Stress dreams are vivid, intense, and often distressing dreams that are caused by stress or anxiety. These dreams generally occur during REM sleep and focus on daytime worries.1 They can be upsetting, but they can also be more mundane.
Research has found that stress is a significant predictor of poor sleep, meaning that the more stressed people are, the worse their sleep will be affected.2 Unfortunately, sleep problems then lead to more stress and poorer stress coping.
Stress dreams don’t just interfere with sleep; they can also contribute to increased anxiety the next day. Finding ways to manage stress effectively can help minimize the risk of having stress-related dreams.
Learn more about how to recognize the signs of a stress dream and how to identify the cause. Also, explore some tips for how to treat and cope with stress dreams.
Characteristics of Stress Dreams
Some common signs of stress dreams include:
- Falling asleep worrying
- Waking up feeling anxious and unsettled
- Having upsetting dreams focused on the source of your stress
- Experiencing dreams that are focused on other topics but that are still distressing
Stress dreams are often focused on the things you are worried about during the day. So if you’re stressed about a project at work, you might dream that you forgot to finish the job or that you made a terrible mistake.
Identifying Stress Dreams
Stress dreams tend to differ from normal dreams and nightmares in a few different ways. Normal dreams tend to be more mundane. They can range from pleasant to completely unmemorable. Nightmares, on the other hand, are marked by feelings of intense fear or terror.
Unlike regular dreams or nightmares, stress dreams inspire feelings of anxiety, worry, frustration, or dread. Such feelings often linger after waking and can grow worse as the source of the anxiety remains unresolved.
If you are experiencing stress dreams, it is important to identify the source of your stress and take steps to manage it effectively.
Causes of Stress Dreams
Stress is the clear cause of these dreams, but certain factors may make them more likely to occur. Factors that can contribute to their onset include:
Stressful Events
Dealing with situational stressors in your life is a common source of stress-induced dreams. When you go to sleep worrying about stress from work, school, relationships, health, or finances, those worries are more likely to make their way into your dreams as well.
Causes of such stress can include:
- Academic pressures
- Breakups, divorce, or other relationship problems
- Chronic health conditions
- Death of a loved one
- Financial problems
- Mental health conditions
- Significant life changes
- Substance use problems
- Work problems
Stressful world events can also contribute to stress dreams. One study found that during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, people reported sleeping more—yet experiencing less quality sleep due to frequent awakenings, bad dreams, and nightmares.3
Sleep Reactivity
Sleep reactivity refers to a person’s tendency to have their sleep disrupted by stress. Genetics, neurobiological factors, and environmental stressors all play a role in an individual’s sleep reactivity, and being more reactive increases the risk of developing a sleep disorder, such as insomniaƒworry.
Researchers have found that pre-sleep thoughts dominate the content of dreams. Worrisome thoughts increase arousal levels, leading to fragmented REM sleep, poor stress resolution, and can lead to a state of chronic hyperarousal.4
The consequences of this heightened sleep reactivity are worse sleep, decreased stress coping, and the physical and mental strain of elevated stress levels.
Anxiety Disorders
Having an anxiety disorder may increase the risk of experiencing stress dreams. Researchers have found, for example, that people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) tend to have more bad dreams than those without the condition. Such dreams were linked to increased anxiety during the day, a vicious cycle that can increase anxiety and worsen sleep quality.5
Cognitive Preparation
Stress dreams might not always be a bad thing, however. After all, a certain amount of stress can help prepare you to tackle a task and perform your best.6 In fact, dreams stemming from stress over an upcoming event may even give you a mental edge.
One study found that dreaming about stressful events can help mentally prepare you to tackle the task.1
For example, an anxious dream about an important exam may help you perform better on the actual test. The researchers concluded that “negative anticipation of a stressful event in dreams is common and that this episodic simulation provides a cognitive gain.”1
And while stressful dreams might cause you to wake feeling anxious or worried, another study suggests that these dreams can improve emotional regulation and processing.7 In such cases, your dreams might seem unpleasant, but they might actually help you cope with life’s difficulties more effectively.
Types of Stress Dreams
The content of individual dreams varies considerably from one person to the next. According to some research, the vast majority of dreams focus on events from the previous day.8
In such cases, such dreams are related to common stressors including:
- Money worries or financial issues
- Work
- Personal relationships
- Children and parenting issues
- Health issues
- Daily life stresses
But sometimes stress dreams involve content that isn’t directly related to your daily life. In such cases, you might find yourself experiencing common dreams focused on topics such as:9
- Infidelity
- Losing teeth
- Falling
- Death
- Being chased
- Being attacked
- Being late
Press Play for Advice On Dream Interpretation
Hosted by Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast, featuring therapist and dream interpreter Jesse Lyon, shares science-backed strategies that you can use to better understand your dreams. Click below to listen now.