Staying up late even when you know you shouldn't? It's more serious than you think Nightmares and biological predispositions to fear play a part as well. Krystal Lewis, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, noted that people may experience fears of the dark, "due to the things they see or hear about, thoughts in their head (or) bad things they may have experienced." She also said some people "have a biological predisposition to fear and anxiety which could manifest at night." Overcome fear of the dark and get more sleep by helping your child overcome theirsĮven when adults don't experience nighttime fears, their children often do, leading to a lack of sleep for an already sleep-deprived nation. Gene Beresin, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the executive director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital. For example, darkness impairs one's vision. Not being able to see as well "increases anxiety, uncertainty and tension and this can lead to fear of the dark in any age group," explained Dr. "Fear is triggered by a real or perceived threat. The global pandemic has evoked much uncertainty in different aspects of all our lives," said Gifty Ampadu, a psychologist for the Montefiore Health System.Īnd because research shows that fear of the unknown compounds other anxieties, fears of the dark and other phobias have increased exponentially. Children and adults suffer from a fear of the dark for a variety of reasons.
An estimated 11% of adults were already struggling with this fear before the pandemic, and experts say COVID-19 has made matters worse. While fear of the dark is most common among children 3-12 years old (affecting nearly 3 out of 4 kids, according to one study) many adults are also prone to fears of darkness.
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