A study of 234 nursing students from southern Mexico found that 75.3% reported replicative nightmares, while students who experienced nightmares once per week had higher reported levels of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms than students with other nightmare frequencies. The findings are reported in an abstract of research published in BMC Nursing.
The investigators used the Hamburg Nightmare Questionnaire to assess the type, frequency and components of nightmares. Depression, anxiety and stress symptoms were evaluated with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21. The study aimed to compare nightmare characteristics with the presence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among nursing students.
According to the abstract, students who reported nightmares once per week had symptom levels of 21.6% for depression, 29.0% for anxiety and 23.9% for stress. These figures were higher than the corresponding levels reported by students experiencing nightmares at other frequencies. The abstract also states that emotional involvement, physiological components and replicability were higher in nursing students with depression, anxiety and stress symptoms.
The results support an association between replicative nightmares and anxiety symptoms in this group of nursing students. The available evidence describes an observational association rather than establishing that nightmares cause depression, anxiety or stress. The published abstract does not provide details about participant recruitment, the distribution of students across nightmare-frequency categories, statistical uncertainty, potential confounding factors or other measures needed to assess the study’s broader limitations. The authors’ conclusion also calls for mental health professionals and nursing student mentors to consider the presence, type and components of nightmares when addressing students’ mental health, including possible psychopathology and suicidal behavior.
Subject of Research: Associations between nightmares and mental health symptoms among nursing students in southern Mexico
Article Title: Replicative, frequency and emotional component nightmares are associated with depression, anxiety, and stress in nursing students from southern Mexico
Article References: González-Castro, T. B., Genis Mendoza, A. D., López-Narváez, M. L., Tovilla-Zárate, C. A., García-Alejandro, B., Fresán, A., Peregrino-Bolaina, A., de la Rosa Pérez, H., Nicolini, H., & Hernández-Díaz, Y. (2026). Replicative, frequency and emotional component nightmares are associated with depression, anxiety, and stress in nursing students from southern Mexico. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05341-0
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05341-0
Keywords: nightmares, nursing students, depression, anxiety, stress, mental health, cross-sectional association, BMC Nursing, Replicative, frequency, emotional, component
News Source: Glenn Wilkins. (October 20, 2026). Replicative, frequency and emotional component nightmares are associated with depression, anxiety, and stress in nursing students from southern Mexico. Scienmag.
