People who have disturbing dreams more often could be at higher risk of developing dementia, an Australian-led study has claimed.

More than 10,000 adults aged between 60 and 89 were followed over time and asked how many times a week they would have disturbing dreams.

The study's authors define disturbing dreams as nightmares or bad dreams, which are intense dreams that can wake the sleeper.

"Technically, nightmares are the disturbing dreams that wake the sleeper up but there are also other dreams that have similar emotional intensity but they don't wake the sleeper up," lead author Dr Darren Lipnicki said.

Nearly a quarter of all participants said they experience disturbing dreams, and the study, an international collaboration featuring scientists from Europe, Asia and the Americas, has found a potential link to having more bad dreams and developing dementia later in life.

Adults between 60-69 who reported experiencing bad dreams are four times more likely to develop dementia.

"We found the strongest association in people in their 60s, which may suggest that disturbing dreams could be an early marker of dementia risk for some individuals," Lipnicki said.

Researchers say the do not know the reason why bad dreams and dementia could be linked, but they believe it could be a sign of early changes in the brain chemistry, as well as the impacts of long-term chronic stress on the brain.

It found men were far more likely to experience this link, with Lipnicki stating there was little evidence for women to be affected by this new phenomenon.

"I think the reason for this has to do with the pathology and the type of dementia that's involved," he said.

However, he was at pains to suggest it wasn't a set in stone finding, instead that it could be used to guide future research on the issue.

This is especially important as our population begins to age.

"It's important to emphasise that not everyone who experiences disturbing dreams will go on to develop dementia," he said.

"However, the findings suggest that frequent disturbing dreams - particularly in men and adults in their 60s - may warrant further investigation in future research."

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