These fears became less frequent between the ages of 10 and 12 years. Types of fears, worries, and dreams changed across age groups.

Fears and scary dreams relating to imaginary creatures reduced with age , while worries about test performance increased with age. In one study, dream reports from teenagers showed that disturbing and normal dreams occur at both 13 and 16 years of age. However, disturbing dreams are especially common among adolescent girls. Girls who often had disturbing dreams were also more likely to show signs of trait anxiety, even at 13 years of age.

Migraine : Recurrent dreams featuring complex visual imagery, often terrifying nightmares, can occur as migraine aura symptoms. These dreams often involve the emotions of fear and anguish. Sleep apnea : People with sleep apnea have more emotionally negative dreams than those who simply snore while asleep.

Depression : Frequent nightmares are associated with suicidal tendency in individuals with major depression. Around 1 to 6 percent of children are thought to experience sleep terrors at some point in their childhood. It is common in children aged between 3 to 12 years. Children are not fully awake in these episodes, even if their eyes are open, and they usually have no memory of the event the next day.

Night terrors are more common in children with a family history of night terrors or sleepwalking behavior. Research has suggested that parasomnias and other sleep conditions — such as restless leg syndrome RLS and sleep-disordered breathing — may run in families. There could be a genetic link.

A study of reports of recurring dreams found that:. Lucid dreaming is a rare state of sleep in which the dreamer knows they are dreaming and they gain insight into their state of mind during the dream.

Research has shown that during lucid dreaming, parts of the brain are active that are normally suppressed during sleep. Findings have suggested that that lucid dreaming is a unique state of consciousness separate from any other mental state. Scientists have found that certain cortical areas that are activated during lucid dreaming. A study of lucid dreams in school children and young adults revealed that :.

The study authors proposed a link between the natural occurrence of lucid dreaming and brain maturation. A wet dream is when an ejaculation occurs during sleep, usually during a sexual dream. The person may not remember the dream, and it can happen without touching the penis. They may or may not wake up. They usually affect boys during puberty , when the body starts to produce the male hormone testosterone. Once the body can produce testosterone, it can release sperm.

Wet dreams are a normal part of growing up and cannot be prevented. Some boys may have several dreams a week, while other never experience one. This, too, is normal. A review of small studies has reported that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors SSRIs may intensify dreaming. Sexual hallucinations have, in the past, led to allegations of sexual molestation or assault by medical doctors or professional nursing staff.

For example, death in nightmares and dreams symbolizes a new beginning. If you dream that you are dying, perhaps you are going through an important personal change in your real life. You might need to reevaluate your sleeping habits and overall lifestyle. For example, you may need to make any or all of the following changes:.

Try to go to bed around the same time each night and wake up around the same time each morning. If you recently began having nightmares and you just started taking some kind of medication, contact your doctor. You should also talk to your doctor if you experience bad dreams more than once a week or if they keep you from getting adequate sleep for a prolonged period of time.

You may need to get a physical, neurological or psychological exam to determine the underlying cause.

If you experience especially intense or recurring nightmares, you may benefit by talking about it with a counselor or psychologist. Sometimes just talking through your nightmares can be enough to dispel them. In other cases, bad dreams could be a subconscious manifestation of some emotional or psychological problem that you need to sort out.

We know so much about the human body, yet nightmares and dreams continue to remain a mystery. Perhaps that is why they hold such a power over us. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Health Topics. Health Tools. Healthy Living. By Ashleigh Frank.

Reviewed: November 15, In fact, you can probably still remember your worst bad dream. What is a nightmare? Sometimes, nightmares can be more than just a bad dream. Who gets nightmares? Adults can also have nightmares, although they do not usually have them as often as children. About 50 percent of all adults claim to have bad dreams on occasion. Accessed April 6, Nightmare disorder. American Psychiatric Association; Kotagal S. Parasomnias of childhood, including sleepwalking. Mayo Clinic; Merck Manual Professional Version.

Morgenthaler TI, et al. Position paper for the treatment of nightmare disorder in adults: An American Academy of sleep medicine position paper. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Gieselmann A, et al. Aetiology and treatment of nightmare disorder: State of the art and future perspectives. Journal of Sleep Research. American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Olson EJ expert opinion.