Feeling anxious? It’s understandable.
Anyone who’s had a really disturbing nightmare knows how it can totally ruin your day.
According to neuroscientist Dr. Abidemi Otaik, “our sleeping brain cannot distinguish between dreams and reality,” which explains a lot.
In a rather alarming finding, Otaik and his team analyzed data from over 183,000 adults, aged 26 to 86, alongside 2,400 children from 8 to 10 years old. They discovered that adults who experience weekly nightmares are significantly more likely to die before reaching the age of 70—three times more likely, in fact.
This puts nightmares as a more potent predictor of premature death than a poor diet, lack of exercise, or smoking.
So, the next time someone says, “It was just a bad dream,” you might want to reconsider.
“Nightmares can wake us up in a panic, making our hearts race and activating our fight-or-flight responses,” said a clinical researcher from Imperial College, London. In a recent press release, they emphasized the seriousness of this issue.
This stress response can, in some ways, be more intense than what we encounter when awake.
To assess biological aging, researchers looked at telomere length. These tiny caps at chromosome edges wear down as we age and are linked with diseases like cancer and heart issues.
Participants with frequent nightmares had shorter telomeres, indicating accelerated aging, along with a staggering 40% increased risk of early death.
The researchers theorized that this might stem from heightened stress and sleep disorders, both of which are known to impact mortality—triggered by those unsettling dreams.
“Nightmares can cause a prolonged increase in cortisol, a hormone that accelerates cellular aging. For those who often face nightmares, this ongoing stress can greatly affect how we age,” Otaik explained.
“Furthermore, nightmares disrupt sleep quality and duration, hindering the body’s crucial overnight repair processes. The combined effects of chronic stress and poor sleep likely contribute to the rapid aging of cells and overall health.”
Even experiencing nightmares just once a month could heighten the risk of early death.
Interestingly, nightmares aren’t biased; the same findings applied similarly across different ages, genders, ethnicities, and mental health statuses.
This research suggests that nightmares are an issue society may need to take more seriously.
“Given how common and treatable nightmares are, they deserve more attention as public health concerns,” Otaik remarked.
Thankfully, it’s possible to prevent and treat nightmares. Simple actions like steering clear of horror movies, practicing good sleep hygiene, reducing stress, and addressing anxiety and depression can make a difference.
In addition to avoiding frightening dreams, experts recommend keeping a regular sleep schedule, writing down worries, cutting back on stimulants like alcohol and caffeine, and establishing a calming bedtime routine.
