Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg University
178 papers in the library · 2,743 citations · publishing 1994-2026
Clocks & Sleep November 24, 2021 Michael Schredl
Many dream content analytic studies focus on dream characters, animals, social interactions and so on, but they rarely analyze the frequency of everyday objects in dreams. In the present paper, the frequency and phenomenology of clock dreams in a dream series of 12,476 dreams of a single male dreamer was analyzed. The clock dreams (0.74% of all dreams) show a variety of contexts not only...
Somnologie: Schlafforschung und Schlafmedizin September 1, 2021 Katharina Lüth, Judith Schmitt, Michael Schredl
Abstract Background Since people with nightmares rarely seek help, low-threshold interventions and self-help methods are needed. Among different treatment approaches for nightmares, imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) is the method of choice. Objective In the current study, the authors tested whether IRT is also effective when applied in a short version, within the scope of a single session of...
Clocks & Sleep May 26, 2021 Michael Schredl, Lara C Wood
Romantic relationships are an important part of human life and thus, according to the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, one's romantic partner should show up in dreams quite frequently. The present study is based on 1612 dream reports provided by 425 students. The findings confirmed the hypothesis that partner dreams are more frequent than ex-partner dreams and, thus, support the continuity...
Frontiers in Psychology April 20, 2021 Ana Guerrero-Gomez, Isabel Nöthen-Garunja, Michael Schredl et al. 13 citations
According to the continuity hypothesis of dreaming and contemporary psychodynamic approaches, dreams reflect waking life. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and dreaming in adolescents. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Italy, Romania and Croatia involving 2,105 secondary school students (69% girls, mean age 15.6 ± 2.1 years; 31%...
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences April 15, 2021 Remington Mallett, Michelle Carr, Martin Freegard et al. 7 citations
Dream lucidity, or being aware that one is dreaming while dreaming, is not an all-or-none phenomenon. Often, subjects report being some variant of “a little lucid” as opposed to completely or not at all. As recent neuroimaging work begins to elucidate the neural underpinnings of lucid experience, understanding subtle phenomenological variation within lucid dreams is essential. Here, we focus on...
International Journal of Dream Research February 12, 2021 Michael Schredl
Nightmares in which the dreamer performs a criminal act and is terrified of being punished have been reported in the literature. Systematic studies of “breaking the law” within dreams, however, are still lacking. Within a long dream series of N = 11,808 dreams, 0.80% of the dreams included some criminal activity often associated with the fear of being arrested; rarely with the feeling of...
University Library Heidelberg January 14, 2021 Michael Schredl
The continuity hypothesis of dreaming postulates that dreams reflect waking life, e.g. preoccupations, experiences, thoughts; however, other topics like seasonal changes have been studied very rarely. A long dream series recorded between 1984 and 2015 (over 30 years) including 11,808 dreams showed that “cold” elements like snow, ice, and hail occurred less often over time and, thus, indicates...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 2021 Michael Schredl, Finnja Schramm, Katja Valli et al.
Study objectives: The diagnosis of a nightmare disorder is based on clinically significant distress caused by the nightmares, eg, sleep or mood disturbances during the day. The question what factors might be associated with nightmare distress in addition to nightmares frequency is not well studied. Methods: Overall, 1,474 persons (893 women, 581 men) completed an online survey. Nightmare...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI October 19, 2020 Michael Schredl, Christian Bailer, Muriel Sophie Weigel et al.
Dogs have been close human companions for millennia and one would expect-according to the continuity hypothesis of dreaming-that dogs are also quite common in dreams. Previous studies showed that the percentages of dreams that include dogs range from about 1.5% to 5%, but studies relating waking-life experiences with dogs with dreams about dogs have not been carried out. In total, 1695 persons...
BORIS October 9, 2020 Daniel Erlacher, Michael Schredl, Tadas Stumbrys 12 citations
Anecdotal evidence that lucid dreaming might contribute to mental and physical health has been widely reported in the literature. Empirical research, though, is scarce. A brief questionnaire eliciting self-perceived benefits of lucid dreaming on mental and physical health had been completed by 386 participants who had lucid dream experiences. About 90% of the participants reported some benefit...
Somnologie: Schlafforschung und Schlafmedizin September 25, 2020 Michael Schredl 3 citations
Abstract Background and objectives Occasional nightmares (distressing dreams that awaking the sleeper) and bad dreams (distressing dreams that do not awaking the sleeper) are very common in children and adolescents. About 5% of children experience frequent nightmares (once a week or more often) and the question arises as to what factors contribute to significant nightmare distress which is...
Dreaming September 1, 2020 Michael Schredl, Kelly Bulkeley 66 citations
This study analyzes the responses of 3,031 U S adults who, in early May of 2020, completed an online survey regarding their dreams and the COVID-19 outbreak The results indicate that those people most strongly affected by the pandemic also reported the strongest effects on their dream life (heightened dream recall, more negatively toned dreams, and pandemic-related dreams) Pronounced negative...
Clocks & Sleep September 1, 2020 Michael Schredl, Anja S. Göritz
Chronotype refers to individual differences in sleep timing ("owls" and "larks") and "eveningness" has been associated with nightmares. However, it has not been tested as to whether neuroticism mediates this relationship. Urbanicity refers to being raised in an urban region and/or currently living in an urban region and is associated with heightened risk for developing mental disorders, and...
Somnologie: Schlafforschung und Schlafmedizin August 3, 2020 Michael Schredl, Katharina Lüth, Judith Schmitt et al. 5 citations
Abstract Background and objective Nightmares are typically underdiagnosed and undertreated, even though frequent nightmares are quite common in patients with sleep-related breathing disorders. Based on a previous study, we investigated whether patients would respond if they were specifically asked whether they would be interested in telephone counselling about nightmares and nightmare...
Consciousness and Cognition August 1, 2020 Abigail Stocks, Michelle Carr, Remington Mallett et al. 33 citations
Lucid dreaming is a unique phenomenon with potential applications for therapeutic interventions. Few studies have investigated the effects of lucidity on an individual's waking mood, which could have valuable implications for improving psychological wellbeing. The current experiment aims to investigate whether the experience of lucidity enhances positive waking mood, and whether lucidity is...
Clocks & Sleep July 17, 2020 Michael Schredl, Lilian Marie Anderson, Lea Katharina Kahlert et al.
Professional work is an integral part of modern life. According to the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, which states that dreams reflect waking life, work-related dreams should be quite common. As most dream content analytic studies are carried out in student samples, the topic of work in dreams is understudied. A few small studies indicate that the stress levels associated with the job are...
International Journal of Dream Research June 19, 2020 Michael Schredl
Dream content analytic studies rely on dream reports that can be obtained via different collection methods, e.g., REM sleep awakenings in the sleep lab, diaries, and eliciting the most recent dream. Whereas differences between lab and home dreams have been documented, systematic research regarding the differences between most recent dreams and diary dreams is scarce. The present analyses...
Imagination, Cognition and Personality June 17, 2020 Michael Schredl
A variety of factors contribute to nightmare distress; in addition to nightmare frequency also beliefs about nightmares can be associated with heightened nightmare distress. The study investigated the personality correlates of beliefs about nightmares and whether these beliefs mediate the relationship between gender, neuroticism, and nightmare distress. Overall, 1214 persons (716 women, 498...
Journal of Sleep Research June 11, 2020 Michael Schredl, Anja S. Göritz 10 citations
Models of nightmare aetiology postulate an interaction between trait and state factors. However, most of the studies that support these models have been cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are scarce. The present data were obtained from N = 888 participants completing two online dream studies carried out independently with the same online panel 2 years apart. Nightmare frequency declined...
University Library Heidelberg May 30, 2020 Michael Schredl, Maria Gilles, Isabell Wolf et al. 2 citations
Dream recall frequencies exhibit large inter-individual differences, ranging from recalling a dream almost every morning to recalling a dream almost never. Although dream recall has been conceptualized as a stable trait, longitudinal studies in this area are scarce. Within the framework of a complex study, 279 women (mean age: 31.76 ± 4.73 yrs.) completed a brief sleep questionnaire three times...
May 27, 2020 Michelle Carr, A. Stocks, Remington Mallett et al.
Lucid dreaming (being aware that one is dreaming) is typically a positive experience that may enhance positive mood even after waking. There is concern, however, that lucid dreaming may interfere with sleep quality. In the current experiment, participants practiced common lucid dream induction techniques over the course of a week, and kept a daily sleep and dream diary. The study objective was...
Clocks & Sleep March 1, 2020 Michael Schredl, Sophie Dyck, Anja Kühnel 22 citations
REM periods with lucid dreaming show increased brain activation, especially in the prefrontal cortex, compared to REM periods without lucid dreaming and, thus, the question of whether lucid dreaming interferes with the recovery function of sleep arises. Cross-sectional studies found a negative relationship between sleep quality and lucid dreaming frequency, but this relationship was explained...
Frontiers in Psychology January 28, 2020 Michael Schredl, Daniel Erlacher 7 citations
In addition to a large variety of somatic symptoms, fever also affects cognition, sleep, and mood. In an online survey with 164 participants, 100 fever dream reports were submitted. Fever dreams were more bizarre and more negatively toned and included more references to health and temperature perception compared to "normal" most recent dreams - findings that are in line with the continuity...
The American Journal of Psychology September 18, 2019 Michael Schredl, Verena S. Struck, Christine Schwert et al. 5 citations
Abstract Although gender differences in the dreams of adults have been studied extensively, large-scale studies in children and adolescents are scarce. The UK Library Study collected 1,995 most recent dreams of children and adolescents. Boys reported more physical aggression and fewer female characters in their dreams, whereas indoor settings were more prominent in girls’ dreams, results that...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine September 1, 2019 Michael Schredl, Maria Gilles, Isabell Wolf et al.
Study objectives: In nightmare etiology, trait and state factors play important roles. However, the interaction of state and trait factors has never been studied in a longitudinal design. Methods: The current sample included 406 pregnant women who were followed up approximately 6 months after giving birth (n = 375) and 4 years later (n = 302). A nightmare frequency scale and several...