Nightmares different for men and women: study
Males tend to dream of disasters, but it’s social conf licts for females
LONDON — The debate may still rage about whether men and women think differently in the day, but it appears that in sleep we dream separate dreams.
In the most comprehensive study of bad dreams to date, Quebec researchers found men were more likely to have nightmares about catastrophes such as flooding and earthquakes or being chased by swarms of insects.
Women have terrifying dreams about social conflicts and relationships, fearing heartbreak or lost friendships, rather than physical harm.
Genevieve Robert, a psychologist at the Universite de Montreal, said that men’s nightmares were more likely to contain “themes of disaster and calamity.”
Meanwhile, “dreams of interpersonal conflicts may elicit a more intense emotional response in women, leading to a greater proportion of such dreams ending in nightmare awakening.”
The researchers asked 572 respondents to write dream journals, which resulted in nearly 10,000 dreams being recorded.
Universal themes included fear of being assaulted, fear of failure, being chased and the presence of evil forces, according to the study in the journal Sleep.
Researchers were surprised to discover people did not have to feel afraid to experience a nightmare with states such as sadness, confusion, guilt or disgust enough to have many waking up in a cold sweat.
Five to six per cent of the population report having nightmares.
Co-author Antonio Zadra said psychologists were still unsure about why we dream but said recurring nightmares could be treated through positive visualization techniques.