Nightmares are Associated with Greater Perceived Sleep Debt
January 28, 2022 Sophie Smith, Sofia Hempelmann Perez, Sara Carling et al. preprint
Nightmares are intense emotional experiences that can disrupt sleep quality and affect most people at some point. This investigation examined how nightmare frequency relates to subjective sleep duration, estimated sleep need, and perceived sleep debt. Frequent nightmare sufferers report sleeping the same amount as those without nightmares, yet they feel a greater sleep debt—they believe they need more sleep than they are getting. This shows the importance of considering subjective sleep experiences and dysphoric dreaming alongside standard measures of sleep quality and duration.