Introduction to Nightmares
What is a Nightmare?
The general population experience nightmare
once in a while during their lifetime. It is especially more prevalent in
children. 
A
Nightmare is defined as the experience of sudden awakening in the middle
of the night with a feeling of intense dread or terror.(
Bearden, 1994)A review says that
a research found that the average time of occurrence to be 212 minutes after
sleep onset or they are more frequent in the second half of the night. Increased
body movement also accompanies the phenomenon and some increase in autonomic
function such as pulse and respiration. The length of a nightmare ranges
from 5 to 30 minutes. The content of the nightmare involves a generalized
fear, such as being chased, attacked, or having one’s body mutilated.
Therefore nightmares almost always involve themes of helplessness, terror,
and a sense of catastrophe. The people who are experiencing nightmares often
perceive more than visual scenes, instead other sensations such as loud
noise, smells, and physical pain. As a result nightmares create more vivid
and intense sense of reality.
Children who wake from nightmares are typically
alert, aroused, and often describe details of frightening images. These
children typically have trouble going back to sleep and want parental interaction
and reassurance. In addition to this these children continue to remember
and talk about nightmare the following day. Nightmare is also related to
sleep disturbances in adolescence and it is even more problematic for the
family with young children who suffer from chronic nightmare.