Why Im I having nightmares?

Question

In some of them I wind up seeing someone I was very close to in the past.

Answer 1

I mostly agree with what Micheal R says...

Dreaming is sort of the way our brain defrags its drive...

I only disagree with the REM stage. You see there are several stages of sleep and dreams can occur in all of them.

REM to stage 4:

REM dreams are generally related to those things that are around you while you are sleeping. Example: You fall asleep with the TV on and you dream about being a part of the show. As you fall further and further to sleep your dreams will become more and more abstract. Nightmares don't usually occur until you have reached stage 3 as during the defragmenting process, the information becomes more and more fragmented and tends to take on a life of its own.

Now, I speculate that your friends birthday, or some event that you both shared is coming up soon. With the onset of the event, the memories of your friend is foremost on your mind. I also speculate that there was a bit of unfinished business between you two that is triggering an emotional response in your mind. This coupled with deep sleep and fragmented memories can create an unusual dream and a reoccurance of the dream as it comes closer to the time of the event.

Answer 2

dreams mostly do not have meaning, so don't worry. Dreams are haphazard and chaotic affairs mostly, although occasionally the part of our brain which likes to create a narrative, manages to produce a dream which seems as though it means something or has a message.

When we are asleep, we travel between various stages of sleep. One of those stages is REM sleep (Dream sleep). We have several episodes of REM sleep per night.

During sleep, the brain metaphorically 'tidies up' the brain; - it sort of files away all of it's experiences from the sensory stimuli which has imposed itself on our sensory systems and consequently our brains during the day.

When we are in REM sleep we can become semi - conscious and we become aware of this tidying up process. This is when we say we are dreaming. As I say, we experience several of these episodes in one night of sleep.

There is a processing system in our left hemisphere, which likes everything to be logical and to follow a linear pattern, so it takes our semi - concsious experiences in these episodes and tries to make sense out of them. (Sometimes failing utterly)

This is why dreams can seem so disjointed, because the tidying up process that you witness at the various points of REM may contain totally different information. This is why, in your dream you can be driving a car one minute and in another setting doing something else the next minute.

you are seeing your old friend because somehow this memory has been activvated. It only has to be activated once to form a vicious circle, because the next day you are thinking about the dream and reactivate the memory again; - and so you get nighmare after nightmare.

The suggestion of the previous answerer concerning meditation is good, but also try some gentle music in your bedroom whilst you are going asleep, that can be left on all night. - This can create an ambience which can actually change the pattern of your brainwaves and break this vicious circle once and for all.

hope this helps.

Michael.

Answer 3

I know that when I was having some personal problems in the past, I would suffer from nightmares. It is an outlet your mind uses to deal with the stress.

Answer 4

Many times nightmares are a sign of the body waking you up due to some discomfort.

How old is your mattress ? Do you get nightmares when you sleep on another bed, couch, etc....??

Answer 5

It is just your imagination nothing as such is possible. It depends on your mental strength. If you see something scary like a scary movie before sleeping you will get bad dreams because our brain recollects our thoughts(it is proven scientificly). It also happens when you fall sick because your brain is not so powerful as it was when you were fit.
SO DONT BE SCARED

Answer 6

You're having nightmares -because you SLEEP!,answer,don't!
If you see someone during one of these episodes,close your "mind's eye",if you're too slow,close your "mind's eye",turn your "mental back",and shout in your "mind's voice" - GO AWAY!!I'm trying to sleep!(Mentally Loudly!)
If this works for you,it'll be a first!

Answer 7

Those nightmares are manifestations of your unconcious fears. No need to be alarmed. Or you might have eaten something which is bad for your digestion. Find out what it is. And dont eat a heavy meal before bedtime.

Pls. answer my recent question if you could thanks!

Answer 8

nightmares and dreams are the realm of our inner mind. no one knows exactly why we dream what we do . sometimes it means something sometimes its just because u ate something your body didnt like and it gives u nighmares.

do u have any ill fillings guilt or regrets with this person who keeps reaccuring in your nightmare?

Answer 9

you could subconciously be thinking about this person. Or while you were awake you could have seen something that reminded you of that person, not thought anything about it, and ended up dreaming about them.
Also you might subconciously feel guilty about not contacting that person and it plays out in your dreams.

Answer 10

Seeing old/dead people is not nightmare
It is part of the memory activated at night.
Do meditation, that should help