Jumping on marshmallow clouds or being chased by a ferocious dragon seems like something imaginary from a child’s book but could also be commonly found inside a child’s mind.
We may all experience dreams during our REM sleep when our mind is at rest. Something viewed on TV can stick in your head and when you lay your head down, you might see visions of flying on a broomstick or soaring on a spacecraft through the galaxies.
On the opposite side of those whimsical dreams, TV, books, and images seen in real life can trigger nightmares. Horrible visions many children and even adults struggle with when they enter the state of sleep.
For Angela Palacios, a former Colorado State University student, her nightmares were triggered by movies viewed when she was young.
When Palacios was young, she was exposed to old horror movies put on by her grandmother. She didn’t expect her granddaughter’s young mind to process these ideas but unfortunately, these visuals triggered nightmares in Angela’s mind from ages three to eight.
“I do remember seeing something scary on the TV and then that night I had a similar dream,” Palacios said.
Psychology Today conducted a study about nightmares in children and found that kids exposed to violent media on TV or online have more trouble falling asleep which can trigger nightmares during the night, causing them to often not successfully sleep through the night.
As she grew older, her nightmares faded. When asked, Palacios said she still often has nightmares but her experience as a kid helped her escape those present nightmares. She often notices she is hardly scared by things seen on TV or read in books which may have stemmed from being raised on graphic and frightening images in her mind.
According to Kids Health, childhood nightmares may stem from something occurring in their everyday life. It can be a response to trauma or a big life change such as moving, getting a new sibling, or family tension can all be reasons for nightmares for children.
“Sometimes a nightmare has recognizable bits and pieces of the day’s events and experiences, but with a scary twist,” Kids Health said.
For Emily Kippes, her nightmares strained from anxiety as a young adult.
“When I was younger I would get it (nightmares) a lot when I was fighting with my sister or my parents or if I like just having a really bad anxiety day,” Kippes said.
Whatever the cause, nightmares can be a large strain on children’s well-being. Even when a child’s mind is often filled with creative images and colorful ideas, your personal experiences may cause the dreary images to form in your mind.
