What Do Scary Dreams Mean?

Nightmares, often known as bad dreams, are a form of dream that makes you feel anxious, fearful, or terrified. But what do scary dreams mean? They can tell a lot. A person will usually wake up during or shortly after experiencing a nightmare, and will be able to recall all or part of the nightmare. 

During the REM (rapid eye movement) period of sleep, both nightmares and dreams occur. Every night, people dream for roughly 2 hours. Nightmares are more common in the late stages of the REM cycle. 

We’ve all experienced nightmares at some point in our lives. In fact, your greatest nightmare is likely still fresh in your mind. Here’s some basic facts regarding nightmares whether you or a loved one suffers from them, or if you’re simply interested about things that go bump in the night. You’ll learn where they come from, what they imply, and how to put an end to them. 

What Does it Mean to Have Scary Dreams?

Scientists have a limited understanding of nightmares and dreams. However, there are several hypotheses as to why people have nightmares. One idea revolves on the brain’s architecture and physiology. You may be wondering, What does it mean when you have a scary dream?

Learning areas of the brain are stimulated during REM sleep. The brain fires a variety of impulses at random during REM sleep. By turning these random impulses into a “narrative” or dream, the cortex (the portion of the brain that analyzes and organizes information) tries to make sense of them.  If this idea is right, nightmares and dreams will be meaningless. They’re only a side effect of a good night’s sleep. 

Dreams, according to some psychologists, arise from a person’s unconscious mind and reflect his or her hidden fears and wants. Sigmund Freud was one of them. These suppressed emotions only rise to the surface during sleep, when the conscious mind is quiet, and present themselves as nightmares and dreams (1) 

According to this belief, all dreams are meaningful and have some form of underlying significance. Then, what does having scary dreams mean?

Who gets nightmares?

Children are the ones that have the most nightmares. Children often begin experiencing nightmares before the age of ten. Some children as early as three or four years old may begin to have nightmares. 

Bad nightmares are entirely natural until they start disrupting the child’s sleep routine and/or interfering with his or her psychological and social development. So, last time you had a scary dream, just remember that it is completely normal. If you want to track your weird dreams, try the Dreambook App today. With Dreambook, you can record your dreams as they happen, and review them later to decipher the weird meanings behind them.

References:

1: https://www.vivapartnership.com/optimal-living/what-do-our-nightmares-mean/