Having Nightmares Could Be an Early Sign of This Disease ...0

Everyone has the occasional bad dream—but if you're constantly being chased by axe murderers or smothered by swarms of spiders in your sleep, something deeper might be going on.

Frequent, graphic nightmares aren't just unsettling—they can be your brain’s way of sounding the alarm. In some cases, they’ve even signaled underlying health issues. So if your dreams have taken a terrifying turn, it might be time to pay attention. In fact, nightmares can sometimes be an early warning sign of serious health conditions.

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For example, one study found that older adults who experienced frequent nightmares were three times more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease within five years. Other research has linked recurring nightmares to early signs of dementia.

Now, a new study suggests that vivid hallucinations—both during sleep and while awake—could point to an underlying autoimmune disorder.

Related: 57 Common Dreams and Their Hidden Meanings

Published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, a recent study found that vivid nightmares may be an early warning sign for lupus flare-ups.

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakes healthy tissue and organs as foreign invaders. The attacks on healthy tissue create widespread inflammation, sometimes creating permanent tissue damage. 

People with lupus experience periods of illness called flare-ups, ranging from mild to severe. Selena Gomez and Toni Braxton are two of the 1.5 million Americans battling with lupus. Nine out of 10 adults with lupus are women.

Lupus symptoms can vary from patient to patient. According to Cleveland Clinic, they often include some combination of chest pain, joint pain, muscle aches, fatigue, headaches, rashes (especially a "butterfly" rash across the face), fever, hair loss, mouth sores, swelling in the extremities and face, blood clots, shortness of breath and confusion. It can also lead to sensitivity to light, dry eyes, depression, anemia, anxiety, heart disease, kidney disease seizures and more serious issues, so it's absolutely not a condition to take lightly. If you think you may have lupus, talk to your physician ASAP.

Related: What Does the Term 'Autoimmune Disease' Actually Mean?

What Did the Study Find?

The study conducted an online survey of 676 people living with lupus and 400 medical professionals. Additionally, they held more detailed interviews with 69 people living with some autoimmune disease and 50 clinicians.

People were asked about the timing of 29 neuropsychiatric symptoms such as loss of balance, hallucinations and depression. They also listed the order of symptoms that emerged as they experienced a lupus flare-up. 

While hallucinations aren't a universal symptom of lupus, research suggests some individuals can develop a range of neuropsychiatric symptoms. “Many people don’t know that neuropsychiatric symptoms, including confusion, hallucinations and vivid nightmares, can be part of autoimmune diseases like lupus,” Dr. James Alan Bourgeois, OD, MPA, MD, a professor of psychiatry at UC Davis and co-study author, said.

Nightmares were one of the most common neuropsychiatric symptoms among people with lupus. Three out of every five people reported having recurring nightmares a year before a lupus flare-up.

“For many years, I have discussed nightmares with my lupus patients and thought that there was a link with their disease activity,” said Dr. David D’Cruz, Ph.D, a professor from King’s College London and senior study author. “This research provides evidence of this.”

Related: 10 Most Common Nightmares and What They Mean

Inside the Disturbing Nightmares

The nightmares people had were often disturbing and violent. Their common themes includes being attacked, trapped, crushed or falling.

In a statement, one patient in the study described their nightmares in vivid detail: “Horrific, like murders, like skin coming off people, horrific … I think it’s like when I’m overwhelmed which could be the lupus being bad … So I think the more stress my body is under then the more vivid and bad the dreaming would be.”

Less than one in four people with lupus also reported "daymares" (nightmarish hallucinations that happen while awake), though the researchers note that daytime hallucinations usually appeared when the lupus flare-up occurred or afterward—not before. 

A patient from England enrolled in the study described daymares as “I see different things, I come out of it and it’s like when you wake up and you can’t remember your dream and you’re there but you’re not there … it’s like feeling really disoriented. The nearest thing I can think of is that I feel like I’m Alice in Wonderland.”

So the next time you wake up from a weird dream, don’t just write it off. Your dreams could be telling you something important.

Up Next:

Related: If You Keep Having Crazy Dreams, Here’s What Might Be Going On

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