It has been revealed who is more likely to have nightmares

Dreams can affect a person's emotional state throughout the day in different ways, and suppressing emotions in everyday life is associated with more frequent nightmares. These are the conclusions reached by scientists from the University of Kansas. The results of the study were published in the journal Sleep.

The scientists attempted to test the popular hypothesis of so-called "fear therapy," according to which frightening dreams supposedly help a person cope with anxieties in real life by reducing stress levels after waking up. However, the data obtained did not confirm this idea in its simple form.

More than 500 people participated in the study. Their dreams were analyzed using artificial intelligence algorithms that assessed the emotional tone of the narratives. The researchers then compared how the content of the dreams affected the participants' mood in the morning.

The results showed an inverse relationship: pronounced fears in dreams were more often associated with a worsening of mood the following day rather than an improvement. At the same time, people who tend to suppress emotions in real life experienced nightmares more frequently.

At the same time, the scientists discovered an important detail: if both negative and positive emotions were present in dreams simultaneously, the negative impact on morning mood was reduced. This may indicate that dreams with more "complex" emotions do not worsen well-being after waking up as much.

The authors emphasize that it is not yet possible to determine precisely when emotional processing occurs — during sleep or after waking up, when recalling dreams. However, the results suggest that dreams and emotional regulation are closely linked, but this mechanism is significantly more complex than previously assumed.