Long Term Reduction of Nightmares with Imagery Rehearsal Treatment
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy April 1, 1996 Barry Krakow, Robert Kellner, Dorothy Pathak et al.
A cognitive-behavioral method called imagery rehearsal significantly reduced nightmare frequency in chronic nightmare sufferers over an eighteen-month follow-up. Sixty-eight percent of subjects decreased their nightmares below the criteria for chronic nightmare disorder. Sleep quality and daytime anxiety also improved significantly. These findings suggest that nightmares may be considered a primary sleep disorder in some chronic sufferers.