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The research, led by Dr. Abidemi Otaiq of the British Institute for Dementia Research and Imperial College London, was presented at the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN). Otaiq is known for his work on the impact of dreams on health, particularly brain health.
Now he and his colleagues have found that frequent nightmares are linked to faster biological aging and a higher risk of premature death.
What Did the Scientists Discover?
During the study, researchers analyzed data from 2,429 children aged 8 to 10 and 183,012 adults aged 26 to 86. The participants were followed for about 19 years.
At the start of the study, adult volunteers reported how often they had nightmares, while parents reported the frequency of nightmares for their children.
The results showed that adults who reported weekly nightmares were three times more likely to die prematurely (before age 70) compared with adults who rarely or never experienced nightmares. Both children and adults who had frequent nightmares showed signs of accelerated biological aging. In adult participants, researchers estimated that accelerated aging explained a 40 percent higher risk of early death, PR Newswire reported.
Among children with frequent nightmares, telomeres — the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten as cells age — were significantly shorter than those of peers who slept soundly. That suggests early cellular aging in those children.
As Dr. Otaiq emphasized, weekly nightmares were a stronger predictor of premature death than other known risk factors such as smoking, obesity, poor diet, and low physical activity.
“Our brains can’t tell dreams from reality while we sleep. That’s why we often wake from nightmares sweating, breathing rapidly, and with a racing heart. The fight-or-flight response kicks in — sometimes stronger than it is when we’re awake,” Dr. Otaiq said.
He also said nightmares lead to prolonged increases in cortisol, the stress hormone linked to accelerated cellular aging. That cumulative stress can affect the body’s aging process in people who frequently have terrifying dreams. Nightmares also disrupt sleep quality and duration, hindering the overnight cellular restoration and repair that keeps cells healthy.
“The combined effects of chronic stress and disrupted sleep probably contribute to accelerated aging of cells and the body,” Dr. Otaiq said.
The association between frequent nightmares and accelerated aging held across age groups, genders, ethnicities, and mental-health conditions. The researchers found that even monthly nightmares were linked with faster aging and a higher risk of death. That highlights the importance of reducing the frequency of frightening dreams, especially for people with fragile mental health. The study leader recommends avoiding daytime stress and skipping horror movies at night to reduce nightmare frequency.
