- A dream about nightmares is traditionally read as a warning of wrangling, failure and undeserved slights.
- Miller (1901) reads the nightmare as failure in business and, for a young woman, disappointment, with a warning to mind her health and food.
- Psychology reads nightmares as fear or conflict the waking mind has not processed, returning while defences are down.
- Research finds that most adults have occasional nightmares, that stress and trauma increase them, and that recurrent nightmares respond well to imagery rehearsal therapy.
- Dream interpretation is a tradition of reading symbols; it does not predict events.
What does it mean to dream about nightmares?
Miller (1901) treats the nightmare as a symbol in its own right. To dream of being attacked with this hideous sensation denotes wrangling and failure in business. For a young woman it is prophetic of disappointment and unmerited slights, and it may also warn her to be careful of her health and food. That last clause reflects the older belief, present in the word itself, that the mare was a spirit that sat on the sleeper's chest, and that heavy suppers invited it. Folk dream books add that a nightmare survived is trouble overcome, that waking from a nightmare into another dream is a problem with more than one layer, and that telling a nightmare before breakfast keeps it from coming true. Recurring nightmares were read as an enemy's ill will or an unpaid debt.
Three ways to read a dream about nightmares
| Reading | Who says it | What the dream is taken to mean | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dream books | Folk tradition, Miller (1901) | Miller (1901) treats the nightmare as a symbol in its own right. To dream of being attacked with this hideous sensation denotes wrangling and failure in business. For a young woman it is prophetic of disappointment and unmerited slights, and it may also warn her to be careful of her health and food. That last clause reflects the older belief, present in the word itself, that the mare was a spirit that sat on the sleeper's chest, and that heavy suppers invited it. Folk dream books add that a nightmare survived is trouble overcome, that waking from a nightmare into another dream is a problem with more than one layer, and that telling a nightmare before breakfast keeps it from coming true. Recurring nightmares were read as an enemy's ill will or an unpaid debt. | Custom |
| Psychology | Freud, Jung and later authors | Freud's theory that dreams fulfil wishes met its hardest case in nightmares, and he came to see them as the failure of the dream's protective work, with anxiety breaking through. Later psychology reads a nightmare as fear or conflict that has not been processed while awake, returning when defences are lowered. Jungian writers read the pursuer or monster as the shadow, the disowned part that grows more frightening the longer it is refused, and advise turning to face it in imagination. Recurring nightmares tend to repeat until the underlying situation changes or the dreamer's stance towards it does. A dream about having a nightmare, a nightmare inside a dream, often pictures the dreamer's fear of their own fear. | Clinical interpretation |
| Sleep research | Sleep laboratories, surveys | Sleep research has studied nightmares more than any other dream type. Most adults report occasional nightmares, a small percentage have them weekly, and they are more frequent in children, in women and in people under stress or with anxiety and post-traumatic conditions. Nightmares occur mostly in REM sleep late in the night, distinct from night terrors, which arise from deep sleep and are rarely recalled. Revonsuo's threat-simulation theory treats nightmares as the extreme end of a normal function, rehearsing danger. Stress, trauma, fever, alcohol withdrawal and some medications increase them. Imagery rehearsal therapy, in which the dreamer rewrites the nightmare's ending and rehearses it awake, reduces frequency in controlled studies. | Measurements and surveys |
Nightmares in the dream books
What each source says, in its own terms. Dream books are quoted as tradition, not as fact.
To dream of being attacked by this hideous sensation denotes wrangling and failure in business; for a young woman it is prophetic of disappointment and unmerited slights, and may warn her to be careful of her health and food.
A nightmare survived is trouble overcome; a nightmare inside a dream is a problem with more than one layer; telling a nightmare before breakfast keeps it from coming true; recurring nightmares were read as an enemy's ill will.
Anxiety dreams are the case in which the dream's work of disguising and softening a disturbing content fails, and the anxiety breaks through into the sleeper's experience.
The threatening figure of a nightmare is often the shadow, the rejected part of the personality, which grows more menacing the longer it is refused and less so once faced.
Nightmares dream meaning, by variation
The details change the reading.
| In the dream | Traditional reading | Psychological reading |
|---|---|---|
| A recurring nightmare | An enemy's ill will or an unpaid debt. | A situation or a stance that has not changed; the dream repeats until it does. |
| A nightmare inside a dream | A problem with more than one layer. | Fear of your own fear; awareness that you are dreaming the dread. |
| Waking from a nightmare and being unable to move | The old mare sitting on the chest. | Sleep paralysis, a REM phenomenon: frightening but harmless. |
| A nightmare about someone you love | Worry about that person; a quarrel. | Fear of losing them, or unspoken conflict, surfacing at night. |
| Being chased in a nightmare | A pursuer you have not shaken off. | Avoidance; the thing you keep running from in the day. |
| A child's nightmares | Folk books read them as growing pains and passing fears. | Normal and frequent in childhood; they decline with age and respond to comfort. |
| Nightmares after trauma | Dream books say little; the tradition simply calls them bad nights. | Replaying the event is part of processing it; persistent replay is treatable. |
| A nightmare that turns out well | Trouble overcome. | The mind rehearsing mastery; a hopeful sign of resilience. |
When in the night do such dreams happen?
Vivid, story-like dreams happen mostly in REM sleep. REM periods are short early in the night and get longer toward morning, which is why a dream like this is often the last thing before waking.
Spiritual meaning of nightmares in a dream
Spiritual writers read nightmares as the soul's alarm: something in the dreamer's life is out of balance, a boundary has been crossed, or an old fear is asking to be released. Some traditions read them as attacks from outside and prescribe protection, prayer or cleansing; others as the shadow presenting itself for integration. Most agree on the practical step: speak the nightmare aloud in the morning, and it loses much of its grip.
What am I running from in the nightmare, and what am I avoiding in the day?
Has anything in my life changed since the nightmares began, or do they wait for a change?
If I could rewrite the ending, how would it go?
Questions people ask
What does it mean to dream about nightmares?
Miller reads the nightmare as wrangling and failure, and for a young woman disappointment. Psychology reads nightmares as fear or conflict the waking mind has not processed. Research finds they are common, increase under stress, and can be reduced with treatment when they recur.
Do nightmares come true or predict something bad?
No. There is no evidence that nightmares or any dreams predict events. They follow stress, trauma, illness and worry rather than preceding misfortune. The folk practice of telling a nightmare before breakfast is a good idea for a different reason: speaking it reduces its grip.
Why do I keep having the same nightmare?
Recurring nightmares usually repeat until the underlying situation, or your stance towards it, changes. They are more frequent under stress and after trauma. Imagery rehearsal therapy, rewriting the ending and rehearsing it awake, reduces them in controlled studies.
What is the difference between a nightmare and a night terror?
Nightmares are frightening dreams in REM sleep, usually late in the night, that you remember. Night terrors arise from deep sleep, mostly in children, with screaming and confusion but little recall. Both are common and usually harmless.
What does it mean to have a nightmare within a dream?
Folk books read it as a problem with layers. Psychology reads it as fear of your own fear, or as awareness during the dream that you are afraid. It is a normal, if unsettling, variant.
When should I see someone about nightmares?
When they occur most weeks, disturb your sleep or daytime functioning, or follow a traumatic event and do not fade. Recurrent nightmares are treatable; a doctor or a psychologist trained in sleep or trauma can help.
- Miller G. H. Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted, 1901
- Freud S. The Interpretation of Dreams, 1899
- Jung C. G. Man and His Symbols, 1964
- Revonsuo A. The reinterpretation of dreams: an evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2000
- Nielsen T. A., Zadra A. L. et al. The typical dreams of Canadian university students. Dreaming, 2003
- Folk dream books
Each symbol page sets three readings side by side and names where each one comes from. Dream books are quoted as tradition. Last reviewed on the date in the header.