We are publishing a preview of an article in the new Corriere Salute. You can read the full text on the free issue on newsstands Thursday 3 June or in Pdf on the Digital Edition of Corriere della Sera
A bad dream and a nightmare are somewhat the same in everyday language, but for sleep specialists there is a significant difference between the two terms: both are characterized by disturbing content, but only nightmares come to awaken the dreaming. Still a little different are the so-called night terrors, which appear in the stages of deep sleep, sudden awakenings accompanied by great agitation. They affect children but scare their parents, who cannot wake them up. The children appear confused and do not seem to recognize family members, but the next morning they remember nothing. These dream manifestations often have to do with situations in which one feels pursued and threatened.
Diagnosis
Unlike night terrors, nightmares occur during so-called sleep REM -Rapid Eye Movements (sleep with rapid eye movements), during which the eyes move under closed lids as if following the evolution of a scene. And since REM sleep is more frequent in the second part of the night, that is also the most favorable time for the development of a nightmare, from which one awakens in a state of agitation. If a nightmare happens to everyone from time to time, some people suffer from a real nightmare disorder, because they produce it so often that they fear the moment when they have to fall asleep. During these long months of pandemic that has changed many behaviors, even the sleep of Italians has undergone changes.
You can continue reading the article in Corriere Salute on newsstands for free on Thursday 3 June or in Pdf in the Digital Edition of Corriere della Sera.
June 1, 2021 (change June 2, 2021 | 09:33)
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