Nightmares in your 40s, 50s might be sign of dementia: study

Nightmares for kids are a given — but for adults they could be an omen.

Adults in their 40s and 50s who regularly experience nightmares might have real cause for concern. The findings shed light on the mysterious early signs of dementia, researchers have said.

A University of Birmingham study found that bad dreams and nightmares are apparently a common warning sign of dementia, and can raise red flags in the years — or even decades — before detrimental memory loss starts to occur.

The study, published in eClinicalMedicine, had two parts and was conducted over 13 years.

The first part followed 605 dementia-free adults between the ages of 35 and 54 for a maximum of 13 years. 

Participants had to complete memory tests at both the start and end of the study, as well as share their sleeping patterns and whether or not they had nightmares while dreaming. 

The memory tests were used to see the deterioration of brain power over time, also known as “cognitive decline” — a natural effect of aging that impairs brain function. A faster cognitive decline can be an indicator for dementia. 

The second part of the study didn’t include memory tests. Instead, 2,600 dementia-free adults over the age of 80 were tracked over just five years, with researchers monitoring when and who developed dementia during that time. These participants were also asked about their experiences with nightmares.

Researchers found that middle-aged adults who had at least two nightmares per week were four times more likely to suffer from “significant” deterioration of brain power compared to those who didn’t have any nightmares. The over-80 adults who had a regular occurrence of nightmares were twice as likely to be diagnosed with dementia. 

“While more works needs to be done to confirm these links, we believe bad dreams could be a useful way to identify individuals at high risk,” said lead researcher Dr. Abidemi Otaiku. 

The researchers believe that nightmares might be a by-product of neurodegeneration — a slow loss of neuronal cells in the brain, in the right frontal lobe — but they do not believe nightmares are the cause of dementia. 

He added that there are “very few risk indicators” to identify dementia at such an age, making the findings “important,” as it can help catch future dementia patients in early stages, and doctors will be able to utilize “strategies to slow down the onset of the disease.”

It’s long been assumed that acts such as eating healthy and regular exercise can diminish the risk of a dementia diagnosis. Though the disease is incurable, being able to catch it early on can help slow down its advancement.