If you can afford it and it is helpful to you, get a rocking chair and rock in it before getting into bed. If you have a child alter or inner child, imagine that you are holding that child alter or inner child while you rock. These techniques may be particularly helpful for dissociative survivors with a child alter that resists sleep but non-dissociative survivors have also reported success with these techniques. According to Common Questions About Nightmares , many people experience nightmares after they have suffered a traumatic event and the content of these nightmares is typically directly related to the traumatic event and the nightmares often occur over and over. The nightmares of traumatic experiences may trigger flashbacks.
Nightmares can make the dreamer afraid to sleep .
Redreaming , Nightmare Reduction Training and Imagery Rehearsal all offer methods for re-writing the script of nightmares. If pain interferes with your sleep, Pain and Sleep offers some tips to help you sleep. Generalized pain management strategies, stress reduction and relaxation techniques, taking warm baths before bedtime, taking medication as prescribed and biofeedback techniques may also help. There are also a number of prescription and non-prescription medications that can help people who have a sleep disorder, who suffer from chronic pain or who just need help sleeping. However, do not be deceived by a medication that does not require a prescription.