Nightmares come to visit both adults and children from time to time. In a conscious, adult age, they practically do not leave consequences, but in childhood they can affect the mental and psychological state. Small children, after nightmares, are afraid to fall asleep, ensuring a sleepless night for themselves and their parents.
Causes of nightmares
It is very important to find out what is the cause of the nightmares, this will help you find the right method to deal with bad dreams. Quite often, fever can cause unpleasant and scary dreams. If you notice signs of illness in your child, take him or her to the doctor. If the nightmares were provoked exclusively by the temperature, after its disappearance, sleep will return to normal.
Anxiety or stress can also trigger nightmares. The reason for such stress can be a quarrel with relatives, a negative atmosphere at school or kindergarten, lack of friends, renovation, moving or any other event that disturbs the inner peace of the child. In this case, it is important to find out exactly what the problem is and try to eliminate it and the consequences.
The sleep disorder in children is called parasomnia. It is characterized by a mismatch of body functions during sleep, most often manifested during awakening.
The comfort and quality of the bed has a profound effect on sleep and dreams. The bed must be the right size, the mattress must not be too hard or soft. Care should be taken to select a pillow and bed linen, the latter should be made from natural fabrics. A cozy and comfortable bed, in which the child can feel calm, perfectly drives away nightmares.
What does the child do before bedtime?
It is very important to keep track of what your child is doing before going to bed. Avoid watching anything on TV an hour before bed (especially scary or violent movies). Minimize active and active games before bedtime, it is better to read a good book with your child. Lack of anxiety before going to bed will serve as an excellent defense against nightmares.
Nightmares can come to your child because of unusual food eaten in the afternoon. Spicy and heavy foods require more effort from the body to digest, which forces your child's brain to overwork. As a result, when the child falls asleep, the cerebral cortex simply cannot go through the stage of nervous inhibition, which causes nightmares.
Lack of sleep and fatigue can cause obsessive nightmares in children.
Quite often, nightmares bother children after giving up daytime sleep. Unaccustomed fatigue and nervous tension lead to the fact that the deep sleep phase becomes deeper and "more powerful", which causes problems with the transition to the active sleep phase. This leads to a mismatch in the actions of the nerve centers of the brain, which causes nightmares. Therefore, it is important to give up daytime sleep in stages, leveling the negative consequences.
