dreams bergen county

Parasomnia: Nightmares in Adults

GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

Parasomnia: Nightmares in Adults

By Lynette Rivas

Nightmares are supposed to diminish as you grow up, right? While this is true for most of the population, it is not the case for some individuals. Research shows that between 2% and 8% of the adult population experiences frequent and distressing nightmares, otherwise known as parasomnia.

Nightmares are realistic and vividly disturbing dreams that awaken you from sleep. They most often occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is when most dreaming takes place, and occur closer to morning hours. Nightmares may include:

  • Vivid and upsetting dreams
  • Dreams involving threats to safety
  • Being awoken from the dream
  • Feeling anxious, scared, or sad as a result from the dream
  • Not being able to fall back to sleep due to the dream

For adults, nightmares are often spontaneous, but for some, there may be an underlying issue that can be used to explain these dreams. Nightmares can be triggered by stress, trauma, sleep deprivation, substance abuse, medications, or by simply watching a scary movie. Although nightmares occur occasionally compared to normal dreams, they are considered a disorder if they:

  • Occur frequently
  • Cause major distress throughout the day, such as anxiety or fear
  • Cause problems with concentration or memory
  • Cause daytime sleepiness

If these symptoms are occurring, then it is time to consult a doctor about possible treatments. The doctor will determine if the solution is through treatments and medication, or will give a referral to a psychologist or psychotherapist. Debilitating and frequent nightmares, or parasomnia, is a serious condition that can alter an individual’s life, so it is important to seek help if they occur.

If you or someone you know is experiencing debilitating/frequent nightmares please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit https://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/

Sources:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nightmare-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353515

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/nightmares-in-adults#:~:text=Nightmares%20in%20adults%20can%20be,to%20have%20the%20condition%20themselves.

https://iconscout.com/illustration/nocturnal-panic-attack-5222908

What Do Dreams Tell Us About Our Mental Health?

GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

       By: Kassandra Lora

    Have you ever wondered if dreams are a reflection of our subconscious trying to send a message or if they are just meaningless? What do these specific dreams tell us about our mental health?

        One type of dreaming, besides the occasional nightmares, is lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is when the dreamer is aware they are dreaming but, without waking up, they can control what they do in the dream as well as the outcome of the dream. Some people lucid dream regularly while others rarely and some cannot lucid dream at all. So, what does lucid dreaming show us about our mental health? In an article written in the PsychologyToday magazine, they discussed an observation conducted with a group of undergraduate students who participated in a sleep study. The results stated how, “Intense lucid dreamers had, on average, lower levels of psychological distress.” It was explained that individuals who have more intense lucid dreams had less depression, stress, and anxiety than individuals who had less intense lucid dreams.  However, those who don’t lucid dream at all had no difference in psychological wellbeing when compared to those who have very intense lucid dreams.  It is interesting to see how something like lucid dreaming can have such a perspective on psychological health.

        Besides measuring psychological distress, according to the Psych Central website, dreams have many mental health benefits as well. Some benefits of dreams include:

    • Helping you learn: Dreams allow your brain to make sense of new information that has been learned.
    • Being therapeutic to a person: dreams can help a person heal real-life emotions through dreams.
    • Helping you overcome your fear: lucid dreaming can allow you to practice facing and overcoming what you are afraid to do in real life.

    If you or someone you know needs help regarding sleep and dreams, please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/.

    Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-instincts/201804/what-dreams-may-tell-you-about-your-mental-health

    https://psychcentral.com/blog/brain-and-mental-health-benefits-of-dreaming#2

    Image source: https://wallhere.com/en/wallpaper/781179

    Sleep: The Different Stages of Sleep

    GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

    Sleep: The Different Stages of Sleep

    By Crystal Tsui

    Have you ever wondered why at certain times of the night you tend to be more alert and other times you dream, unaware of your surroundings? That’s because there are different stages of sleep, more specifically five stages.

    • Stage 1
    • Stage 2
    • Stage 3
    • Stage 4
    • REM (rapid eye movement)

    How do we determine what stage is what? Sleep researchers use an electroencephalogram (EEG), is a method used to monitor and record electric cortical brain activity, and other instruments to help determine the stages.

    In Stage 1, researchers found that this cycle is the lightest sleep. On the EEG, the frequency is slower than when we are awake. Physically, our muscles relax and our breathing occurs at a regular rate.

    In Stage 2, we are less likely to be awakened. Our heart rate and temperature decreases as our body is preparing to go into a deep sleep.

    In Stage 3 and 4, we begin our deep sleep. It’s harder to be awakened because at this point our body becomes less responsive to outside stimuli. In these stages, our body starts to restore itself, stimulate growth and development, boosts immune function, and builds energy for the next day.

    In REM, dreaming occurs, our eyes quickly jerk in different directions, heart rate and blood pressure increase, and our breathing become fast and shallow. This stage generally lasts up to an hour and begins about 90 mins after you initially fall asleep. This is an important stage because our brain starts to consolidate all the information we have learned during the day into our long-term memory.

    In children, one cycle can last up to 50-60 mins and increases to 1-1.5 hours in adults. It is advised:

    • Babies (0 months – 11 months) get 14-18 hours
    • Toddlers (1-5 yrs) get 12-13 hours
    • Children (6-10 yrs) get 8.5- 11 hours
    • Pre-teens and teenagers (11-17) get 8-10 hours
    • Adults (18-65+) get 7-9 hours of sleep

    If you or someone you know has trouble sleeping, please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/ .

    Citation:

    https://img.timesnownews.com/story/1535107553-sleep.PNG?d=600×450

    https://www.sleepassociation.org/about-sleep/stages-of-sleep/

    https://www.sleep.org/articles/what-happens-during-sleep/

    Sleep Disorder: Narcolepsy

    GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

    Sleep Disorder: Narcolepsy

    By Crystal Tsui

    Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder that affects daytime activities. It is characterized by overwhelming drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep. Narcolepsy affects both men and women equally in roughly 1 in 2,000 people and can be passed down genetically, but the risk of a parent passing this disorder to a child is very low. Symptoms usually start to develop between the ages of 10- 30 years old and worsen for the first few years. The symptoms of narcolepsy will remain constant throughout life.

    Some symptoms of narcolepsy include:

    • Excessive sleepiness
    • Sleep paralysis
    • Hallucinations
    • Episodes of cataplexy (partial or total loss of muscle control that is often triggered by strong emotions such as laughter and joy)

    Other symptoms include:

    • Transition to REM sleep is quick, usually 15 minutes
    • Insomnia
    • Restless leg syndrome
    • Sleep apnea
    • Automatic behavior (falling asleep while doing an automatic task, like driving, and continue performing task after falling asleep. When waking up and not remembering what they did)

    Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that seriously disrupts everyday life. Most common being:

    • Stigma of the condition- others might view individuals with this disorder as lazy or lethargic
    • Physical harm- increased risk of being in a car accident if a sleep attack occurs when driving
    • Low metabolism- individuals may be more likely to be overweight

    Unfortunately, the exact cause is still unknown and there is no cure for narcolepsy. However, medications (stimulants), lifestyle changes, and support from others can help manage symptoms. 

    If you or someone you know is suffering from narcolepsy and need help adjusting, please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/ .

    Sources:

    https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/narcolepsy

    https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcolepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20375497

    https://www.o2pulmonary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/narcolepsy-300×194.jpg

     

    Why Do We Dream?

    GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

    By: Stephanie Osuba

    Dreams are one of the phenomena of the human experience in that we are still not sure why they happen. One proposed explanation is that is how the brain is able to process all the emotions, information, and memories that happened throughout the day; day-residue. In fact, there are numerous researches that indicate that most of our dream content is heavily influenced by our conscious state. Most of the characters in dreams are recognizable by name and autobiographical memories such as dreaming of pregnancy and birth while pregnant are just a few examples. However, this doesn’t always immediately happen. Sometimes there is a dream lag where something that happened a week prior comes up in a dream. This could be an important aspect of memory consolidation.

    Dreams also allow us to confront things that are beyond our capability when awake. Cases in which people that are born paralyzed dream of running and swimming, deaf people reporting hearing, and other phenomena further prove that dreams can be a sort of virtual reality that promotes survival and growth. Dreaming can also be an outlet in which people who have experienced trauma and grief can come to terms with and process their emotions. These experiences are often replayed in dreams and manifest in a number of different ways (e.g. nightmares with PTSD and receiving messages from a dead family member with the bereaved).

    Some common dream subjects include:

    • School (studying or test taking)
    • Flying
    • Falling
    • Being chased
    • Sexual fantasies
    • Being late
    • Dreaming of someone dead being alive and vice versa
    • Being physically attacked

    Source: Breus, M. J., Ph.D. (n.d.). Why We Dream What We Dream. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sleep-newzzz/201501/why-we-dream-what-we-dream 

    If you or someone you know needs help regarding sleep and dreams, please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/.