Current data is insufficient to determine if nightmares are functional or maladaptive.

“what are nightmares doing if anything at all there are at least two theories one is that it's simply the system failing the system gone wrong and we're not processing we're not moving through things and therefore nightmares are maladaptive they're not warranted they're not normative the other is that no they are adaptive and they are meaningful and it's us really trying to go to a very specific pain point and we continue to process it over and over perhaps to the point where we get resolution but sometimes we just don't so it keeps cropping up”