Waking up in a sweat, with your heart pounding in your chest and your breathing labored. For millions of people, it is not the exception, but the rule. How many times have you wondered if those frequent nightmares that torment your nights can really harm you? Well, now we have the answer. And it is not reassuring at all.
A monumental study just released followed 183 people for nearly two decades, finding that Those who suffer from frequent nightmares not only age more rapidly, but are also three times more likely to die early. Sleep, our precious ally, can turn into your worst enemy.
Frequent Nightmares: The Brain Does Not Distinguish Reality
The research, conducted by Dr. Abidemi Otaiku of Imperial College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute, analyzed data from six long-term population cohorts. The results were presented during the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology 2025 of Helsinki and reveal a disturbing connection.
The fundamental problem is simple: Our sleeping brain cannot distinguish dreams from reality. When we experience a nightmare, our nervous system reacts as if we were actually facing a mortal threat. Our heart races, our breathing becomes labored, and our fight-or-flight system kicks into full effect. As Otaiku explains:
“This stress reaction can be even more intense than anything we experience while awake.”
The Silent Weapon of Cortisol
Frequent nightmares trigger a prolonged release of cortisol, the stress hormone that has devastating consequences on the body. This molecule, useful in small doses to deal with emergencies, becomes a poison when it circulates constantly in the blood.
Cortisol accelerates cellular aging by shortening the telomeres, those little DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes that work like a biological clock. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres get a little shorter. When they get too short, the cell stops functioning properly and ages.
Lo published study has shown that people with weekly nightmares show significantly shorter telomeres compared to those who rarely have bad dreams. It's as if their biological clock is running faster.
Data that scares more than frequent nightmares
The study's numbers are impressive in scope and duration. 183.012 adults aged between 26 and 86 years were followed for a period ranging from 1,5 to 19 years. Also 2.429 children between 8 and 10 years old were included in the analysis to see whether the effects begin already in childhood.
The most shocking result? Frequent nightmares turned out to be predictors of premature death more powerful than smoking, obesity, poor diet and lack of physical activityPeople who have weekly nightmares are three times more likely to die before age 70 than those who rarely experience them.
When sleep doesn't repair
Cortisol isn't the only culprit. Frequent nightmares also destroy the quality of your sleep by interfering with the cellular repair processes that occur during your night's rest. As I wrote in this article on breast therapy, we know that sleep is essential for eliminating toxins from the brain and repairing cellular damage accumulated during the day.
When this process is systematically interrupted, the body can no longer maintain balance. Senescent cells accumulate, chronic inflammation increases, repair systems go haywire.
A concrete hope
The good news is that frequent nightmares are treatable. Therapies such as image rehearsal therapy can rewrite bad dreams and significantly reduce their frequency. Avoiding scary movies, managing anxiety, and treating any underlying mental disorders can make a difference.
As Otaiku says:
“Nightmares are more serious than people realize, and doctors should ask patients more often if they suffer from them.”
Because sometimes, saving a life can be as simple as curing a bad dream.
