People who score higher on neuroticism are more likely to experience frequent nightmares, according to research published in Dreaming.
Nightmares—vivid, emotionally intense dreams that often lead to waking—are quite rare, comprising about 3% of dreams on average. Yet for some individuals, they occur far more frequently and with significant emotional distress. Persistent nightmares can worsen mental health outcomes, increasing the risk of PTSD, suicidal ideation, and impaired daily functioning.
Past research has suggested that personality traits may play a role in who is more vulnerable to nightmares, but findings have been inconsistent, particularly regarding which of the Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) are most associated with nightmare frequency and distress.
Aurore Roland and Zosia Goossens conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify these associations.
To identify relevant studies, the authors conducted a systematic search across four major scientific databases, including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science, using a comprehensive set of search terms related to nightmares and the Big Five personality traits. To be included, studies had to examine adult participants, measure the Big Five traits using a validated questionnaire, and assess nightmare frequency or distress. Studies without full text, non-English publications, conference abstracts, and studies using alternative personality frameworks were excluded.
Ten studies met the inclusion criteria, all of which were rated as having a low risk of bias using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool. Participant samples varied widely, including university students and general population adults, with sample sizes ranging from 117 to 2,492 individuals. Most studies used the NEO-FFI or BFI to measure personality traits and relied on either single-item or short-form scales to assess nightmare frequency and distress.
Due to differences in available data, the authors were able to conduct meta-analyses only for nightmare frequency in relation to openness (reflective of traits like imagination and creativity) and neuroticism (tendency to experience more frequent and intense negative emotions). Nightmare distress could not be meta-analyzed due to inconsistent reporting formats and insufficient correlational data.
The meta-analysis revealed a small but significant association between openness and nightmare frequency (Fischer’s z = .06). This suggests that while individuals high in openness may experience slightly more nightmares, the effect is minimal and likely not clinically meaningful. The result was consistent across different statistical models, including sensitivity analyses with and without regression-based data.
In contrast, the association between neuroticism and nightmare frequency was stronger (z = .30), indicating a small-to-moderate effect. People higher in neuroticism were significantly more likely to report frequent nightmares. Importantly, this result remained robust even when the authors excluded studies that reported only regression-based estimates, although the strength of the association did decrease slightly when such studies were included.
These findings underscore neuroticism as an important personality-based risk factor for frequent nightmares, highlighting the role of emotional instability in sleep-related distress.
One limitation is the small number of eligible studies, which limited the scope of meta-analyses and prevented analysis of other traits like agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion.
The research, “Nightmares and the Big Five Personality Traits: A Systematic Review and Three-Level Meta-Analysis,” was authored by Aurore Roland and Zosia Goossens.
