A figure clothed in black approaches you at a terrifying speed holding a weapon in their hand. Instinctively, yet still in shock, you turn to run. The adrenaline rushes through you yet you look down and you are in the same place. You are moving yet still.
Suddenly, everything is replaced with the darkness of your room and shadows from outside the window. You're breathing heavily. It was a nightmare yet you still feel that dread and have to calm yourself down.
Nightmares - they're pretty terrifying. Yet, why do we get them? How do our brains manage to concoct such sequences. Nightmares are a normal part of sleep and some people get them more often than others. It is said that they are a key part of survival. Otherwise, they would have disappeared evolution. Deirdre Barett, a psychologist at Harvard University, says that nightmares are created to focus us on issues we should be addressing. Barret says that 'nightmares probably evolved to make us anxious about potential dangers'.
Nightmares occur during rapid eye movement or REM sleep and tends to occur over the latter part of the night usually awakening the person who can recall the events of the nightmare. Studies suggest they are more common in women than men and a common response to stress so perhaps GCSE students could probably relate to the idea of common nightmares!
