做夢與人的身體狀態、精神狀態有一定關係。英國的一項新研究顯示，在兒童時期經常做噩夢，可能預示著精神健康問題。
英國倫敦大學國王學院等機構的研究人員在新一期美國《睡眠》月刊上報告說，他們對6796名英國兒童進行了跟蹤調查，通過定期詢問其父母等方式，了解這些兒童在兩歲半至9歲之間的睡眠情況，比如是否經常做噩夢，或睡眠中發生突然驚醒的「夜驚」情況，以及夢遊等其他睡眠問題。這些兒童在12歲時接受了一系列精神健康測試，考察他們是否存在妄想、幻覺等問題。
調查顯示，大多數兒童都做過噩夢，其中約37％的兒童連續多年常受噩夢困擾。約十分之一的兒童出現過夜驚情況，主要集中在3歲至7歲之間。進一步研究發現，多年經受噩夢及夜驚困擾可使兒童精神健康風險升高約2至3倍，其他睡眠問題則與這種風險無明顯關聯。
研究人員說，兒童偶爾出現噩夢或夜驚情況屬正常現象，但如果經常、連續出現，則有必要警惕精神健康問題。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦的英文摘要
Sleep doi.org/10.5665/sleep.3478
Childhood Parasomnias and Psychotic Experiences at Age 12 Years in a United Kingdom Birth Cohort
Helen L. Fisher， PhD1； Suzet Tanya Lereya， PhD2； Andrew Thompson， MD3； Glyn Lewis， PhD4； Stanley Zammit， PhD4，5； Dieter Wolke， PhD2
Study Objectives：
To examine associations between specific parasomnias and psychotic experiences in childhood.
Design：
Birth cohort study. Information on the presence of frequent nightmares in children was obtained prospectively from mothers during multiple assessments conducted when children were aged between 2.5 and 9 y. Children were interviewed at age 12 y about nightmares， night terrors， sleepwalking， and psychotic experiences (delusions， hallucinations， and thought interference) occurring in the previous 6 mo.
Setting：
Assessments were completed in participants' homes or a University clinic within the UK.
Patients or Participants：
There were 6，796 children (3，462 girls， 50.9%) who completed the psychotic experiences interview.
Measurements and Results：
Children who were reported by their mothers as experiencing frequent nightmares between 2.5 and 9 y of age were more likely to report psychotic experiences at age 12 y， regardless of sex， family adversity， emotional or behavioral problems， IQ and potential neurological problems (odds ratio (OR) = 1.16， [95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.00， 1.35]， P = 0.049). Children reporting any of the parasomnias at age 12 y also had higher rates of concurrent psychotic experiences than those without such sleeping problems， when adjusting for all confounders (OR = 3.62 [95% CI = 2.57， 5.11]， P < 0.001). Difficulty getting to sleep and night waking were not found to be associated with psychotic experiences at age 12 y when controlling for confounders.
Conclusion：
Nightmares and night terrors， but not other sleeping problems， in childhood were associated with psychotic experiences at age 12 years. These findings tentatively suggest that arousal and rapid eye movement forms of sleep disorder might be early indicators of susceptibility to psychotic experiences.