Published on: 6/12/2025
What are the psychological and physiological causes of bad dreams?
Bad dreams can be caused by psychological factors like trauma and stress, as well as changes during adolescence. Early trauma can also play a role in nightmares.
Explanation
Bad dreams, or nightmares, can happen for several reasons. Psychological causes include trauma and stress. For example, after a traumatic event, people might have nightmares as a way for the brain to process what happened. This is discussed in the study by Hartmann, which suggests that nightmares after trauma can be a model for understanding all dreams.
Physiological causes can include changes that occur during adolescence. As teens grow, their bodies and minds go through many changes, and this can lead to more disturbing dreams, as noted in the research by Nielsen and colleagues.
Early experiences, such as abuse, can also lead to nightmares later in life. The study by Arvanitakis and others shows that people who experienced early abuse might have more nightmares as adults.
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(References)
- Hartmann E. (1998). Nightmare after trauma as paradigm for all dreams. Psychiatry, 9823032.
- Nielsen TA, Laberge L, Paquet J, Tremblay RE, Vitaro F, & Montplaisir J. (2000). Development of disturbing dreams during adolescence .... Sleep, 11007439.
- Arvanitakis K, Jodoin RM, Lester EP, Lussier A, & Robertson BM. (1993). Early sexual abuse and nightmares in the analysis of adults. The Psychoanalytic quarterly, 8284332.
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