Nightmares and non-nightmare sleep disturbances are a core feature of posttraumatic stress disorder. Effective treatments remain elusive. Doxazosin is an alpha-1 adrenergic blocker with demonstrated promise, but there is a dearth of evidence from randomized controlled trials on its effectiveness. We report findings from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the...
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition that affects approximately 6% of the US population, with even higher rates among veterans. Sleep disturbances (e.g., distressing dreams) are among the most reported symptoms in individuals with PTSD. Distressing dreams (sometimes referred to as nightmares) have been associated with significant negative mental health...
Study Objectives: Trauma nightmares are a core feature of PTSD, with potentially devastating implications for mental health outcomes. Treatments remain unsatisfactory and nightmares are poorly understood, both biologically and phenomenologically; measurement methods are limited. The aims of the current analyses were to (1) characterize distressing dreams in trauma survivors, (2) examine the...
Abstract Introduction Observational research demonstrates a strong association between nightmares, insomnia, and sleep apnea in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), supportive of the notion of a “complex sleep disturbance”. Relations between sleep disturbances and PTSD are often bi-directional and disturbed sleep affects non-sleep PTSD outcomes. We aimed to examine relationships...
Nightmares are a core feature of posttraumatic stress disorder, are poorly understood, and are associated with serious negative outcomes. Their biology has been difficult to study, and the feasibility of capturing them in the naturalistic home environment has been poor. This said, the published research and dominant scientific model has focused on nightmares as a manifestation of noradrenergic...