Athletes who experience nightmares show higher neuroticism and anxiety than those who do not, and anxiety, neuroticism, and sensation seeking positively predict athletes' nightmare experiences. Among 187 athletes, 87 (46.5%) reported having nightmares. The athlete nightmare group scored significantly higher in neuroticism than the non-nightmare group, and their anxiety scores were significantly higher than those of non-athletes, who scored higher in aggressiveness, neuroticism, and sensation seeking.
People with nightmare disorder show altered resting-state brain activity compared to healthy volunteers. Fifteen nightmare disorder patients and 15 healthy controls completed questionnaires and resting-state fMRI scans. Patients scored higher on measures of physical effect and horrible stimulation from nightmares. They had higher regional homogeneity (a measure of local brain connectivity) in the left anterior cingulate cortex and right inferior parietal lobule, and lower regional homogeneity in the left superior and inferior frontal gyri and bilateral middle occipital gyri.