Dream content and slow waves benefit prey against predator in a video game confrontation
Scientific Reports March 13, 2026 Daniel Soares Brandão, Rafael N. B. Scott, Ernesto Soares et al.
Slow wave activity during a nap and dreams related to a stressful video game predict better post-sleep performance for people in a low-agency, prey-like role, but not for those in a high-agency predator role. Thirty adult pairs played a first-person shooter game against each other, then napped while EEG and ECG were recorded, reported dreams, and played again. For participants assigned the prey role, score improvements correlated positively with slow wave activity during the nap, how much dreams related to the game, and heart rate variability during the first round. No such correlations appeared for predator-role participants, suggesting sleep's adaptive function may be especially important for individuals facing threatening, low-control situations.