Nightmares play an important role in the survival of humanity, according to Finnish scientists.
For years, experts have studied the terrifying dreams of people, such as falling from high altitudes, being chased by attackers, failing a test, etc.
They found that nightmarish dreams create specific nerve connections between the levels that support the reaction of people in very dangerous and unexpected situations.
Scientists believe that we have inherited nightmares from the past when our ancestors were tackling different challenges.
This is a specific mechanism whereby the human brain experiments during sleep using different risk situations, preparing us to react in real situations. Someone who has a nightmare will know how to escape a dangerous situation.
Another benefit of nightmares is that they sometimes predict what will happen. They can warn of a disease which has not yet been discovered.