Nightmares A Narrative Review
T Field
July 23, 2026 DOI: 10.61440/jcpn.2026.v4.87 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Nightmare prevalence ranges from 6-11% in healthy populations to 27-62% in psychiatric populations, with associated negative effects including suicidal ideation and attempts. Only three interventions are documented: imagery rescripting, cognitive behavioral therapy for nightmares, and telehealth cognitive behavioral therapy. |
Abstract
The prevalence of nightmares appears to be highly variable in this current literature on nightmares, ranging from low in healthy populations (6% to 11%), to slightly higher in those with medical problems (12% to 13%), significantly higher in individuals with neurological conditions (24% to 30%) and again significantly higher in those with psychiatric diagnoses (27% to 62%). Medical comorbidities of nightmares include cardiocerebrovascular disease and cardiometabolic disease. Neurological comorbidities include functional neurological diseases and dementia. Psychiatric comorbidities Include anxiety/ depression, PTSD, and REM sleep behavior disorder. Several negative effects of nightmares have been noted in this literature including poor sleep quality, stress, anxiety and depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Several risks for nightmares have been addressed including childhood trauma, stress, arousal, and anxiety. Potential underlying biological mechanisms for nightmares include a surprisingly small effect for heritability and parasympathetic dysregulation and increased beta waves suggesting hyper- arousal. Despite the severity of the negative effects of nightmares, only three interventions have appeared in this literature including imagery rescripting, cognitive behavioral therapy for nightmares and telehealth cognitive behavioral therapy.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The cognitive neuroscience of lucid dreaming | 2019 | Review | |
| Sleep and dreaming are for important matters | 2013 | Review | |
| Nightmare Disorder and Isolated Sleep Paralysis | 2020 | Review | |
| My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares? | 2019 | Review | |
| Dream Recall: State or Trait Variable? Part I: Model, Theories, Methodology and Trait Factors | 1996 | Review |