I've been waking up in the middle of the night with really intense nightmares for about 2 months now, you know? I wake up with my heart racing and sweating. It started after I began watching some horror movies on Netflix before bed, but even when I avoid that it still happens. Does anyone know if this is normal or if something's wrong with me?
Stop watching horror movies like 3 hours before bed - and I mean really 3 hours, not just turning stuff off 20 minutes before. Your brain is still processing it and naturally stays on high alert, you know? Switch to something lighter or a boring podcast, something that won't keep you wired. And try to keep a pretty consistent sleep schedule, because irregular sleep makes all of this worse.
Now, if it just started because you watched a horror movie at first, it usually gets better in like 2 to 3 weeks once you stop. But if it's been going on for 2 months and keeps happening even after you stopped - then I wouldn't brush off checking with someone, like an actual doctor. It could just be anxiety that got conditioned - your body's already expecting to wake up scared. Or it could be something else going on, like a vitamin deficiency, poor sleep overall. Nobody on the internet is really going to know for sure. The thing is, waking up like that all the time isn't "normal" for most people, so it's worth looking into.
In the meantime, try to keep your room actually dark, cooler temperature, no phone nearby. Sometimes you're stuck in a kind of cycle and little things like that help break it. But honestly, if it hasn't improved in another couple of weeks, call the doctor.
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