What helped reduce night terrors and nightmares for 100 people

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know that the beta phase of the app I'm working on is now over. The app is about making you and the people next to you feel safe while sleeping. I've received a lot of constructive feedback, and it is ready now for the public. The motivation for this app came after I woke up in the middle of street after I had jumped out of the window during the night because I thought the house was on fire.

From a user base of around 100 people, I've seen the following trends on what causes both sleep terrors and nightmares. This is observational and not any medical advice or proof of cause.

Here are 5 tips on how to reduce the chance of having a nightmare or a sleep terror.

1. Avoid being too warm while sleeping. A fan or a thinner duvet can come a long way.
2. A few things to avoid 1-2 hours before bed time; a large meal, alcohol and screen time.
3. A low heart rate variability (HRV) is a sign of high stress and can increase the chance for a sleep terror. Most smart watches today measure this, and if it happens it is best to be aware of it and not combine it with the other trigger points. Try to get the HRV back up with drinking lots of water, doing your best nighttime-routine and/or yoga or mindfulness. It depends from the user, but it might take as little as an hour or up to a day or two to get the HRV back up again.
4. Bad sleep quality and duration will unfortunately again trigger yet more sleep deprivation. This is commonly known as a bad cycle. Easier said than done, but having a regular bed and wake up time will help a lot.
5. For the partner sleeping next to you - if a nightmare or sleep terror happens then try to stay calm and do not start screaming. That can quickly increase the intensity of the nightmare and might evolve into a sleep terror. Softly say their name, guide them to sit and ground if safe, keep lighting low. They might be in a panic mode and will need time to cool down. Having a cooldown and a session where you talk about what the dreams was about and what happened can help both of you understand each other better and be more prepared if it were to happen again.

What else has actually helped you? I'm very interested in learning from the community here!