Sleep plays a very important role in the functioning of our organism, but sometimes it happens that nightmares are also a part of it. Although it is not clear how or why we dream during our rest, one study suggested that such dreams could be linked to a dangerous brain syndrome. , especially older men should be careful.
It is common knowledge that we need about seven to nine hours of sleep a day, and the lack of a night’s rest can be extremely harmful to us. Experts say that the average person spends about a third of their life sleeping and a large percentage is taken up by the dreaming itself.
However, scientist Abidemi Otaiku, an academic at the University of Birmingham, in his 2022 study, which , pointed to a possible link between nightmares and an insidious syndrome called dementia. It is a common name for several brain diseases that affect memory, thinking and the ability to perform daily activities.
Often nightmares can be related to dementia.
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Men have a greater risk
Otaiku believed that frequent bad dreams experienced by middle-aged and older people may be associated with an increased risk of dementia. To confirm this hypothesis, the researchers analyzed three large American studies on health and aging involving thousands of people. Depending on the age were followed for five to nine years, with the goal of revealing whether participants with a higher frequency of nightmares showed signs of cognitive decline.
The scientist found that in middle-aged participants who had a nightmare at least once a week, there was an up to four times greater likelihood of cognitive decline, which can lead to dementia. In older subjects, this risk was twice as high.
Otaiku further pointed out that the association between nightmares and potential dementia was much stronger in men than in women. “These results suggest that frequent bad dreams can be one of the first signs of dementiawhich can prevent the development of memory and thinking problems, especially in men. It is too it is possible that regular nightmares may even be the cause of this disorder“, the scientist pointed out.
