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Nightmare dreams can sometimes be useful
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
Doctors all over the world recommend getting a full and sound night's sleep, as quality rest can protect us from chronic stress and cardiovascular pathologies. But for some people, such rest becomes impossible due to frequent nightmares, after which they regularly wake up in the middle of the night and cannot even fall asleep. Most of us believe that nightmares do not bring anything good. However, a team of American and Swiss scientists found out that such dreams also have benefits.
Two studies have found that negative emotional outbursts in dreams are the body's specific training for real troubles.
Science has been studying the characteristics of human sleep for many years. The latest study was aimed at identifying the influence of nightmares on human brain function. The goal was achieved: the researchers were able to determine the role of such dreams as brain activity.
A little earlier, an experiment was conducted involving 18 volunteers. They were attached to more than 250 special electrodes connected to an electroencephalograph, which allowed them to measure electrical brain activity. During the work, the volunteer participants fell asleep, and after waking up, they voiced their dreams and assessed the degree of nighttime anxiety.
The scientists then compared the obtained indicators of brain activity and the participants' anxiety level, which allowed them to make a very interesting discovery. It was discovered that during nightmares, certain brain areas called the "insula" and "cingulate gyrus" were stimulated. The insula is responsible for emotional and conscious formation, and the cingulate gyrus determines certain body movements in case of danger. Moreover, these brain areas are responsible for these reactions not only during sleep, but also in the waking state.
After the first experiment, the scientists began the second: the participants were asked to keep a diary and record the details of their dreams and the characteristics of their emotional state. The subjects kept such diaries for a week, after which they were shown a series of photos and videos with elements of violence and other shocking and unpleasant scenes. Electroencephalography showed that the participants who regularly had nightmares reacted to the footage shown more calmly.
As a result, the experts came to the following conclusions: nightmares train and harden the nervous system, which subsequently allows people to react less painfully to real stressful situations. Perhaps the conclusion obtained will help in the development of new methods of therapy for anxiety disorders.
In addition, the results of the experiments can serve as a basis for new research. After all, nightmares do prevent people from sleeping and often lead to insomnia, which sooner or later has a negative impact on health.
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