There you are, tucked up in bed, hoping for a peaceful night’s sleep. But instead of drifting into a serene dreamscape, you find yourself jolting awake, heart racing, as another nightmare barges into your slumber. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Frequent nightmares can turn what should be a restful night into a recurring horror show. Basically, the number one way to dramatically improve your sleep is to not have any nightmares, let alone weird dreams.

Now, barely anyone can control their dreams; sure, lucid dreaming exists, but it’s fairly rare. So, if you can’t control your dreams and you want these nightmares to stop once and for all so you can live a normal life, what can you even do? Well, here’s what you need to know.

Why Do Nightmares Keep Coming Back?

Now, it’s true that everyone deals with nightmares at least once in their life; every one of every age has dealt with them before. So, basically, knowing the cause is half the battle won.

Stress and Anxiety

Nightmares often love to feed off our daily stresses and anxieties. Imagine your brain as a sponge, soaking up all your worries throughout the day. When you finally drift off to sleep, your brain processes these emotions, sometimes twisting them into nightmares. If you’re constantly stressed or anxious, your brain might be working overtime, leading to more frequent nightmares.

Trauma and PTSD

Experiencing a traumatic event can have a lasting impact on your sleep. People with PTSD often experience recurring nightmares directly related to their trauma. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill bad dreams—they’re intense, vivid, and often replay the traumatic event, making restful sleep feel impossible. Now, everyone can experience trauma in some way, shape, or form, and unfortunately, trauma haunts you.

Sleep Disorders

Conditions like sleep apnoea or restless leg syndrome can throw your sleep cycle into chaos, leading to more frequent nightmares. When your sleep is constantly interrupted, your brain doesn’t get the chance to properly transition through the sleep stages, which can be a trigger for nightmares.

Medication and Substance Use

Certain medications, especially those that affect the brain, such as antidepressants or blood pressure tablets, can increase the likelihood of nightmares. Similarly, alcohol, recreational drugs, and even that late-night cuppa can mess with your sleep patterns and make nightmares more common.

Late-Night Snacks

Believe it or not, your midnight munchies could be to blame. Eating late at night revs up your metabolism and brain activity, leading to more vivid dreams and, in some cases, nightmares. So, perhaps think twice before reaching for that late-night cheese toastie.

What Can You Even Do to Keep Nightmares at Bay?

Now that we’ve covered the potential culprits, let’s talk about how to put an end to these nocturnal disturbances. Now, it’s going to vary for everyone as nightmares can occur for a variety of reasons.

Create a Sleep Sanctuary

Your bedroom should be a place of relaxation, a safe space where stress and anxiety are left at the door. So it’s really going to help to just focus on keeping your room cool and dark can help create the perfect sleep environment. You might even want to consider blackout curtains to block out any unwanted light and maintain a comfortable temperature.

Now, this next thing sounds like generic advice, but honestly, it really helps, too. So, you should look into decluttering your room is also a good idea—a tidy room leads to a tidy mind, making it easier to drift off. And don’t forget about comfort. A good-quality mattress and pillows can make all the difference between a night of peaceful slumber and one filled with tossing and turning.

All of this sounds way too overdone, but it’s about getting your brain into a relaxing state; it’s about getting your whole body into a relaxing state, too. Speaking of which…

Establish a Bedtime Routine

It’s so important to understand that routines aren’t just for kids; they can work wonders for adults, too. Overall, a consistent bedtime routine signals to your brain that it’s time to wind down. So it’s best to just try setting a regular sleep schedule, going to bed, and waking up at the same time every day. This helps regulate your body’s internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

In the hour leading up to bedtime, do something relaxing, like reading, taking a warm bath, or practising deep breathing exercises. And try to avoid screens—the blue light emitted can interfere with your sleep, keeping you awake longer than you’d like. Now, all of this probably sounds so generic, but it’s all these little things that truly add up to give you a more peaceful rest.

Address Stress and Anxiety

Chances are high that this might be the biggest one of them all that’s not only causing nightmares but frequent nightmares (such as nightly) to happen. So, since stress and anxiety are major triggers for nightmares, finding ways to manage them can significantly reduce their frequency. So, just above, a bedtime routine was mentioned.

So it could help to start practising mindfulness or meditation can help calm your mind before bed. If your thoughts are racing as you’re trying to sleep, try jotting them down in a journal. Generally speaking, writing out your worries can help you process them and put them to rest for the night.

It can also help to see a therapist or some sort of mental health professional. If you see your GP, they might prescribe something, but they’ll usually also recommend you get mental health help as well. But if you’re struggling to afford that or want some other supplemental options, then you could look at Naturecan, which offers different types of CBD products. More and more people are using CBD as a way to calm their stress and anxiety so they can get through the day (and the night, too). But again, it’s still best to see a mental health professional, too.

Be Mindful of What You Eat and Drink

We’ve all heard the old wives’ tale about cheese giving you nightmares. While there’s no definitive proof that cheese specifically causes nightmares, what you eat and drink before bed can definitely impact your sleep. Usually, water is okay, but that’s about it, so try to go without eating for about three to four hours before bed if you can.