6 Ways to Get More Restful Sleep and Avoid Nightmares
Nightmares are a fairly common occurrence, with between 4 and 10% of the population experiencing them on a weekly basis. Nightmares are more common after experiencing a traumatic event.
Nightmares may be an intense expression of the body working through traumatic experiences, so intense that the sleeper awakens as a result of the nightmare. Nightmares could also indicate a breakdown in the body's ability to process trauma. Fortunately, most trauma-related nightmares fade away after a few weeks or months.
If you suffer from nightmares, here are 6 things that can help you calm your nervous system and release physical sensations of tension and stress in the aftermath of a nightmare (and even help prevent nightmares in the future) so you can sleep better.
Nightmares are frequently triggered by stress. Slow, mindful breathing can help you de-stress throughout the day, especially before bed. If you wake up with your breath caught in your throat after a nightmare, a few rounds of deep breathing can help you fall back asleep.
Slow and controlled breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers blood pressure and induces a natural state of calm. 2-to-1 Diaphragmatic Breathing (also known as Relaxation Breathing) and Box Breathing are two of my favorite breathing techniques (also known as four square breathing).
Meditation
Meditation is an excellent complement to mindful breathing, and it can help rewire your brain to be less stressed and more present. Trauma draws us into the pain of the past or into the fear of the future, and nightmares are frequently an exaggeration of these unmetabolized feelings. Listening to a guided meditation can assist you in falling back asleep after a nightmare. Yoga nidra is a particular style of meditation that helps your body deeply relax and induce a state of "yogic sleep".
Grounding Techniques
Nightmares can disrupt your nervous system and leave you physically agitated. The simple act of physically feeling your feet on the floor before going to bed can be very grounding. Contacting the natural earth with your bare feet (also known as Earthing) can help you feel calmer and more rooted in your body.
Make a Relaxing Pre-Bedtime Ritual
Creating a calming pre-bedtime ritual can help relax your body and mind before sleep, increasing your chances of sleeping soundly through the night. Brewing a cup of soothing chamomile tea, meditation, gratitude journaling, self-massage, or any other self-care practice that feels supportive to you can all be part of your ritual. Staying away from blue light emitted from electronic screens (TV, iPhone, etc) at least two hours prior to bedtime can also help support natural sleep rhythms.
Dump Your Dreams
A dream dump is the concept of getting your dream out of your body and mind by discussing it with a safe and trusted person (a friend, loved one, therapist, counselor) who can safely hold it without making you feel crazy, judged, or damaged (as long as you remember it and it doesn't feel triggering to recall it). If you don't have a safe person to share it with, you could write it down in a journal and then tear up the pages to release it.
Make a new ending to the dream.
Dr. Justin Havens refers to this as The Dream Completion TechniqueTM and claims that it can eliminate nightmares after just one night.
To practice the technique, recall your most recent nightmare and the point at which you awoke. Then think about what you’d like to happen next that would help you feel empowered, in control, at ease, happy, or at peace. In essence, you’re creating a new direction for the dream that’s brief and simple and helps to re-write the emotional effects of it in your body and mind.
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