Frontiers in Sleep
April 23, 2026
Erlend Haarr Drugli, Oskar Emil Lehmann, Ståle Pallesen et al.
Objective: To estimate the prevalence of various parasomnias in the general Norwegian adult population and explore their associations with insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in September 2024 among 1002 adults (50.7% male, mean age 50.3), drawn from a large population-based sample from a national web panel. Participants reported lifetime...
Journal of Sleep Research
April 1, 2026
Severin Ableidinger, Luigi De Gennaro, Sérgio Mota-Rolim et al.
During lucid dreaming (LD), dreamers are aware that they are dreaming and may be able to influence the oneiric content. There has been recent debate about the relative importance of the ability to influence the dream and having agency over the pure awareness of dreaming. To underline this, we examined the associations of lucid dreams without agency (LD-Ag) and lucid dreams with agency (LD + Ag)...
Journal of Sleep Research
February 1, 2026
Courtney J Bolstad, Bjørn Bjorvatn, Ngan Yin Chan et al.
The present study aimed to describe the prevalence rates of frequent (i.e., at least weekly) dream recall and nightmares with consideration for differences in age, gender and sleep duration in 16 countries using equivalent assessment methods. The study sample included 15,854 participants (69.9% women) aged 18-99 years (M = 42.39, SD = 16.43) collected by the International COVID-19 Sleep Study...
Journal of Sleep Research
October 1, 2024
Courtney J Bolstad, Brigitte Holzinger, Serena Scarpelli et al.
The association between nightmare frequency (NMF) and suicidal ideation (SI) is well known, yet the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this relation is inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate changes in NMF, SI, and their association during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in 16 countries using a harmonised questionnaire. The sample included 9328 individuals (4848 women; age...
Journal of Sleep Research
February 2023
Yaping Liu, Eemil Partinen, Ngan Yin Chan et al.
There has been increasing concern about the long-term impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as evidenced by anecdotal case reports of acute-onset parkinsonism and the polysomnographic feature of increased rapid eye movement sleep electromyographic activity. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and correlates of dream-enactment behaviours, a hallmark of rapid eye movement sleep...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
December 31, 2022
Mathilda Skeie-Larsen, Rebekka Stave, Janne Grønli et al.
Nightmares are highly prevalent and distressing for the sufferer, which underlines the need for well-documented treatments. A comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis of the effects of different pharmacological placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials, covering the period up to 1 December 2022, was performed. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsychInfo,...
Journal of Sleep Research
November 18, 2022
Serena Scarpelli, Alessandra de Santis, Valentina Alfonsi et al.
29 citations
Recent investigations show that many people affected by SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) report persistent symptoms 2-3 months from the onset of the infection. Here, we report the Italian findings from the second International COVID-19 Sleep Study survey, aiming to investigate sleep and dream alterations in participants with post-acute symptoms, and identify the best determinants of these alterations among...
Nature and Science of Sleep
August 1, 2022
Brigitte Holzinger, Franziska Nierwetberg, Frances Chung et al.
16 citations
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic affects mental health and sleep, resulting in frequent nightmares. Therefore, identifying factors associated with nightmare frequency is important, as it can indicate mental health issues. The study aimed to investigate increases in nightmare frequency comparing the pre-pandemic and pandemic period, and identify its risk factors. Further, the mediating role of...
Nature and Science of Sleep
2022
Serena Scarpelli, Michael R Nadorff, Bjørn Bjorvatn et al.
A growing number of studies have demonstrated that the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected sleep and dream activity in healthy people. To date, no investigation has examined dream activity specifically in COVID-19 patients. As part of the International COVID-19 Sleep Study (ICOSS), we compared 544 COVID-19 participants with 544 matched-controls. A within-subjects...
Nature and Science of Sleep
2021
Eirin Fränkl, Serena Scarpelli, Michael R Nadorff et al.
Many have reported odd dreams during the pandemic. Given that dreams are associated with mental health, understanding these changes could provide crucial information about wellbeing during the pandemic. This study explored associations between COVID-19 and dream recall frequency (DRF), and related social, health, and mental health factors. We conducted a cross-sectional web survey of 19,355...
SAGE open medical case reports
2020
Ståle Pallesen, Hilde Sofie Hamre, Nina Lang et al.
The α1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin has showed good effect against posttraumatic stress disorder-related nightmares in several randomized controlled trials. The α1-adrenergic antagonist doxazosin, which has a longer half-live than prazosin, has received far less attention in the treatment of such nightmares. Here, we report a case of a patient suffering from severe nightmares following an...
Frontiers in Psychology
July 5, 2018
Ragnhild S Lundetræ, Ingvild W Saxvig, Ståle Pallesen et al.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of parasomnias in relation to presence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We hypothesized higher parasomnia prevalence with higher OSA severity. Methods: The sample comprised 4,372 patients referred to a Norwegian university hospital with suspicion of OSA (mean age 49.1 years, 69.8% males). OSA was diagnosed and categorized by standard respiratory...
Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening
September 24, 2009
Bjørn Bjorvatn, Janne Grønli, Ståle Pallesen
2 citations
BACKGROUND: Parasomnias are undesirable experiences or motoric phenomena that occur in association with sleep. We have described characteristics of parasomnia subtypes. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This review is based on the authors' research and clinical experience, and articles identified by non-systematic searches of Pubmed. RESULTS: Parasomnias are categorized into disorders of arousal (non-REM...