Demographic
Children are more apt to experience nightmares than teenagers and adults. Young children normally have nightmares once or twice a week and will usually not develop a nightmare disorder unless they are under severe psychological stress. Children who have persistent nightmares range from 10% to 50%. A child would usually not be diagnosed with nightmare disorder however, since children normally experience many nightmares when they are young.
Students normally experience 4 to 8 nightmares a year and adults only have nightmares once or twice a year. About 3% of young adults report having recurring nightmares and 1% of adults recount having nightmares once or twice a week. If a student or adult is suffering from excessive nightmares, or has a recurring nightmare they may want to seek help as this may be a symptom of a more serious condition.
Read more about this topic: Nightmare Disorder