It could be a factor that GI distress and food intolerances contribute to nightmares due to additional stress and inflammation within the body, causing premature mortality over the course of someone's life.
I don't usually remember dreaming, haven't for years, but if I do, something horrific was happening to me. I've been eaten, set on fire, covered in acid, impaled, fallen off of things, more.
The dreams stopped right around when my first child was born. Never had them since.
But I suspect that deep down I kind of felt guilty in my late 20s for not having any offspring.
I don't think I've aged faster than expected that cannot be explained by a lack of serious exercise.
BLKNSLVR•7mo ago
For the last maybe 20 years, I rarely even dream, or rarely remember my dreams. But I'm also fairly accepting of, and reactive to, the reality with which I'm presented, no matter how dark the timeline seems to be. I don't know if these things are correlated though.
gnabgib•7mo ago
We sometimes use the term _nightmares_ to describe both, but only the former causes a cortisol reaction (in the article).. the latter, which would include worrying about bad sleep or bad dreams doesn't cause the same response.
How do you know it caused a cortisol reaction? - Your heart is pounding, you're probably awake and probably have a hard time getting back to sleep. Your sleep tracker will show it too (if you have a ring or watch, your heart rate will visibly jump into your exercise range).
Worrying about sleep/lack thereof/bad dreams sucks, but it's not the same as nightmares.
Worth also mentioning - not everyone experiences/remembers dreams (which sounds amazing)
misterhill•7mo ago