Women Have More Scary Dreams Than Males Essay

Nightmares are generally defined as dreams that are frightening enough to wake up, or nearly wake up, the dreamer. In studies where participants have kept detailed, daily dream journals, women report an average of two nightmares a month, while men report an average of one and a half per month. In addition, women seem to have many more dreams that have nightmarish elements and themes but are not quite terrifying enough to be true nightmares. Why do women have more scary dreams than men?
Some studies indicate that people who have more nightmares than average tend to be more creative, sensitive, trusting and emotional than average. Increased sensitivity and emotionality are traits our culture associates with women. Is it possible that being more vulnerable and emotionally responsive in waking life leaves women with more difficult experiences to process? If so, nightmares may be part of that processing. (McNamara, 2008)
Some theorists think that our brains use bad dreams to practice dealing with threatening situations. That way, the dreamer will be more prepared to deal with dangerous events when they happen. For example, a lot of frightening dreams that women have involve a sensation of being frozen with fear. This “deer in the headlights” experience is rarely

When a woman is anxious about challenging but unexceptional experiences, such as arguing with a spouse, worrying about job performance, moving, commonplace health issues, or money problems, she will not necessarily dream about those things directly. Instead she is more likely to have classic stress dreams that deal with her anxiety using some typical themes. Research reveals that women have a lot nightmares that fall into the three general categories: performance anxiety or fear of failure, loss of control in ordinary situations and phobic encounters. (Nielsen et.al.,