Everyone has bad dreams now and then—but new research from the UK suggests that frequent nightmares may pose a serious health threat, even greater than smoking, drinking, or obesity.
A team led by Dr. Abidemi Otaiku from the Centre for Brain Sciences at Imperial College London conducted a long-term study involving 2,429 children aged 8 to 10, and 183,012 adults aged 26 to 86, over a 19-year period. The findings revealed that individuals who experience nightmares at least once a week had three times the risk of dying before age 70 compared to those who never reported nightmares.
Researchers also found that frequent nightmares are linked to accelerated biological aging in both children and adults, making up roughly 40% of those at higher risk of early death.
Even experiencing bad dreams on a monthly basis was shown to increase the rate of aging and mortality, regardless of age, gender, race, or mental health status.
Dr. Otaiku explained, “During sleep, the brain cannot differentiate between dreams and reality. That’s why nightmares often jolt us awake with sweating, shortness of breath, and rapid heartbeats—our fight-or-flight response gets activated. This stress response can actually be stronger than anything we experience while awake.” He added that repeated nightmares elevate cortisol, the stress hormone closely tied to cell aging.
This study is the first to confirm that nightmares can independently predict faster biological aging and a higher risk of premature death, even when other health conditions are accounted for. Dr. Otaiku emphasized that because nightmares are both common and treatable, they should be considered a serious public health concern.
The good news? Nightmares are preventable. Simple strategies such as maintaining good sleep hygiene, managing stress, addressing anxiety or depression, and avoiding scary movies before bed can significantly reduce the frequency of bad dreams.
