Study of 95,000 People Links Dream Sleep to Risks of Dementia and Heart Disease

Researchers, as reported by Sky News Arabia, have announced new findings from a large-scale study of more than 95,000 people, focusing on the relationship between REM (rapid eye movement) sleep—the stage widely associated with dreaming—and the risk of developing a wide range of diseases.

According to the source, the researchers did not limit their analysis to participants' total sleep hours; they went further, measuring the estimated time each participant spent specifically in the REM stage, one of the fundamental phases of sleep that is typically linked to dreaming.

The findings showed that variations in the time spent in this stage were associated with differences in participants' risk levels for dozens of distinct medical conditions over the years of follow-up during which the study was conducted, according to Sky News Arabia's account of the researchers' conclusions.

Among the health conditions examined in the study, the findings pointed to an association between dream-sleep duration and both the risk of dementia and heart-related health problems, according to the report.

The researchers, as cited by the source, stressed that the findings reflect only a statistical association between REM sleep duration and the risk of those diseases, clarifying that this does not necessarily mean that extending this stage of sleep leads to protection against developing them.

The published report did not address additional details regarding the study's methodology, the institution behind it, or the length of time over which participants were monitored in the field.