Clinical Correlates of Dream Enactment Behaviors in Previously Deployed OEF/OIF/OND Veterans: An Exploratory Analysis.
The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences January 1, 2020 Melissa B Jones, Sangeeth Jeevan, Jingyan Wang et al.
Among veterans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan who have PTSD, about one in four report regularly acting out their dreams at least once a week. Those with frequent dream enactment behavior have worse sleep quality, more severe PTSD symptoms, more mild traumatic brain injuries with loss of consciousness, and are more likely to have diagnosed sleep disorders. However, after accounting for overall sleep quality, only the link between dream enactment and mild traumatic brain injuries with loss of consciousness remained significant, while the connection with PTSD severity did not. This suggests that mild traumatic brain injury may disrupt the brain circuits that regulate sleep in this veteran population.