Most of us will experience some sort of dreaming almost every night, even if we don’t remember it. Usually it is quite pleasant, possibly a little mundane and often quite strange; however, from time to time we will inevitably suffer from some sort of nightmare.  Fortunately, for most people this is a rare occurrence, unfortunately for some people though, this can happen a lot more frequently, even potentially happening on an almost nightly basis. Nightmares can make sleep a very unpleasant experience and one that is not to be looked forward to; furthermore, it can have a very disruptive effect on the way that we are able to sleep, causing those that suffer from nightmares to wake up frequently during the night, which leads to a very poor quality of sleep indeed. It can also lead to those that suffer from nightmares finding it difficult to get to sleep, which means that they may not necessarily be getting as much sleep as they need. Sleep is a very important part of our lives, not only does it provide us with the energy that we need for the rest of the day, but it has various healing benefits as were.

Sleep there is such an important part of our lives, so it is understandable that people want to find a way of preventing terrifying nightmares; there are no guaranteed ways of preventing nightmares, however, there are a variety of ways with which to try and minimise the chances of suffering from a nightmare. For a start, if you enjoy watching scary movies or television shows or even looking at scary images, when you go to sleep there is a good chance that these images, or something similar, may come into your mind; this is because our minds process the days actions when we sleep, so many of the events of the day, such as the scary movie that we’ve watched, can be part of dreams. By not watching scary films, or anything similar, you may be able to reduce any chance of having a terrifying nightmare.

It may sound strange, but trying to think of happy thoughts can also help to reduce the number of nightmares that you may have, before you go to sleep think of, or look at, something pleasant and enjoyable, try to have in your mind as you doze off and with any luck you will either dream of this, or at the very least, not dream of something disturbing and unpleasant. It is also advisable to either write your dreams down when you have them or even talk to other people about them as this can help to understand why you might be having the dreams and sometimes prevent them as well. Nightmares often occur when we have stresses going on in our lives, so by reducing the stresses, we are able to minimise the chances of suffering from a terrifying nightmare. It is not always possible to reduce the stresses, but sometimes it can at least be a comfort to know what is causing the nightmares and this sometimes helps to prevent them as well.