A study carried out by scientists from the American universities of Oklahoma and Tulsa has identified the reasons why nightmares persist in children and has individualized how to break the nightmare cycle.
This work, published in the specialized magazine ‘Frontiers in Sleep’, has proposed a new model to explain the circumstances why these unpleasant dreams can continue over time in minors, as well as to design a therapy to break this persistence in nightmares.
“The ‘DARC-NESS’ model analyzes the mechanisms that maintain nightmares, as well as the mechanisms that can break their cycle,” insisted the doctor in Psychology and professor at the University of Tulsa, Lisa Cromerwho added that “the child’s response to a nightmare is what causes it to be repeated,” causing “chronic nightmares.”
It “It means that if we learn to respond to nightmares differently, we can interrupt that cycle,” has continued, adding that it is “encouraging” to understand that steps can be taken to control dreams. In this regard, the central axis of the model is effectiveness against nightmares, that is, the idea that children can learn skills to get rid of them and recover a restful sleep.
Thus, rather than focusing solely on the content of a nightmare, this technique encourages consideration of a broader set of factorsincluding how the child interprets the dream, the worries he or she has when going to sleep, the anxiety he or she experiences at bedtime, and how he or she copes with the situation after waking up.
TACTICS HOW TO REDUCE ANXIETY AND IMPROVE SLEEP HABITS
Researchers believe this information can help design a personalized treatment plan rather than a blanket approach. For some children, it may focus on reducing bedtime anxiety, and others may benefit from improving their sleep habits or engaging in exposure therapy, such as describing, writing, or drawing the nightmare and then working with a therapist.
“We believe we have created a way to conceptualize why nightmares persist and how we can better treat them in children,” said the psychiatrist and associate professor at the University Faculty of Community Medicine from Oklahoma, Dr. Tara Buck, who has stated that “what distinguishes this model is that it adapts to the needs of each patient and focuses on what the patient can control.”
In this context, he stated that what is being sought are “possible points of intervention”, which are addressed “collaboratively with patients and their families.” “Self-efficacy is fundamental in this model,” he declared, after which he pointed out that, “when children feel capable of doing something to overcome nightmares, they begin to understand how everything is interconnected.”
In any case, this work clarifies that the technique is designed to be used by various clinical professionals, including therapists and pediatricians. “We have worked with children who have been receiving Mental Health treatment for a long time and their nightmares persist,” explained Buck, who concluded by pointing out that “a treatment model for nightmares is necessary that helps children when they are recurrent and distressing.”
