Depression, which may lead to both factors.Clinical anxiety, which often contributes to recurrent dreams over a lifetime.Chronic stress, which may cause periodic bouts of recurrent dreams.Julia Kogan, PsyD, a psychologist providing sleep and cognitive behavioral therapy and an insomnia specialist within the Department of Veterans Affairs, says these three mental health conditions often drive recurrent dreams: If a recurrent dream is negative enough that you are dwelling on it while you are awake, sleep specialists have a better idea of what's commonly causing you to experience these night terrors. Dimitriu, adding that sleep medicine specialists often work with patients on demystifying and (hopefully) ceasing troublesome recurrent dreams. 'There's some chance the unconscious mind may be surfacing content in recurrent dreams, so it helps to try to analyze,' explains Dr. Alex Dimitriu, M.D., psychiatrist, sleep medicine specialist and founder of California-based Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, explains that the root cause of a recurrent dream hinges on the dream's content entirely.

Sadly, science hasn't allowed sleep specialists to nail down just one cause of a recurring dream or nightmare - as no two frequent dreams feel the same. If you're one of the many people who are hunting for some meaning to your own recurring dream, we've assembled a panel of sleep experts to answer top questions about cyclical dreams and nightmares below. These loopy dejá vu dreams can be spurned as side effects of general anxiety for sure, and could be fleeting or, they may be long-carried remnants of trauma experienced early in your life. For instance, feelings of powerlessness, lack of safety, trust and shame are common themes in recurrent nightmares.' 'There are indeed typical themes that show up in these recurrent dreams, especially recurrent nightmares. 'Recurrent nightmares are most often due to unresolved anxiety or trauma that has not been fully processed by our brain,' says Annie Miller, LCSW-C, a licensed psychotherapist specializing in sleep treatments at her Washington, D.C.-based practice. As much as 75% of recurring dreams may be negative in nature, per a teen survey published in a 2015 study, and often revolve around painful sensations like tooth loss or traumatic events like car crashes. More often than not, though, those who experience recurring dreams are left bewildered or entirely terrified by the sequence of events, wondering why exactly they are left experiencing the same dream on loop. Recurring dreams may be pleasant in nature, particularly as the percentage of both men and women reporting frequent dreams involving romantic and sexual overtones has increased in recent history, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. But if you're one of the many people who dream about the same scenes on a monthly, weekly or even a nightly basis, you're not alone - in fact, psychologists and sleep specialists troubleshoot these chronic dreams quite frequently. Because dreams tend to form when humans are in their deepest sleep ( a.k.a REM sleep, when your brain recharges overnight!), it is not uncommon to have sweet, pleasant dreams right before confusing ones or even scary nightmares. Dreams can vary greatly from person to person the American Sleep Association notes that people, on average, experience three to five dreams every night, usually lasting between 20 and 30 minutes in length. Of all the dreams humans may experience in deep sleep, a recurring dream may feel the most mysterious - and in some cases, the most terrifying.

Dream but dont sleep