Insights
Notes on the night.
Research, news and practical guides on nightmares, sleep, dreams and trauma. Every claim has its source, and every study is read with its limits.
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From Baku,
The Baku waitlist is open
You can now join the Baku waitlist on baku.care. A small private beta comes first, for people who have nightmares often; then Baku opens to everyone.
3 min read
All articles
27 articles
News,
One in nine adults reported weekly nightmares in 2021
A survey of almost 16,000 adults in 16 countries found weekly nightmares far more common than older single-country studies suggested. What it measured, and what it cannot tell us.
3 min read
Dreams,
Your dreams run a week late: the dream-lag effect
Something that happens today may appear in tonight’s dream, fade, then return about a week later. What the research shows, how solid it is, and what it may mean after a stressful week.
5 min read
Trauma,
Treatments for trauma-related nightmares, side by side
Imagery rehearsal, exposure-based nightmare therapy, insomnia therapy, trauma-focused therapy and medication: what each involves, who offers it, and how strong the evidence is.
5 min read
Sleep science,
Sleep paralysis: the weight on your chest
You wake but cannot move, and something seems to be in the room or pressing on your chest. Sleep paralysis is common, frightening and not dangerous. What is happening, and what helps.
5 min read
News,
Nightmares and early death: reading the headlines carefully
Headlines said weekly nightmares triple the risk of dying early. The research behind them is interesting, early and observational. What it found, and what it cannot tell you.
3 min read
Guides,
Cyclic sighing: a simple breath with a long exhale
Two breaths in, one long breath out. In a month-long randomised study, five minutes a day lifted mood and slowed breathing more than meditation. How to do it, and what the study does not show.
5 min read
Trauma,
Why trauma replays at night
After a traumatic event, nightmares can return to it again and again. What research says about why, what changes in sleep, and why these nightmares are treatable.
5 min read
Dreams,
Why we forget most dreams
We dream every night, yet most mornings little or nothing is left. What research says about why dreams slip away, why some people keep more of them, and what that means if yours are nightmares.
4 min read
Research,
A sound that helps a new ending stick
In a small Geneva trial, a soft piano chord linked to a rewritten nightmare and replayed during REM sleep seemed to speed up imagery rehearsal. What it found, and what it cannot tell us yet.
5 min read
Sleep science,
Medicines that can change your dreams
Vivid dreams and nightmares are a known side effect of several common medicines, and of stopping some of them. What the evidence shows, why it happens, and why the next step is a conversation with your doctor.
4 min read
Trauma,
Nightmares and suicide risk: why they deserve to be taken seriously
Research links persistent nightmares with suicidal thoughts and behaviour. It is a signal, not a sentence, and nightmares are treatable. What the studies show, and where to turn tonight.
5 min read
From Baku,
How we label evidence
Every method in Baku carries one of five labels, from Strong evidence to Medical device territory. What each means, how we choose, and how it compares with the systems clinicians use.
3 min read
Dreams,
Do dreams rehearse danger? The threat simulation theory
One influential theory says we dream to rehearse escaping danger. What the evidence supports, where it falls short, and why frequent nightmares still deserve care.
4 min read
Research,
Lucid dreaming as a nightmare therapy: promise and limits
Realising you are dreaming, in the middle of a nightmare, sounds like the perfect escape. Small trials suggest lucid dreaming therapy may reduce nightmares, though perhaps not through lucidity itself.
4 min read
News,
A new trial tests imagery rehearsal for people with narcolepsy
A small randomised trial at the University of Utah is testing whether seven video sessions of imagery rehearsal can ease nightmares in adults with narcolepsy. What it involves, and why it matters.
4 min read
Guides,
The twenty-minute rule, and why it helps
If you are lying awake at 3 a.m., the best-supported advice sounds backwards: get up. Where the rule comes from, what guidelines say, and how to do it without watching the clock.
4 min read
Dreams,
Dreaming and memory: what the night does with your day
Sleep helps memories settle, and dreams often replay pieces of the day. What research shows about dreams, learning and emotional memory, and what is still a hypothesis.
5 min read
Guides,
Building a bedtime ritual that lasts
A wind-down does not need to be long or perfect. It needs to be yours, and repeatable on a tired Tuesday. How to build one that sticks, in about six minutes.
2 min read
Research,
Prazosin and nightmares: what the large trial found
Small trials made an old blood pressure medicine a standard choice for trauma nightmares. Then a trial in 304 veterans found no difference from placebo. What happened, and how guidelines responded.
4 min read
News,
Nightmare researchers meet online next week
SRH University’s Nightmare Symposium 3.0 runs online on 22 and 23 September. What is on the agenda, and the questions nightmare research is working on in 2026.
3 min read
Sleep science,
Alcohol, cannabis and the second half of the night
A drink or a joint can make falling asleep easier. The cost often arrives later, in broken sleep and vivid dreams before dawn. What the research shows, without judgement.
4 min read
Dreams,
Pandemic dreams: what 2020 taught dream researchers
In 2020, people across the world reported strange, vivid dreams at the same time. What the large surveys found, what they could not show, and what shared stress teaches about dreaming.
4 min read
Nightmares,
Nightmare disorder: when bad dreams become a condition
Almost everyone has bad dreams. For some people they come often enough, and hurt enough, that sleep medicine calls it a disorder. What that means, how common it is, and what helps.
6 min read
Nightmares,
What imagery rehearsal is, and why it helps
The nightmare treatment sleep medicine recommends is simple, drug-free and takes about ten minutes a day. Where it comes from, how to do it, and when it is not enough on its own.
3 min read
Sleep science,
Why nightmares cluster at 3 a.m.
Vivid dreams gather in the last third of the night, and the small hours make everything feel heavier. What is happening in your sleep, and what helps when you wake.
3 min read
From Baku,
Why Nightlight will always be free
When you wake from a nightmare at 3 a.m., the last thing you need is a sign-in screen or a price. Why Baku’s night mode is free forever, works offline, and how the rest pays for it.
3 min read
Dreams,
From Asclepius to MIT: choosing what to dream
People have tried to invite particular dreams for thousands of years. From Greek healing sanctuaries to a wearable at the edge of sleep: what dream incubation is, and what the evidence can say.
5 min read