Most of us have probably had the sensation of awakening from a nightmare or an unpleasant dream. These nightmares frequently feature vivid, terrifying scenes that might make it difficult to fall asleep and leave you terrified, with heart palpitations and rapid breathing. Some people think dreams and nightmares can represent your underlying feelings and have deeper meanings. Others assert that they contain messages and could serve as a warning to the dreamer.
Everyone interprets their dreams differently, whether they be positive or negative. The study results, published in eClinicalMedicine, suggest this might be the case. According to the study’s authors, abnormal dreams may serve as a precursor to Parkinson’s disease (PD). The researchers at the University of Birmingham stated that older persons with nightmares or disturbing dreams might be displaying the earliest symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) research data, with up to 12-years follow-up for incident PD, was used to test the hypothesis that having frequent disturbing dreams would be linked to an increased risk of acquiring PD.
The second most prevalent neurodegenerative illness worldwide and the fastest-growing neurological disorder is Parkinson’s disease (PD). With a disease duration that can last decades, PD is a chronic, progressive condition that frequently causes serious disability for those affected and has a detrimental effect on the quality of life. Along with significantly impacting patients, PD also places a heavy financial burden on carers.
Within the next ten years, the global prevalence of PD is predicted to double due to population aging, changes in risk factors, and other causes. Since PD is still incurable, it is currently a top goal to identify those very susceptible to developing the disease so that interventions can be directed toward them.
Early detection of Parkinson’s disease can be extremely helpful. Still, there are very few risk factors, many of which necessitate costly hospital testing or are extremely widespread and non-specific, like diabetes.
Regarding this, prior research has demonstrated that adults with Parkinson’s disease have more nightmares and poor dreams than adults in the general population, but using nightmares as a risk signal for Parkinson’s has not been previously considered.
After considering this, the researchers examined data from a sizable US cohort study that included information from 3818 independent-living older males over 12 years old. The participants filled out various questionnaires at the start of the study, one of which asked about the quality of their sleep.
Following up with participants who had at least once a week of disturbing nightmares allowed researchers to determine whether they were more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease later.
Parkinson’s disease was discovered in 91 instances throughout the follow-up period. Researchers discovered that those who frequently had nightmares had a twofold increased risk of contracting the illness compared to those who did not. In the first five years of the investigation, most diagnoses occurred. More than three times as many participants who experienced frequent nightmares during this time eventually developed Parkinson’s.
The findings show that older persons who would eventually be given a Parkinson’s diagnosis are likely to start having nightmares and disturbing dreams a few years before exhibiting the defining symptoms of Parkinson’s, such as tremors, stiffness, and slowness of movement.
The study also demonstrates that dreams might provide vital clues about the composition and operation of our brains, making them a promising area for further study in the field of neuroscience.
This study is the first to examine the link between dream content and later PD development in older persons living in the community. This longitudinal study’s results align with other cross-sectional studies that showed that people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are much more likely than adults in the general community to report frequently having upsetting nightmares. As a result, screening for late-onset unpleasant dreams in the general population should help identify those who are more likely to acquire a quickly advancing subtype of Parkinson’s disease (PD),9 in which early detection is crucial.
Otaiku, D. A. (2022). Distressing dreams and risk of parkinson’s disease: A population-based Cohort Study. EClinicalMedicine, 48, 101474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101474
