Night terrors and dementia: People who often have bad dreams are at risk

According to scientists, approximately one-third of a person’s life is spent sleeping, and about a quarter of this time is spent dreaming. For a person who lives to be about 73 years old, this amounts to more than six years spent in a dream state.

According to Abidemi Otaiku, a clinical researcher in neurology at the University of Birmingham’s NIHR, despite numerous studies, humanity still knows little about the nature of dreams, their origin, and meaning, especially in the context of health, particularly about the brain, as reported by the Science Alert portal.

A recent study published in the journal Clinical Medicine by The Lancet found that dreams can convey a significant amount of information about brain health. In particular, frequent negative dreams and nightmares in middle or older age may be associated with an increased risk of developing dementia.

The link between nightmares and dementia

Scientists analyzed the results of three extensive American studies of health and aging, which included more than 600 people aged 35 to 64 and 2,600 people aged 79 and older. Participants were followed for an average of nine years for the younger groups and five years for the older ones.

At the beginning of the study, participants completed questionnaires, one of which inquired about the frequency of their bad dreams and nightmares. Scientists found out whether participants who regularly had nightmares had a higher risk of cognitive decline or developing dementia.

It turned out that middle-aged people who had nightmares every week were four times more likely to have cognitive decline over the next ten years. The older group had twice as many diagnoses of dementia.

Interestingly, the link between nightmares and dementia was stronger in men than in women. For example, older men who experienced nightmares weekly had a fivefold increased risk of developing dementia, compared with a 41% increased risk in women.

These findings suggest that recurrent nightmares may be one of the earliest signs of dementia, preceding memory, and cognitive problems by several years, especially in men.

However, it is also possible that recurrent nightmares may also contribute to the development of dementia. However, given the nature of the study, it is difficult to determine which theory is correct.

Regardless of the version, the main conclusion remains the same: frequent nightmares in middle and older age may indicate an increased risk of dementia.

There is hope

On the positive side, recurrent nightmares are treatable. In particular, first-line drug therapy for nightmares may reduce the accumulation of abnormal proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease. There have also been reports of improved memory and cognitive function after treatment for nightmares.

So, treating nightmares may help slow cognitive decline and even prevent the development of dementia in some people. This is an area that warrants further research.