What frequent nightmares in your 30s can mean
Nightmares are generally uncomfortable. But they can also predict a negative future: According to a study, people who have more nightmares in their late 30s are also more likely to develop dementia later in life.
Falling into a bottomless abyss, being pursued or standing naked on a stage: we all have such or similar nightmares from time to time. The exact causes of the nocturnal horror scenarios are still unclear to this day – a predisposition, alcohol and various medications can promote nightmares. Even after a stressful day at work, it can happen that the brain processes what has been experienced in a nightmare.
Are nightmares forward-looking?
Researchers at the University of Birmingham “wanted to know whether the risk of future illnesses can be read from frequent nightmares. Their result: People who experience more nightmares in their late 30s are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia later in life. “We were able to show for the first time that nerve-wracking dreams or even nightmares can provide information about the risk of dementia and the general cognitive decline in actually healthy adults,” says Dr. Abidemi Otaiku, who works at the University of Birmingham at the Center for Human Brain Health.
The data from three US studies were compared for the investigations, in which more than 600 adults between the ages of 35 and 64 and 2,600 people over the age of 79 took part. At the start of the studies, none of the subjects suffered from dementia. The younger participants were accompanied for nine years, the older ones for a total of five years. All participants had to complete various questionnaires, including the so-called Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, which also asks how often one suffers from nightmares.
How high is the risk of later dementia with frequent nightmares?
Analysis of the data found that people between the ages of 35 and 64 who suffered from nightmares every week were four times more likely to develop cognitive decline over the next decade. In the older people, the risk of a later dementia diagnosis was twice as high in these cases. Men were also affected more often than women.
The researchers emphasize that nobody needs to worry directly if they have a nightmare from time to time. More research in this direction is needed. Next, Dr. Otaiku and his team are investigating the causes of nightmares in both healthy people and people with dementia.
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