He sometimes paces around the house to calm himself down. TWEET ... the probability of having bad dreams also rises. “ Do bad dreams mean anything? Top 10 Nightmares and What They Mean. My son in 14 years old and lately has been waking up every night to bad dreams. 14 Common Dreams and Symbols and Why They're Important For 90 minutes to two hours or more each night, every single person on Earth dreams. But sometimes a nightmare is actually more than just a nightmare. Bad dreams, on the other hand, are especially haunted by interpersonal conflicts.” They found that death, health concerns, and threats were the most common themes in nightmares and that while nightmares and bad dreams share some of the same negative traits, nightmares have a greater emotional impact. But sometimes a nightmare is actually more than just a nightmare. However, a dream's meaning isn't always as obvious as you might think. We've all had our share of nightmares. Hey, they're just a natural part of life! Tony Crisp, author of Dream Dictionary , suggests that being chased in a dream might indicate a desire to escape from your own fears or desires. This is a sign that we have unresolved tension around these issues, and our bad dreams are actually trying to communicate with us so that we can let those tensions go. Most people suffer from the occasional nightmare, and some seem to experience them almost every night. Do bad dreams mean anything? The fact that dreams can be so rich and compelling is what causes many to believe that there must be some meaning to our dreams. 2) High dream recall, and vividness of dreams and waking imagery: Many of the people with frequent nightmares also report more vivid, beautiful, 'peak experience' dreams. Fear isn’t always the driving force behind nightmares and bad dreams, new research from the University of Montreal suggests. Psychologists usually define a nightmare as 'a terrifying dream'. What Are Dreams? PD-1923 . What Are Dreams? . We've all had our share of nightmares. Hey, they're just a natural part of life! We all dream, even if we don't remember it the next day. Recurrent dreams occur in between 60 and 75 percent of adults, and more often in women than men (Zadra, 1996). Here are 17 signs your bad dreams could indicate something much, much more serious than a series of random mental images. What Do Bad Dreams Mean? Posted Jan 19, 2018 . Dreams can be entertaining, disturbing, or downright bizarre. Some neuroscientists think dreams don’t mean a thing. But why do we dream?And what do they mean, anyway? We all dream, even if we don't remember it the next day. Dreams can be mysterious, but understanding the meaning of our dreams can be downright baffling.