Archive · 29 Jun 2025
Nightmares Linked to Early Death: New Study Reveals
New research suggests that having nightmares often may be bad for your health.
People who have nightmares every week are more likely to die early.
The reason is because nightmares can make the body age faster.
Nightmares cause stress, which releases a hormone that can speed up the aging process.
This stress disrupts sleep, and can affect the body's ability to repair itself at a cellular level.
However, there are ways to treat nightmares and reduce their effects, such as managing stress and improving sleep habits.
Frequent nightmares linked to a threefold increase in premature death risk.
Study found that people with weekly nightmares have shorter telomeres, which are related to cellular aging.
Nightmares can disrupt both the quality and duration of sleep.
Nightmares trigger the fight-or-flight response, leading to stress and increased cortisol.
Treatments are available for nightmares, which could help mitigate their impact.
- Who
- Researchers led by Dr. Abidemi Otaiku from the UK Dementia Research Institute and Imperial College London conducted the study.
- What
- Frequent nightmares are associated with a higher risk of early death and accelerated aging.
- When
- The study tracked participants over 19 years.
- Where
- The study was conducted in the UK.
- Why
- Nightmares disrupt sleep and trigger stress responses, potentially speeding up cellular aging.
- Study Participants
- 2,429 children and 183,012 adults
- Follow-up Duration
- 19 years
- Premature Deaths
- 227 during the study
- Increased Risk
- Threefold increase in premature death risk for those with weekly nightmares
- Key Finding
- Frequent nightmares linked to shorter telomeres, indicative of faster cellular aging