Can OCD Cause Nightmares? (Answered!)

So, the short answer is yes, OCD can cause nightmares.

The real truth is a bit more complicated than that, though.

OCD certainly can give you nightmares, and there are lots of things you can do to combat this.

Let’s take a closer look.

Can OCD affect your dreams?

Yes, is the short answer.

OCD can affect your dreaming indirectly, by directly affecting your sleep.

Anything that has an impact on how well you sleep is going to have an effect on your dreaming.

OCD is a wide spectrum of a condition, though, and there are many extremes to it.

For some, it is really a big obstruction to everyday life.

For others, it’s a simpler thing that they can learn to live with.

Either way, OCD can certainly affect your dreams.

Every night, we go through cycles of sleep.

The deepest of those cycles is known as REM sleep, or rapid eye movement.

This is where most dreaming tends to happen, and this can be disrupted by OCD.

There’s no guarantee, though, that this is what’s affecting it if you are dreaming more vividly.

Dreams are fickle things that we still don’t really fully understand.

The essential mechanism seems clear now, but exactly why we should dream is not.

That said, let’s try and break down exactly why OCD can affect your dreams and potentially cause nightmares.

Why does OCD affect your dreams?

There are a couple of possible reasons.

First and foremost, comes from the idea that dreaming is our brain’s way of sorting out the useful from the non-useful memories.

This theory suggests that dreaming is a way of learning while we are asleep, essentially.

So, for the brain of someone who suffers from OCD, the focus of that person is going to be skewed.

They will be fixated on things in a way they can’t help.

OCD can take up hours and hours of your day, if it is severe enough.

Even if it is only mild, something constantly in the subconscious is very likely to come up in dreams.

The other way it might affect your dreams is in the simple fact that it gets in the way of a good night’s rest.

As I said, most dreaming occurs in the deepest stage of sleep.

If that stage is achieved only tentatively, and you are restless because of your OCD, then you will be far more aware of your dreaming.

So, there’s really no reason that OCD should specifically cause nightmares, as such.

It has a chance of causing vivid and uncomfortable dreams, but not necessarily nightmares.

Again, it depends largely on the person.

If you are more predisposed to nightmares, then periods, where you are struggling with your OCD, may feel worse.

Let’s look at how to stop them, then.

How to stop OCD nightmares

There are many things you can do to combat OCD nightmares and vivid dreams.

There’s not much you can do that is guaranteed, or that will work overnight, beyond addressing the OCD itself in a clinical setting if needs be.

The best thing you can do is to give yourself the best chance of getting a good night’s sleep.

Try to stick to a routine—go to bed and wake up at the same time each night.

This will help your body and mind find a natural rhythm.

Other than that, basic relaxation techniques will go a long way.

Meditation, yoga, and aromatherapy are really simple and easy things you can try to help you get to sleep.

So, beyond treating your OCD itself, just do your best to get a good night’s rest.

Can OCD cause night terrors?

OCD is unlikely to cause night terrors for anyone who wasn’t already predisposed to them. night terrors are far less common in adults than they are in children, so if you’re an adult with OCD who has never suffered from night terrors, you’ve really nothing to worry about.

That said, if you are predisposed, then bouts of particularly bad struggle with your OCD could certainly make the night terrors worse.

Again, this will be even more true of children.

So, if you have problems with OCD, then it is entirely possible that your dreams could be made worse.

However, there are many simple things you can do to give yourself a better chance of falling asleep more soundly.

Dreaming is more to do with how restful our sleep is, more than anything else.

Those dreams that you remember are normally the ones that happen when you are moments from waking up.

OCD can keep you up, but there is help out there.

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