How to Get Rid of a Nightmare: Three Ways to Shake a Bad Dream

No matter how old you are, nightmares stink. Worst is when you wake up, but that dragging tension in your muscles and along the back of your neck just won't leave, threatening to pull you back in if you close your eyes. Next time you have trouble kicking a bad dream to the curb, remember these tried-and-true tricks. Before you know it, you'll be sleeping easy with nary a nightmare in sight.

Reclaim Your Body
Sometimes you don't even have to get up to kick a nightmare out of bed. Just stretch your arms and legs to their farthest reach, wriggling your fingers and toes slowly through their whole range of motion. As you do, take a deep breath, filling your lungs with as much air as they'll hold, then blowing them out. Work your jaw, rub your arms, practice your best jazz-hands. The idea is to leave your bad dreams behind by bumping up your circulation and focusing your attention on the way your body feels in the real world.

Make Some Noise
If you can't seem to get out of your own head, try making some noise outside of it. Talk out loud (any subject will do), or if you're worried about waking someone, keep a music player with headphones and upbeat music next to the bed. This does two things - first, it gives you something safe to focus on: your voice or a cheerful song. Second, it asks your brain to engage in a physical activity: hearing, once again grounding you in the real world.

A Midnight Snack
This is my last resort trick, the one I use for the creepiest, most lingeringly stubborn nightmares. Head to the kitchen and look for something cold, tart, and/or crunchy. A glass of juice, an apple, a handful of Skittles - it doesn't have to be much, just enough to engage your brain in the activity. Eating requires physical action, and offers plenty to call the attention of your senses, as well as making a bit of noise inside your head, making it an excellent way to shake off the foggy fears of a nightmare. Just make sure to choose something that doesn't give you indigestion!

By now you've probably caught on to my primary strategy: engage your senses in the real world. In dreams, everything you see, hear, and feel is manufactured by your brain. By activating these senses in the real world you break the sensory connection to the nightmare, and thus break its hold.

Whether you're scouting these tips for your children or for yourself, I hope you find them helpful. Sweet dreams!