What causes children to have nightmares?

In order to cultivate children's independence, many parents ask their children to sleep alone and no longer accompany their children after their children become sensible. Some children will run to their parents' room in the middle of the night and ask to sleep with their parents, saying that they had a nightmare and were very scared. Many parents want to know why their children often have nightmares? Let’s find out what affects children’s sleep.

1. Tense family environment

If the parents have a particularly tense relationship, or there are a lot of arguments or fights, this could be a factor. Children are emotional sponges, absorbing everything around them. It’s important to consider that even if you think they can’t hear you or understand your anger, they are processing it in a myriad of different ways. Sometimes they don't know how to deal with these feelings or tension, so it builds up in their subconscious, leading to vivid nightmares that reflect their feelings of instability at home.

2. School violence

Children may not always share what is happening at school. Sometimes they are afraid that other kids will bully them, or they don't want to appear weak. Since children are in school for the majority of the week, it is not surprising that severe bullying during this time can take a toll on their emotional state.

3. Video Games

Video games often contain a lot of violence. While to many this may seem like harmless entertainment, it actually encourages violence and tension in many ways. There's a good reason why some games are off-limits to children under 18. When children are young, their little minds are more susceptible to violent and scary images. When they lie down to sleep at night, it's no wonder they wake up in a panic. Make sure you monitor the content of the games they play.

4. Active Imagination

Sometimes there is nothing that can be attributed to a nightmare other than pure imagination. Some children are very creative and can come up with all kinds of ideas. Their brains have a hard time calming down at the end of the day, causing them to have nightmares when they go to sleep.

5. Overheating

Often when you're too hot while sleeping, it can lead to bad dreams. When your body is trying to tell you that it's uncomfortable in deep sleep, it will start creating unsettling images in your dreams.