With Halloween just hours away, many kids will be dreaming of costumes and candy.
For others, just the thought that they have another nightmare if they go to sleep can keep them awake.
Dr. Lisa Cromer, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Tulsa, told 2 Works for You recurring nightmares can cause physical and mental health issues. It led her and a team of doctoral students to study the effects of nightmares in children. And, how to get rid of them.
According to Dr. Cromer, "When nightmares are happening, it is during a stage of sleep when your brain is working to consolidate information. And the way we understand the nightmare happening is the brain somehow is getting stuck and consolidating that information."
Dr. Cromer and her students look for ways to free this information from the brain. Doctoral students and Therapist, Devin Barlaan, said, "We will identify something in the nightmare where they felt unsafe and change that."
Nine-year-old Nathan Knotts explains it this way, "Sometimes I imagine that my brain is watching a TV show, so I try to get my brain to change it to a funny thing."
On Oct. 31 2 Works for You will take a deeper look into the difference between bad dreams and nightmares. We will also look at the study underway at the University of Tulsa to help children suffering from nightmares.
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