Frequent Nightmares Linked To Faster Ageing, Premature Death: Study
Research by European Academy of Neurology links frequent nightmares to faster ageing and higher premature death risk, due to stress responses disrupting sleep and cellular ageing.
If you're someone who gets regular nightmares, beware; it may be a sign of something more serious. They could be a sign of a deeper health challenge brewing inside your body. Research presented in June at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2025 has linked frequent nightmares to faster biological ageing and a higher risk of premature death.
Researchers, the first to associate the two, believe regular experience of excess stress, anxiety and panic in sleep signals unusually faster ageing in an individual, who could be three times more prone to premature demise.
'Our sleeping brains cannot distinguish dreams from reality. That's why nightmares often wake us up sweating, gasping for breath, and with our hearts pounding – because our fight-or-flight response has been triggered. This stress reaction can be even more intense than anything we experience while awake," said Abidemi Otaiku, a neuroscientist at Imperial College London and the author of a forthcoming study revealed by the EAN press release.
'Nightmares lead to prolonged elevations of cortisol, a stress hormone closely linked to faster cellular ageing. For those who frequently experience nightmares, this cumulative stress may significantly impact the ageing process."
'Additionally, nightmares disrupt both sleep quality and duration, impairing the body's essential overnight cellular restoration and repair. The combined effects of chronic stress and disrupted sleep likely contribute to the accelerated ageing of our cells and bodies."
Tracking the frequency of nightmares reported by parents and relatives among children and adults for the period of up to 19 years, researchers found that these have undergone accelerated biological ageing. The study also claimed that adults who suffered weekly nightmares were also more than three times as likely to die before the age of 70, with faster biological ageing increasing the early mortality risk by 40 per cent.
Among participants tracked for the study, researchers found that the link between chronic nightmares and faster ageing was strong and consistent irrespective of their sex, age, mental health status and ethnicity.
To measure the biological age of these individuals, researchers looked at people's telomeres, the protective end caps of chromosomes. The shorter the telomeres, the greater the biological age. The study suggests weekly nightmares reflect a deeper worry, but even less frequent nightmares that may arrive once a month could also be raising an alarm bell.
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July 22, 2025, 13:16 IST
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