Prodromal dreams
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Dreams may foreshadow illness before any symptoms appear
This article summarises scientific research into “prodromal dreams”—dreams that change in content before the onset of physical or mental illness.
What did they do?
The author reviews historical accounts, clinical case studies, and recent neuroscience to examine whether dream content can act as an early indicator of disease. Examples include:
Patients with cancer or autoimmune disorders reporting vivid or disturbing dreams before diagnosis or flare-ups.
Aggressive dream content predicting faster decline in Parkinson’s disease and dementia risk.
Nightmares and suicidal dream scenarios appearing months before mental health crises.
COVID-19 dreams metaphorically depicting symptoms (e.g., snakes, crumbling bodies) before clinical onset.
What did they find?
Dreams may serve as “error signals” generated by the brain’s threat-detection and interoceptive circuits during REM sleep, compressing subtle bodily changes into symbolic imagery. While no single dream image consistently predicts illness, clusters of vivid, threatening, or metaphorical content often precede disease.
The article calls for longitudinal studies, baseline dream norms, and AI-based analysis to test whether prodromal dreams can become reliable, low-cost tools for early diagnosis.
MCNAMARA, P. (2025). Prodromal dreams, 16: 1625811 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1625811