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Please copy and send to friends or others who may benefit from this topic, a surprisingly common sleep disorder often overlooked even in mental health circles.
Unfortunately, most of the data on these types of occurrences are anecdotal. For example beta-blockers have been known to cause nightmares in a fair number of patients using them for cardiac issues or controlling hypertension, but I am unaware of a definitive explanation for how this operates in the mind-body. There are many OTC sleep aids on the market. The only obvious connection to nightmares might be related to actually promoting more REM sleep. The more REM someone experiences, then the more dreaming occurs. In many individuals the longer they dream, there may be the tendency for the dreams to turn unpleasant. Last, it is well-known that some opiates trigger bouts of nightmares, and I would add I got my start in nightmare treatment research when discussing the problem in a patient who was using codeine. When she stopped the codeine the nightmares went away. With opiates, one working theory is they decrease respiratory drive, and it's now increasingly common to see sleep breathing problems in opiate users, thus the respiratory compromise itself, regardless of any other impact of the drug, could lead to panicky feelings while asleep, which then trigger a nightmare.
Is it common for people who suffer from chronic nightmares to have suffered from night terrors as children and sleep walking/ acting out dreams?
Are nightmares also more common in people who have sleep apnea?
In my experience doctors often believe that nightmares stem from mental health issues. I have questioned that reasoning for my 20 year old son who suffered from night terrors as a child, and continues to have problems with extreme nightmares, sleep walking and sometimes acting out his dreams.
I also ask if there is a connection between nightmares and OSA because when my son was diagnosed with OSA and started using CPAP, his nightmares and sleep walking improved a huge amount; yet they are still problematic.
Thank you Dr. Krakow!