Nightmares are vividly realistic, disturbing dreams that rattle you awake from a deep sleep. They often set your heart pounding from fear. Nightmares tend to occur most often during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when most dreaming takes place. Bellow are 7 Surprising Facts About Nightmares.

There’s a trick to remember them

It’s called imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT). And it’s important because even if you don’t remember all the details of your nightmare, the stress of it can linger. So first, write down as much of your bad dream that you can recall. Then, think about a way to resolve it. The more you paint a mental picture of the solution, the easier it gets.

You can make them stop

You can shut nightmares down once they’ve begun. Some medical professionals believe in a process called “lucid dreaming,” the process of becoming aware while still in a dream. Once lucid, the dreamer can acknowledge that there is no real danger and attempt to create an alternate ending — like how to defeat an attacker, rescue their children, escape the sinking ship, etc.

They’re rather common

While children have them more often than most, 50% to 70% of all adults get them occasionally — especially women. And 2% to 8% of adults get them frequently.

It could also be chemical

Medications are also known to contribute to nightmare frequency, from antidepressants to narcotics. Blood-pressure medications have also been linked to bad dreams, too. (And going off drugs may not help at first either: Withdrawal from alcohol, drugs, and prescriptions is also a trigger.)

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Yes, late night snacks can cause them

Eating right before bed can increase your metabolism and signal the brain to become more active, which leads to nightmares. Another before-bed-no-no? Scary books and movies are also associated with bad dreams.

They can make you feel better

Scientists have found a surprising upside. Bad dreams are often a reflection of stress and worries you feel when awake, and when you dream, the brain takes these abstract fears and plays them out in a narrative. This is good news. Why? When you wake up, you remember the bad dream itself. Concrete memories are easier for our brains to process and file away than general, abstract anxieties — and we subconsciously think of them as the past, not the present. This helps us distance ourselves from the worry and provide an emotional release.

Fear isn’t the only reason you have them

In fact, confusion, guilt, disgust, and sadness are more common reasons — and they’re more likely to linger with you longer than if you had a fear-based dream, researchers from the University of Montreal found

Do you have nightmares occasionally or frequently?

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