Vivid nightmares precede lupus diagnosis by over a year in some patients

Photo of a young woman lying in bed and covering her face with a blanket, as if having woken up from a nightmare.

Nightmares could potentially signal the start of a flare for some patients with the autoimmune disease lupus, new research hints.

For some patients, this uptick in vivid bad dreams began over a year before they experienced any symptoms commonly tied to lupus, such as joint pain and rashes. Their "horrific" nightmares often involved falling or being attacked, trapped or crushed, they said.