Recurring nightmares ''help face fears''
11/09/2008
A sleep scientist has said that people have nightmares due to the body''s natural defences against becoming debilitated with "irrational fear", a national newspaper has stated.
The Daily Telegraph reported the work of Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, who noted that it is the body''s way of facing fears or any other disagreeable experiences.
He noted that around 86 per cent of those surveyed were able to recollect a nightmare within the last month, with a further 20 per cent claiming to have one per week.
Dr Idzikowski said: "When we are sleeping, the brain uses nightmares to replay frightening events or expose us to stupid fears in a safe environment.
"Over time they should become less frightening as the brain is conditioned."
The Calgary Herald recently reported that many children suffer from night terrors in bed, which are different from nightmares in that the subject does not completely wake up and may sleepwalk during their experience.
