Fighting Freddy Krueger, “Nightmare on Elm Street” and nightmare disorder

In the newly released remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street” the protagonists try to stay awake to avoid dreaming of the demonic Freddy Krueger. As evident by the high kill-counts in each of the horror film in the series, it turns out they were doing it all wrong.

In real life, people who have recurring nightmares about a menacing figure like Freddy should instead see a psychologist or behavioral sleep specialist. They likely have nightmare disorder, a type of parasomnia.

Nightmares can occur at any age. Children most frequently get nightmares. Only a small fraction of people who get nightmares have the disorder.

Nightmare disorder happens when the horrifying dreams are so frequent it causes you to fear going to sleep. Those who manage to fall asleep end up waking up in the middle of the night terrified. And the nightmares only get more intense as the sleep deprivation adds up.

The problems the teenagers in “Nightmare on Elm Street” face fit this description. Only in their dreams they can die.

Nightmare disorder tends to run in families. In other cases the nightmares are a side-effect of medications.

There are several treatment options available. Counseling is most often recommended. A therapist helps look and confront the thoughts and feelings that are the root cause of the nightmares. Relaxing training may be part of the therapy.

Image rehearsal therapy is another option. It’s a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. Patients record their dreams in a journal, and relive them during the daytime. Through practice, the aim is to confront and disarm the unpleasant elements of the nightmare.

Coincidently, this is how the protagonists of “Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” defeated Freddy Krueger. They used lucid dreaming to give themselves magic powers to do battle with the ghoul.

Medications are not normally used to treat nightmares. Some researchers believe the drug prazosin can effectively reduce nightmares. The drug treatment would have to be ongoing; nightmares may return after drug withdrawal.

If you think you have nightmare disorder avoid watching scary movies, especially any of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films. Instead find help at an AASM-accredited sleep center or behavioral sleep specialist near you.

The real Freddy Krueger, “Nightmare on Elm Street” and sudden unexplained deaths

He visits us in our nightmares. The ghoul wearing a striped shirt and fedora slowly taps his razor-sharp finger knives as he approaches. Anyone who grew up in the 80’s knows his sneering burnt face. Freddy Krueger is a horror movie icon, representing everything we fear in our sleep.

Today a new generation meets the boogeyman for the first time. The remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street” is now open in theaters nationwide.

The movie is getting panned by most major critics. This blogger recommends instead checking out the 1984 original, or the self-aware follow-up "Wes Craven’s New Nightmare," where Freddy haunts the actors and crew behind the first film.

The franchise is about a child murderer who was burned alive by a mob of angry parents and returns to haunt their teenage children in their dreams.

Director Wes Craven reportedly came up with the premise after reading in the news about a group of young Cambodian refugees who, haunted by terrifying nightmares, refused to sleep. The group had escaped the countries genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, only to face those same fears in their dreams while safe in America. This is where it gets chilling -when they gave in and returned to sleep, they died.

Craven described his reaction to the article he read in the Los Angeles Times:

In the middle of the night they heard these horrendous screams and crashings and they ran in and he’s thrashing on the bed. They ran to him and by the time they got to him he was dead. They did an autopsy on him and there was nothing physically wrong with him. And I just thought: “My God.”

Researchers believe the deaths were caused by a mysterious disorder called sudden unexplained death nocturnal syndrome. Otherwise healthy men from Southeast Asian countries ages 20 to 45 years old suddenly die in their sleep.

Some in Thailand and the Philippines believe the incidents are supernatural. A spirit comes to kill them by sitting on their chests while they sleep. This belief is not unlike the “Nightmare on Elm Street” antagonist. To avoid the spectral threat, some Thai men would disguise themselves as women.

Though researchers have offered a variety of hypothesis over the last few decades, none have held up. Many have not been disproven either. Relatives of some of the victims describe hearing a sudden gasp for air, before they died.

In “Nightmare on Elm Street,” the victims tried to stay awake to avoid Freddy Krueger’s nightmare assaults. Coming up Sunday morning on the blog, find out what doctors say they should have done instead.

Image courtesy New Line Cinema