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Asked by Mimuna04 to Hayley on 14 Mar 2016.
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Hayley Moulding answered on 14 Mar 2016:
Fantastic question. So when we have a nightmare we are often in really deep sleep. So it is the time when the brain is slowing down and making memories. It is the point where if Mum or Dad try to wake you up, it will be very difficult! When you are sleeping deeply, we are going over memories and the brain is replaying what you have done that day. There are still lots of things going wrong. Sometimes that nightmare can be so scary, it causes a change in the brain activity and can cause you to jump awake. Depending on how scary the nightmare is, or how you want to react (like trying to run away) our body knows that this isn’t good for us to experience this scary time. The body can tell as our heart rate can increase, our blood pressure increases and sometimes we get upset. We know that we need to be awake to deal with it and then get back to sleep. All the cues of heart rate and being scared change activity in the brain to wake us up.
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Comments
Mimuna04 commented on :
Thanks.
It is really interesting how our brains are still switched on even when we are sleeping.
Sammy commented on :
Very true, We should thank our brains.
Sammy commented on :
When I sleep and when I have terrible nightmare, I get out of my bed and run to my mother or I would talk to myself without me even knowing.