Dream Enactment Behaviour in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
European Journal of Psychotraumatology January 7, 2025 Cresta Asah, Hinuga Sandahl, Lone Baandrup et al. 2 citations
Among refugees with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 71% of 176 participants reported dream enactment behavior (DEB)—acting out dreams during sleep. Those with DEB showed significantly less improvement in sleep quality after PTSD therapy compared to those without DEB, regardless of the specific treatment received. DEB was not linked to differences in overall symptom severity or daily functioning. Additionally, 60% of participants with DEB did not report trauma-related nightmares, suggesting that trauma-associated sleep disorder (TASD) does not capture all cases of DEB in PTSD. The findings indicate that DEB is a common feature of sleep in PTSD that may limit treatment effectiveness for sleep problems.