Why does my child have nightmares? & bull; hello healthy

Everyone must have had nightmares. However, children have more nightmares than adults. A report from a study from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) quoted from the Medical Daily states, at least ten to fifty percent of children aged 5-12 years admit that they often have nightmares that are quite severe and make their parents worry. What, the hell, causes children to have nightmares?

Why do nightmares arise?

Dreaming is actually a thought process; a continuation of what we think and feel during our day of activities. Nightmares are when we think about troublesome problems during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and try to solve them. We often try to ignore difficult problems that plague us during the day, but when we sleep and are forced to "be alone" in our own heads, the brain will address these poser. Nightmares may also come from fear in your subconscious mind.

Children often have nightmares, but they are most common in children aged 3-6 years. Some studies estimate that 50% of children in this age range experience frequent nightmares. Children can have various dreams. For example seeing monsters, ghosts, wild animals to bad people. At this age, a child's imagination is growing "fertile" and at its most active, so even normal fear can persist and develop into a nightmare.

It should be noted that sleep itself is divided into two stages: rapid eye movement (REM) and nonrapid eye movement (non-REM). REM sleep and non-REM sleep occur alternately every 90-100 minutes during your sleep. Dreams usually occur during REM sleep in the middle of the night or early morning.

Cause children often have nightmares

If most adult nightmares are triggered by stress or certain health problems, the causes of frequent nightmares may include:

1. Fatigue and lack of sleep. Extreme fatigue and lack of sleep can cause your child to have nightmares.
2. Is sick and has a fever. When your child has a high fever due to an illness, he may have nightmares.
3. Currently undergoing the treatment process. Medicines taken to cure illnesses can make your child have nightmares. This is caused by chemicals contained in drugs, such as antidepressants. Apart from that, sudden withdrawal from taking the drug can also cause your child to have nightmares.
4. Experiencing creepy things. Horror stories or films that children "swallow" during their activities can affect the content of children's dreams when they sleep at night. In addition, trauma from bad experiences, such as death of family members, parental divorce, seeing their parents fight, to motorized accidents, can also trigger nightmares.
5. Anxiety because of experiencing new changes in life. Changes in life are natural. However, the anxieties your child feels can make your child have nightmares. For example, moving houses or changing schools, or having new family members.
6. Genetics. Apparently, genetic factors can also play a role in causing nightmares in children. About 7% of children who experience nightmares have a family history of nightmares as well. For example, his older siblings or parents also have a history of frequent nightmares.

My son has nightmares very often. Are nightmares dangerous?

The various triggers above can cause children to have nightmares. However, if the nightmares keep happening in succession, especially if the child complains about the "theme", "plot", "character" of the same story, you may need to ask him to consult a doctor.

Nightmares can occur due to trauma that is deep enough to cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or they may be a sign of depression in a child. Both of these mental problems can be dangerous. Try to find out and understand what incident traumatized your child and try to provide an explanation and a sense of security. If that doesn't work, you can consult a doctor.

x