Everyone dreams, everyone has nightmares, but not everyone experiences them the same. In our dreams our programming and our personality either enhances the dream experience, and "lives it" (thin) or it separates it away from "reality", making it more of an experience like watching a movie (thick). It is now believed that this is the biggest factor in emotional power of the dream experience for the dreamer.
It is also reported that thin boundaried subjects show an overstepping of boundaries of waking life problems into their dreams and give a hold a much heightened value to the level of creativity with their dream lives. On the other hand thick boundaried personalities give minor importance to their dream experiences. Instead they seperate the two worlds not giving much attention to the dream/nightmare.
Thus studies have shown that Thin boundary personalities tend to have nightmares more frequently than those with thick boundary personalities. They recall far more nightmares a year. It is not yet understood whether, thin boundary personalities actually have more nightmares because they are unable to with stand the emotional surge of the dream and the nightmares set in (Protection of Dreams) or whether the only reason they suffer from more nightmares is the due to the simple reason that they recall far more dream experiences. The most reasonable idea is a combination of the fact that they have far better dream recall but also because thier dreams tend to be far more intense and thus every feeling is enhanced. Because thin boudaries do not differentiate the dreams away from waking life as much as the thick personalities do, they experience the two worlds in more of a similar fashion. Experiencing Dreams as something semi-real and because they also have so many more dreams they are more apt to suffer from nightmares. Sensitivity to the interaction of the dream and content plays such a larger role in thier dream life than the thick boundaried dreamer.
There are several different theories as to the exact funcitons of emotions and mood and the cause of nightmares and other dreams between waking life and Dream life. The most popular ones are currently the Continuity Hypothesis, The State Continuum and the Protection of Sleep Hypothesis.
Personality Types and Nightmares Reasons for the Nightmare
Check out more information on Nightmares and their functionality
