What To Do After A Nightmare
Nightmares can affect our emotional well-being very badly. According to Statista.com, 5% of adults and 50% of under 6’s have nightmares.
What we do following a nightmare will seriously affect our activities for the day. A great man of God tells us to “cream” our dreams.
This means:
1. Taking anything out of it that could have a positive meaning
2. Focus on it to give it that meaning and
3. Discarding everything else.
What not to do after a nightmare:
What tends to happen is that we meditate and dwell on the nightmare, talking about it over and over again. Remember there are power in our thoughts and words. The more we talk about it, the more the nightmare keeps recurring!
What to do to keep further nightmares at bay:
##1 Your sleep pattern is very important
Keeping to regular times of sleeping and waking is important.
##2 Exercise, Exercise, Exercise
So is engaging in regular exercise which will help remove nightmare-causing anxiety and stress. Have a regular pattern of mild exercises through the day. Physical exercise helps release anxiety and stress. There is a reason for the urge to be physical when under stress. Having a regular habit of exercise with ensuring that we are not physically constrained to one position for long periods of times is a good stress buster.
##3 Think about what you are thinking about
The thoughts that we dwell on following a nightmare determine our attitude and mood for the hours following (we mentioned this earlier). It is difficult to think of something that is different from what you are saying. When we are saying what we want to see it helps drive out disturbing thoughts. The thoughts we let into our minds before going to sleep are important in avoiding nightmares. They should be designed to relax us.
##4 Music is very powerful in setting our mood
When we participate or initiate by singing, the words we sing to ourselves together with the melody we create greatly shapes our outlook. What we hear ourselves say and sing are more powerful than when they come from others. Passively listening makes some impact but there is greater impact when we create or participate ourselves.
##5 There is power in Meditation
Meditate on what you prefer to happen and speaking these to yourself is a powerful way of keeping focus. This will starve the thoughts from the nightmares of space in your mind.
##6 Never go to bed angry
There is a reason the Bible tells us never to let the sun go down on our anger! Anger is negative and does not go with good sleep. Beware.
##7 Practice good sleep hygiene
Good sleep hygiene will help prevent the sleep deprivation that can bring on nightmares. Making the bedroom a relaxing, tranquil place also sets the right environment for removing the stresses and mental activity that lead to nightmares.
I find that singing worship songs in an uncluttered bedroom with low light levels before going to bed enhances my sleeping experience. Wishing you a good, nightmare free sleep. Sweet dreams!
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