Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
September 10, 2026
Gustavo Garrido, Kenzo Donato, João Victor Gonzalez et al.
Sleep paralysis is a REM-sleep parasomnia which manifests as a temporary inability to perform voluntary muscle movements during the sleep-wake transition. Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive fear, anxiety, and related behavioral disturbances. Notably, lifetime prevalence of sleep paralysis is elevated among psychiatric populations. The purpose of this review and meta-analysis was...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
August 4, 2026
Rupsha Singh, Christina M. Puchalski, Alexander Moreira-Almeida et al.
Sleep-an essential pillar of health-has historically been considered not only a biological phenomenon but also based on experiences interpreted through spiritual, moral, existential, and cultural frameworks worldwide [1-5].Across societies, dreams, nightmares, sleep paralysis, and nocturnal visions have frequently been attributed to soul journeys, spirits, precognitions, moral conflict,...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
June 17, 2026
Julie Rolling, Lucile Monnier, Thomas Zanfonato et al.
Background: Traumatic nightmares are a core feature in adolescents with complex PTSD (CPTSD) exposed to early and repeated trauma, maintaining hyperactivity and dysregulation. Despite their prevalence and functional impact, targeted treatments for youth remain scarce. Imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) is a brief cognitive-behavioral intervention effective in adults, but evidence in adolescents...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
May 22, 2026
Courtney J Bolstad, Constance H Fung, Lori L. Davis et al.
Nightmares, which are associated with various biopsychosocial issues, are common and often undertreated among veterans. To address the demand for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares (CBT-N) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), experts have trained mental health clinicians in its delivery. Program evaluation data show positive clinician perceptions of CBT-N but reveal...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
January 22, 2026
Amanda Radtke, Zahari N. Tchopev, Philip Cushman et al.
Nightmare Disorder (NDO) is an underdiagnosed sleep disorder causing significant impairment, particularly in active duty U.S. military personnel who experience unique stressors. Despite 59.28% of referred service members reporting nightmares and 19.76% screening positive for probable NDO, baseline diagnosis rate was only 0.60%. Our quality improvement project aimed to improve identification and...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
September 1, 2025
Anthony N Reffi, David A Kalmbach, Philip Cheng et al.
Study objectives: Patients with acute trauma are vulnerable to suicidality following hospitalization. Research suggests nightmares and insomnia may interact to potentiate suicidality, possibly due to nightmares worsening co-occurring insomnia. Nightmares and insomnia are common stress reactions to acute trauma and might compound suicide risk within acutely traumatized patients. We tested the...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
March 25, 2025
Sahej Samra, Hrayr Attarian, R. Malkani
Current treatments for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder are not always effective and can lead to dose-limited adverse events, and new treatments are needed for this condition. We present a case of a patient with treatment-refractory isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder who had a dramatic and sustained improvement in dream enactment behaviors using oral tinctures...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
December 31, 2024
J. Martens, M. V. D. van den Bossche
Narcolepsy type 1 is a clinical syndrome defined by recurrent episodes of excessive daytime sleepiness, episodes of cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. Symptoms typically manifest in the second or third decade with another small peak in the fourth decade. In this report we describe the case of a 64-year-old female presenting with new-onset visual hallucinations as the...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
March 1, 2023
Norah Vincent, Dale A Dirkse, Eleni Giannouli et al.
Study objectives: This pilot study determined whether transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy for parasomnias (CBTp) reduces parasomnia and activity levels during sleep in a sample of adult sleep clinic outpatients. A secondary objective was to assess whether treatment produces improvements in daytime fatigue/sleepiness, perceived cognition, mood, and depression/anxiety/stress, as well as...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
February 1, 2023
Nicholas D Davenport, J Kent Werner
Study objectives: Persistent nightmares are common among individuals exposed to trauma and are especially prevalent among veterans. While behavioral and pharmacological interventions are available, they have demonstrated limited efficacy. Innovations in wearable technology provide a potential avenue to match or exceed these existing treatments by directly targeting nightmare physiology....
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
2023
Anellka Remedios, Silvia Marin-Dragu, Francis Routledge et al.
Study objectives: The current study investigated nightmare frequency and distress during the pandemic and associated factors. Methods: Participants (n = 1,718) completed a survey, 747 of which were youth. The MADRE dream questionnaire was used to collect self-reported data on nightmare frequency and distress. In addition, personality traits, current stressors, and COVID-related anxiety were...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
December 1, 2022
Matthew S. Brock, Panagiotis Matsangas, Jennifer L Creamer et al.
Study objectives: Trauma associated sleep disorder is a proposed parasomnia that develops after trauma with clinical features of trauma related nightmares, disruptive nocturnal behaviors, and autonomic disturbances. The purpose of this case series is to better characterize the clinical and video-polysomnographic features of patients meeting clinical criteria for this proposed parasomnia....
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
September 1, 2022
Nanke Cui, Marjolein A Van Looij, Kristel M Kasius
Sleep paralysis is a period of paralysis at either sleep onset or upon awakening and is often accompanied by terrifying hallucinations. We report a case of a 32-year-old healthy men with a history of mild positional obstructive sleep apnea and sleep paralysis. The positional sleep apnea was successfully treated with the Sleep Position Trainer. Remarkably, he did no longer experience episodes of...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
August 1, 2022
Helene Vitali, Claudio Campus, Valentina De Giorgis et al.
The mechanisms involved in the origin of dreams remain one of the great unknowns in science. In the 21st century, studies in the field have focused on 3 main topics: functional networks that underlie dreaming, neural correlates of dream contents, and signal propagation. We review neuroscientific studies about dreaming processes, focusing on their cortical correlations. The involvement of...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
April 12, 2022
C. Mallet, Christina F. Chick, R. Maatoug et al.
Posttraumatic nightmares may exacerbate and perpetuate the daytime symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and might represent a therapeutic target. The therapeutic strategy of memory reconsolidation using the β-adrenergic receptor blocker propranolol associated with re-exposure psychotherapy is a promising treatment in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. Previous studies have...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
April 11, 2022
Rachel M. Ranney, R. Gloria, Thomas J. Metzler et al.
Trauma-related nightmares are highly prevalent among veterans and are associated with higher-severity insomnia and posttraumatic stress disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (typically 6–8 sessions) has been shown to reduce trauma-related nightmares. Brief behavioral treatment for insomnia (BBTI, 4 sessions) has been found to be comparable to CBT-I in decreasing insomnia severity;...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
February 1, 2022
Kunihiro Futenma, Yuichi Inoue, Ayano Saso et al.
Sleep terrors are a non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep-related parasomnia characterized by abrupt terror with a frightening scream. However, it remains unknown whether sleep terrors occur only from NREM sleep. We evaluated 3 cases of a sleep terrors-like parasomnia that occurred exclusively during arousals from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. These parasomnia events occurred at REM sleep-wake...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
April 1, 2021
Greta Mainieri, Jean-Baptiste Maranci, Pierre Champetier et al.
40 citations
To determine the polysomnography characteristics during sleep paralysis, false awakenings, and lucid dreaming (which are states intermediate to rapid eye movement [REM] sleep and wake but exceptionally observed in sleep laboratory). In 5 participants, we captured 5 episodes of sleep paralysis (2 time marked with the ocular left-right-left-right code normally used to signal lucid dreaming, 1...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
March 1, 2021
Ruda Lee, Barry Krakow, Sooyeon Suh
Study objectives: This study aimed to examine psychometric properties of the Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI) in individuals aged between 18 and 39. Methods: All participants (n = 674) were asked to complete the DDNSI, including the modified Nightmare Effects Survey. Additionally, 109 participants were tested for test-retest reliability after 3 months. Among our sample, 229...
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...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
November 15, 2020
Caroline Sierro, Wendy Leslie, Benjamin Putois
Sierro C, Leslie W, Putois B. Long-term effects of treatment for chronic nightmares: is imagery rehearsal therapy robust in the COVID-19 pandemic? J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(11):1993.
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
August 17, 2020
Daniel A. Barone
Dream enactment behavior is a phenomenon demonstrated in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, as well as with a more recently described condition entitled trauma-associated sleep disorder, which shares diagnostic criteria for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. While these conditions share some commonalities, namely dream enactment...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
August 3, 2020
M. Baltzan, C. Yao, D. Rizzo et al.
Dream enactment behavior commonly occurs on occasion in normal children and adults. Disruptive and frequent dream enactment behavior may come to the attention of the clinician either as the primary reason for consultation or as a prominent characteristic of a patient with other sleep disorders. Questioning patients with chronic neurologic and psychiatric disorders may also reveal previously...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
June 15, 2020
Valentina Gnoni, Sean Higgins, Alexander David Nesbitt et al.
12 citations
Unpleasant dreamlike mentation can occur during non-rapid eye movement parasomnias, leading to associated panic attacks. The mentations are rarely remembered and are likely underreported. However, they may lead to significant personal distress and, if not addressed, may contribute to poorer clinical outcomes. Cotard le délire de negation are very rare nihilistic delusions, historically...
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
November 26, 2019
Kristi E. Pruiksma, Daniel J. Taylor, Jim Mintz et al.
Study objectives: The aim of this study was to obtain preliminary data on the efficacy, credibility, and acceptability of Exposure, relaxation, and rescripting therapy for military service members and veterans (ERRT-M) in active duty military personnel with trauma-related nightmares. Methods: Forty participants were randomized to either 5 sessions of ERRT-M or 5 weeks of minimal contact control...