People who frequently experience bad dreams or nightmares are more likely to be at high risk of dementia and cognitive decline later in life, a new study suggests. Between 2002 and 2012, researchers from the University of Birmingham looked at the collected data of over 600 adults in the US aged 35 to 64 and 2,600 adults aged 79 and older.

The study "Distressing Dreams, Cognitive Decline, and Risk of Dementia: A Prospective Study of Three Population-Based Cohorts" published in The Lancet journal eClinicalMedicine claims that nightmares may become more prevalent several years or decades before symptoms of dementia appear.

People Having Frequent Nightmares in Middle Age Are More Likely to Be Diagnosed With Dementia Later in Life
(Photo : Pixabay/magwood_photography)
People Having Frequent Nightmares in Middle Age Are More Likely to Be Diagnosed With Dementia Later in Life

Detecting Dementia Even Before It Happens

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Alzheimer's disease and other related dementia are not an inevitable part of aging. About 40% of cases can be prevented or delayed by understanding the normal and atypical signs when it comes to brain health.

Usual signs include not being able to complete tasks without assistance, trouble naming items or close family members, forgetting how an object works, repeating questions, taking longer time to complete normal tasks, misplacing things, and being unable to retrace steps or getting lost.

Now, the researchers of the new study present a new symptom of dementia even before those signs start to set in. Dr. Abidemi Otaiku of the Center for Human Brain Health of the university said in the press release, "We've demonstrated for the first time that distressing dreams, or nightmares, can be linked to dementia risk and cognitive decline among healthy adults in the general population."

He noted that their findings are important because there are few indicators for dementia that can be identified as early as middle age. More study is needed to confirm their findings, but having bad dreams is a useful way to identify individuals at high risk of having dementia later in life so that it could be prevented or slowed down.

The team examined data from three community-based cohorts in the US, wherein all participants were dementia-free at the start of the study and were followed up for an average of nine years for those in the younger group and five years for people aged 79 and older. Participants completed a range of questionnaires including how often they experience bad dreams.

Then, they used a statistical software to find out whether participants with a higher frequency of nightmares were more likely to experience cognitive decline and diagnosed with dementia.

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Link Between Nightmares and Dementia Is Stronger in Men Than Women

The press release reported that researchers found that middle-aged adults between the ages of 35 to 64 who experience nightmares at least once a week have four times higher risk of experiencing cognitive decline within 10 years. Meanwhile, older adults are twice as likely to have dementia.

Fox32 also reported that the researchers discovered an interesting trend in the study. The association between nightmares and dementia was stronger in men than for women.

Researchers said that older men who have nightmares at least once a week have a five-fold higher risk of developing dementia compared to men who do not have bad dreams. On the other hand, women have an increased risk of 41%.

More studies are needed to support the findings, and the team is planning to look at whether the link between nightmares and dementia in young people is also present. It includes studying their dream characteristics and how often they could remember or how vivid their dreams are.

Lastly, they also plan to use brain imaging to study when and why nightmares happen in both healthy people and those with cognitive decline or dementia.

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Check out more news and information on Dementia in Science Times.