ELi5: Do you get the same benefits from sleep if you’ve had a nightmare?
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I’m no neuroscientist and I think sleep is one of those things we haven’t completely figured out yet, but: It depends. If someone has severe or frequent nightmares, it does disrupt the benefits you get from sleep enough to cause physiological and cognitive problems. However, a few nightmares doesn’t disrupt those benefits enough to be concerned. Sleep is measured by quality and length. And you need a good amount of both in a certain timespan to be healthy.
As someone who has had nightmares almost every night for over 3 years yeah I think it does for me atleast. I feel dead alot pretty much lmao. Doesn’t help that those nightmares are of abuse most of the time cycling my mental illnesses into full gear
It shows your brain is in rem state which is good for brain repair in sleep to detox. But it’s showing chemicals are effecting it, by food or stress etc. Try not eating after 8. Listen to music for ten mins maybe
I used to get night terrors. Once I woke up in the middle of the street because I was being chased by a giant chicken. It was so tall that it’s head was in the clouds.
This happened a lot, so it kept me in pretty good shape. I used to scream while it happened though. So the neighbors were always freaked out. For the most part I still felt rested the next day.
Side note: occasionally I have sex in my sleep. My wife says it’s very sensual. She seems to not mind it.
Nightmares occur during REM sleep, which is the shortest sleep cycle, and usually happens during the last three hours of sleep. It’s what’s responsible for making you feel well rested. Interrupting that sleep can make you feel sloth-like, tired, and sapped of energy.
So, to answer your question, as long as you don’t wake up during a nightmare, it shouldn’t affect the quality of your sleep
No, this is why people with severe PTSD can’t take it anymore. Nightmares + flashbacks while awake.
The biggest advantage of nightmares, is that when you dream, you dream about things you wish you had, but don’t, and depending on the thing, you might not even ever get.
Nightmares don’t trick you like that, they don’t make you realise your life is sad because you’re missing the things you want. Instead, nightmares show you thee living hell out of the things you don’t want, and when you wake up you start realising you love your version of life, where almost everything is perfect.
That’s why I think nightmares can be good, but I don’t want my brain broadcasting the things I fear, but the tings I Like, so like every reasonable person, I prefer dreams, obviously.
During sleep, it is believed that the brain is effectively washing waste out of your head by flooding it with cerebrospinal fluid.
So while you are still getting the benefit of a nice brain wash, you may have your day adversely affected by the stress of a particularly bad scare when you awaken.
https://journals.lww.com/neurotodayonline/fulltext/2019/12050/slow_waves_of_csf_during_sleep_clear_toxins_linked.9.aspx
I feel like chronic nightmares would fuck you up like it does me. I’m scared to sleep cause I die a lot and it’s very Vivid and sometimes I get sleep paralysis which is somehow worse than my nightmares. Feels like imma have a heart attack soon, I’m only 21 and my heart hurts sometimes. Dunno how to fix it aye
You get some benefits from sleep, also easy cardio! Nightmares usually come later on in the sleep cycle, during REM. REM lasts longer and longer each cycle, so it tends to be early morning rather than interrupting the initial cycles.
Nightmares increase heart rate, sometimes to a similar level of a vigorous workout. People who are advised to not exercise due to high risk of heart attack have a slightly higher risk of death (typically in the early morning) from heart attacks overnight, thought to be related to nightmares.
Some people with parasomnia (a.k.a. “Nightmare Disorder”) have surprisingly good heart health relative to their overall health, because their brain and heart are getting regular exercise even when the rest of their body isn’t.
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