Nightmare frequency and nightmare distress in psychiatric inpatients.
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience June 1, 2025 Michael Schredl, Elisabeth Anzenberger, Claudia Schilling
Among psychiatric inpatients, nightmares occurring once per week or more often were reported by 61.54% of those with PTSD (13 patients) and 40.32% of those without PTSD (62 patients). Higher depression scores and a PTSD diagnosis were linked to greater nightmare distress. The findings suggest that frequent nightmares are common in this population and that future work should explore the relationship between psychopathology and nightmares, as well as whether nightmare-focused treatments such as Imagery Rehearsal Therapy could help.