If you’re having scary dreams, this might be the reason why

With Halloween approaching, you may have been rewatching your favourite scary movies.

Unfortunately this also means you've got be prepared for terrifying nightmares of ghosts popping up and being chased by a man with a chainsaw, right?

Well not necessarily, research suggests nightmares are actually linked to deeper aspects of our psyche and often give insights into our psychological and spiritual lives. For example, some nightmares are rooted in past traumas.

According to the Sleep Health Foundation, only 2.5 to 10% of adults have nightmares, but up to 90% of those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have vivid terrible dreams that remind them of a traumatic event.

Overall, researchers say dreams - nightmares included - still remain a great mystery, but they have been identified as helping with 'internal healing processes' and making adjustments to new aspects if a person's life.