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Roberts, Lennings, and Heard define nightmares as “frightening and lengthy dream sequences depicting threats to the dreamer…presented as physical danger or an emotional danger such as humiliation or personal failure”. Connections between stress and nightmares have been made, but concrete evidence of the link is difficult to come by. One major detriment to successful research is the difference in defining what a nightmare actually is. For example, Zarda’s piece defines nightmares as a “long, frightening dream that awakens the sleeper or awakening from a frightening dream”. However, despite the varying definitions, the correlation between stress and the occurrence of nightmares is compelling.

Classification of nightmares

Nightmares differ from night terrors as well as bad dreams. Each scientist that tackles these topics has their own unique definition. To better serve the purpose of this article, each definition will be discussed and evaluated. According to Zarda, bad dreams are “very disturbing dreams that do not awaken the sleeper” while nightmares are “disturbing dreams that awaken the sleeper”.

Nightmares should not be confused with night terrors. Night terrors affect many children and few adults. These terrors occur during the first hour or two of sleep. During these episodes, children are known to scream, whimper, stumble out of bed, etc.; they rarely ever recognize a parent’s presence or calming words. After a few minutes, the children find themselves deeply asleep once more with no recollection of the night terror. These night terror episodes have also been related back to daytime anxiety.

Correlations of stress to nightmares

Gender differences

According to Nielson and Levin, it is much more common for women to suffer from nightmares; in fact, women are much more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders of all kinds. This gender difference is likely due to the fact that women tend to handle things in a more emotional manner than men. Particularly striking is evidence of gender differences in processes considered essential for nightmare formation, namely fear memory acquisition and extinction. Structural and functional gender differences have also been found for emotion-related brain regions that research suggests are central to nightmare production.

College students

According to various studies, the stress commonly found in college students correlates with the prevalence of nightmares. In a specific study discussed in Zarda’s article, 76% to 86% of college university students report having had at least one nightmare in the previous year, whereas 8% to 29% of them report having had one or more nightmares a month. Also, between 2% and 6% of undergraduate students report one or more nightmares per week.

Biological connections

Some researchers believe that stress-induced nightmares may be due to the fact that certain thoughts are kept apart while one is awake and the conscious is controlling the brain. These thought separations are believed to be not only emotional, but biological as well. Roberts, Lennings, and Hoard’s work states that systems that are separate in the cortex become less separate (or even connected) during sleep. In making these connections, the brain is integrating stress related to traumatic events. When someone undergoes immense stress involving arousing conditions or emotionally arousing memories, there is an excess amount of cortisol on memory retrieval. Long-term effects of this cortisol have yet to be studied intensely, but it is probable that they may lead to permanent changes in the memory trace.

Depression

According to studies discussed in Nightmares, Life Stress, and Anxiety, stress may also be related to depression. The study, done on various women, determined that those who experienced more involved dreams suffered less intense depression, while those whose dreaming experiences were less involved suffered greater depression. These studies also showed that women who experienced nightmares on a more frequent basis were much less likely to ever suffer postpartum depression.

Psychopathy

Along with the general topic of nightmares, the correlation between nightmares and psychopathy is difficult to determine due to varying definitions as well as qualifications used throughout various studies. Commonly, a “frequent nightmare group is established”, and example groups might include those having had at least twelve nightmares within the past year, those having had a nightmare at least once a week, or other classification criteria. In one specific study, the participants took numerous tests measuring neuroticism, anxiety, depression, life-events stress, personal adjustment, and general symptomatology to determine their psychological well-being. The study found that those with lower levels of psychological well-being suffered more frequent nightmares and bad dreams, while people with frequent bad dreams only had a higher level of well-being and control subjects, who rarely experienced nightmares or bad dreams, had the highest levels of psychological well-being.

Stress as a coping mechanism

Described as “a negative emotional state based on high arousal and produced by a sense of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with a specific experience”, Roberts, Lennings, and Heard suggest that nightmares are a coping mechanism utilized by the body to release stress and tension. They also suggest that stressful events may remind an individual of previous unpleasant experiences, therefore, resurfacing memories which result in nightmares based on memory. However, according to different studies discussed in this same source, nightmares may leave sufferers feeling more anxious and full of tension. Combinations of anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies have all been linked with nightmares.