Basics
People usually remember these vividly when they wake up, unlike night terrors.
Nightmares
This physical sensation, like a racing heart, often happens immediately upon waking.
Tachycardia
These four letters represent the mental health condition most linked to nightmares.
PTSD
This "hygiene" practice involves keeping a consistent sleep schedule to reduce episodes.
Sleep hygiene
Nightmare disorder is this type of sleep disorder, involving unusual behaviors during sleep.
A parasomnia
To be a disorder, nightmares must cause "significant" this in daily life.
Distress and Impairment
This class of heart medication (like propranolol) is a common pharmaceutical trigger.
Beta-blockers
This therapy involves rewriting a nightmare’s ending while awake and rehearsing it.
Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT)
Most nightmares occur in the this half of the night when REM cycles are longer.
The second REM cycle
If nightmares last for more than 6 months, they are categorized as this "P" word.
Persistant
Withdrawal from this legal substance is a very common cause of "rebound" REM nightmares.
Alchohal
This blood pressure medication is frequently prescribed "off-label" to treat PTSD-related nightmares.
Prazosin
This is the official manual used by doctors to diagnose Nightmare Disorder.
DSM-5
Severity is "Moderate" if episodes happen this many times per week (but not nightly).
One or more
This theory suggests nightmares occur when we fail to "digest" or regulate these during the day.
Your emotions
This type of "Dreaming," where you become aware you are asleep, is sometimes used as a treatment.
Lucid Dreaming
Nightmare disorder is more common in this age group than in adults.
Children
This term describes the fear of going to sleep due to the anticipation of nightmares.
Somniphobia
This sleep-related breathing disorder can trigger nightmares due to a lack of oxygen to the brain.
Sleep apnea
CBT-I is a common therapy used when nightmares lead to this other "I" sleep disorder.
Insomnia