Dreams And Night Terrors

Dreams

What would be considered a weird dream? Would it be realistic or full to the brim with fantasy, like dragons popping out of a toilet? What causes these dreams? Dreams come in many types as well, examples being nightmares, which are often confused with night terrors and lucid dreaming. However what causes these dreams? The science behind dreams has yet to be fully discovered, but humans are able to recognize what causes different types of dreams and their interpretations. Many people dream, but most do not know what they mean and why. One dictionary definition says dreams are a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. But there is more to dreams than one phrase. Some studies have shown that

Though what could be considered a nightmare varies from person to person. Referring to the dream mentioned in the previous paragraph, someone might not find the shadowed figure as frightening, but another might be terrified, waking up suddenly from fear. What most people confuse nightmares with are known as night terrors. However, these two concepts are very different. A night terror is a type of sleep disruption, but instead of being a dream like nightmares, night terrors are caused by the central nervous system being over aroused. This is because the system is still maturing. Children will sometimes gain the over-arousal trait from genetics, almost 80% of family members of the child experienced sleepwalking or another sleeping disorder. (Night 7). Night terrors can be hard to witness as parents but they are not connected to a worse medical problem. Night terrors are also rare compared to nightmares, and occur more with young children. They may disappear as the child gets older. Night terrors are also normally forgotten after they happen, while a child may remember a nightmare. Another difference is that night terrors take place at a different time than nightmares. “Night terrors happen during deep non REM sleep. Unlike nightmares (which occur during REM sleep), a night terror is not technically a dream, but more like a sudden reaction of fear that happens during the transition from one sleep phase to another” (Night 4). What the child is experiencing is their nervous system becoming so over aroused during a sleep phase, that the body reacts, causing a night terror. Another difference between nightmares and night terrors, humans can over time develop a nightmare disorder. “Nightmare disorder is referred to by doctors as a Parasomnia — a type of sleep disorder that involves undesirable experiences that occur while you 're falling asleep, during sleep or when you 're waking up” (Nightmare 1). This kind of disorder