Second, nightmares are REM sleep-related, while sleep terrors come out of non-REM (NREM) slow-wave sleep (SWS). First, nightmare arousals are more often from late in the night’s sleep, when dreams are longest and the content is most bizarre and affect-laden (emotional) sleep terrors occur early in sleep. There are three main differences between these two. These are not to be confused with sleep terrors. Nightmares are defined as frightening dreams that wake the sleeper into full consciousness and with a clear memory of the dream imagery. In other words, if nothing can be done, emotion-coping efforts to regulate the distress (dreaming) is a good strategy but if constructive actions can be taken, waking problem-solving action is more adaptive.
However, if the threat will be encountered over and over (such as with spousal abuse), and direct action would be helpful in addressing the threat, then denial by avoiding thinking about the danger (which helps in the short-term) will undermine problem-solving efforts and mastery in the long run. If direct action against the threat is irrelevant or impossible (as it would be if the trauma was well in the past), then denial may be helpful in reducing stress so that the person can get on with living as best they can.
One clear principle that comes out of this work is that the effects of trauma on sleep and dreaming depend on the nature of the threat. Should we deny the threatening event and avoid thinking about it better than thinking about it and becoming sensitized to it? The strategies we use for coping effectively with extreme stress and fear are controversial. The common feature is a threat of harm, accompanied by a lack of ability to control the circumstances of the threat, and the lack of or inability to develop protective behaviors. When our time awake is frightening or remains unpressed, the sleeping brain “may process horrible images with enough raw fear attached to awaken a sleeper with a horrendous nightmare.” The more trauma we have in our lives the more likely we are to experience anxiety and nightmares after a horrific event. In The Twenty-four Hour Mind: The Role of Sleep and Dreaming in Our Emotional Lives, she explores the role of nightmares and how we use sleep to protect ourselves. Rosalind Cartwright - also known as the Queen of Dreams - is a leading sleep researcher. Is constantly concerned about the safety and integrity of the self.” “All of this is evidence that the mind, although asleep,
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