The theory states that dreams don’t actually mean anything. Instead they’re merely electrical brain impulses that pull random thoughts and imagery from our memories. The theory suggests that humans construct dream stories after they wake up. This is why Freud studied dreams to understand the unconscious mind.

When someone dies in your dream — whether it’s a loved one or a stranger — it’s almost always upsetting, explains Lauri Loewenberg, a dream analyst. “Death in dreams actually means there’s some sort of change or ending happening in your life.

“Death in dreams is really about some kind of change or ending you’re dealing with in your real life,” says Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, professional dream analyst. “The subconscious will show us this change in the form of a death so we can better understand the finality of it.

There can be a number of psychological triggers that cause nightmares in adults. For example, anxiety and depression can cause adult nightmares. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also commonly causes people to experience chronic, recurrent nightmares. Nightmares in adults can be caused by certain sleep disorders.

Frequent occurrences. Major distress or impairment during the day, such as anxiety or persistent fear, or bedtime anxiety about having another nightmare. Problems with concentration or memory, or you can’t stop thinking about images from your dreams. Daytime sleepiness, fatigue or low energy.

Normally, vivid dreams are nothing to worry about. Sometimes they may only affect you during a certain part of your life. But negative vivid dreams, especially if they last for weeks or months, can be emotionally disturbing and disruptive to your sleep. And that can cause health problems.

What Are Lucid Dreams? Lucid dreams are when you know that you’re dreaming while you’re asleep. You’re aware that the events flashing through your brain aren’t really happening. But the dream feels vivid and real. You may even be able to control how the action unfolds, as if you’re directing a movie in your sleep.

Turn your alarm clock around and don’t pick up your phone. Try to relax your body: Use a relaxation strategy that helped prior to bed to relax your body and mind. Get out of bed: If you can’t fall back to sleep after a stressful dream, then try getting out of bed to help decrease the frustration.

Definition. A sleep disorder characterized by the repeated occurrence of frightening dreams which precipitate awakenings from sleep; on awakening, the individual becomes fully alert and oriented and has detailed recall of the nightmare, which usually involves imminent danger or extreme embarrassment to the individual. …

Not everyone living with anxiety will have bad dreams, but research does suggest anxiety can play a significant part in nighttime distress. In a 2014 study of 227 adults, those who met criteria for generalized anxiety disorder had more bad dreams than participants who didn’t have anxiety.

Nighttime (nocturnal) panic attacks can occur with no obvious trigger and awaken you from sleep. As with a daytime panic attack, you may experience sweating, rapid heart rate, trembling, shortness of breath, heavy breathing (hyperventilation), flushing or chills, and a sense of impending doom.

Waking up at 3 a.m. can be bothersome, but it’s not always a sign of a larger problem. Temporary stress could prompt you to wake up in the middle of the night every so often. More frequent wake-ups at 3 a.m. that keep you up for a significant amount of time could be the sign of insomnia or another health condition.