Poor sleep today? Study warns of nightmare risks tomorrow

A new study revealed that poor sleep is related to nightmares. Here's everything you need to know.

Many struggle to fall asleep, whether it's due to overthinking or simply because sleep doesn’t come easily. But the trouble doesn’t end there. New research says that if you’ve had a hard time falling asleep, you may be more likely to have nightmares. A study published in the Journal of Sleep Research revealed that sleep disturbances increase the likelihood of experiencing nightmares.

Sleep deficiency causes nightmares the next night.(Shutterstock)

But here’s the twist- one might assume that having a nightmare would automatically make sleep worse; maybe you wake up in a cold sweat and struggle to fall back asleep. But that’s not actually the case.

How poor sleep quality leads to disturbing dreams

Waking up at night disturbs the natural flow of sleep, especially the deeper stages that help us recover both physically and emotionally. But when interrupted, the brain doesn’t get enough time to process emotions properly, leaving you sensitive the next night.(Shutterstock)

The researchers asked the participants to sleep with wearable sleep-tracking technology to evaluate brain activity at night. The results were intriguing- when someone had poor sleep quality, either they couldn’t fall asleep or woke up frequently, they had a higher chance of having a nightmare the next night. But this is where the study debunks the common notion. Nightmares didn’t mess up the sleep afterwards. However, it is very important to note that poor sleep quality essentially sets the stage for nightmares.

This is significant as it suggests that poor sleep's emotional aftermath essentially carries on to the next night, creating a fertile environment for nightmares to develop. The study revealed that when people frequently wake up in between sleep, they become emotionally sensitive, hence creating nightmares the next night. When one frequently gets up at night, sleep breaking midway, they have a hard time processing emotions, becoming emotionally raw the next night, ideal for nightmares.

Deep sleep and nightmares

A study shared another interesting and even surprising finding. It is about deep sleep, or N3 sleep, which is usually healing and restorative. But it turns out that when people are in deep sleep, they may get nightmares. The researchers explained that this may be a rebound effect. The brain is trying to cope with the loss of sleep from the night before by going into deeper rest. But the previous night’s emotional aftermath catches up, causing weird and disturbing nightmares.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.