Severe nightmares can signal dangerous diseases

Research shows that nightmares that are so intense and sometimes haunting even after waking up can signal the onset of chronic illnesses.

CNN quoted a Canadian patient sharing a nightmare: " There is a serial killer following me. In recent years I have had the same dream. He grabbed my leg, and I I could still feel something in my leg even when I woke up."

Nightmares signal health problems

According to a new study published in the journal eClinicalMedicine , general nightmares and hallucinations may be little-known signs of the onset of lupus and other systemic autoimmune diseases such as arthritis. low form.

Such unusual symptoms could also be a signal that an underlying condition may be about to worsen or "flare up" and require medical treatment, said the study's lead author, Melanie Sloan, a researcher in the department of public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge (UK).

“This is particularly true with lupus, which is known to affect multiple organs, including the brain. However, we also see these types of symptoms in other rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, and systemic sclerosis,” says Sloan.

Nightmares are a very concerning problem in many medical and psychiatric conditions - (Photo: Getty).

Jennifer Mundt, an assistant professor of sleep medicine, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said that although nightmares are a very worrying problem in many medical and psychiatric conditions, mental illness, but they are rarely noticed - except in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.

While research in this area is relatively new, a March 2019 study found that patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases also experience nightmares and other disturbances in REM sleep . For example, paralysis during sleep, which people call sleep paralysis.

The new study surveyed 400 physicians and 676 people with lupus, and conducted detailed interviews with 50 clinicians and 69 people with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases, including lupus.

Researchers found that 3 in 5 patients with lupus and 1 in 3 patients with other rheumatism-related diseases had increasingly vivid and unpleasant nightmares immediately before their hallucinations.

These nightmares often involve falling or being attacked, trapped, crushed, or committing murder.

Important warning signs

Autoimmune diseases often have a series of symptoms, called prodromes, that appear as signs of a sudden and possibly dangerous worsening of the condition.

For example, in lupus, headaches, severe fatigue, pain, joint swelling, rash, dizziness, and fever without infection are clear signs of an impending flare.

Sloan said recognizing these warning signs is important because it allows for "earlier detection, and therefore treatment of flare-ups - some of which can cause organ damage, even death." mortality in lupus patients".

However, special warning symptoms such as nightmares are not included in the diagnostic criteria for lupus or other diseases. Research shows that doctors rarely ask about such experiences, and patients often avoid talking about them with doctors.

Senior study author David D'Cruz, a consultant rheumatologist, advises: "We strongly encourage doctors to ask about nightmares and other neuropsychiatric symptoms - which are considered unusual , but is actually very common in systemic autoimmune disease - to help detect disease flares earlier."

"We found that patients with lupus that involves organs other than the brain, such as the kidneys or lungs, also commonly report a variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms that lead to flare-ups in the kidneys or lungs." theirs ," Sloan said.

It is "completely normal" to occasionally have nightmares or hallucinations and it is "more common than we think". However, if those symptoms are intense, bothersome, and occur along with other symptoms such as extreme fatigue, headaches, and other signs of an autoimmune disorder, they "should be discussed with a doctor." ".

"In some cases, reporting these symptoms early, even if they seem strange and unrelated, can help your doctor diagnose an autoimmune disease ," Sloan emphasizes.