Managing Insomnia Using Lucid Dreaming Training: A Pilot Study.
Jason G Ellis, Joseph De Koninck, Célyne Bastien
Behavioral Sleep Medicine 2021 DOI: 10.1080/15402002.2020.1739688 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Open-label trial Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 48 |
| Population | Adults with Insomnia Disorder |
| Intervention | Lucid Dreaming Training for insomnia |
| Duration | Two-week intervention, one-month follow-up |
| Topics | Dreaming Lucid dreaming |
| Citations | 27 |
| Key findings | Lucid Dreaming Training for insomnia significantly reduced insomnia severity, anxiety, and depression in adults with Insomnia Disorder. |
Abstract
Objectives/Background: Despite Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) being considered the first-line treatment for insomnia, it is not without its challenges. As such it is worthwhile to consider, and test, alternative or adjuvant management options. Methods/Participants: The aim of the present study was to examine whether Lucid Dreaming Training for insomnia (LDT-I) impacted on insomnia, depressive and anxious symptomology in an open label trial of 48 adults with Insomnia Disorder. Participants completed the Insomnia Severity Index, General Anxiety Disorder-7 and Patient Health Questionnaire at baseline then one month following LDT-I. Training consisted of four modules delivered over a period of two consecutive weeks.
Results: The results suggest, albeit preliminarily, that LDT-I may have a place within the non-pharmacological management of insomnia, as there were significant reductions in insomnia severity (t(46) = 8.16,p <.001), anxious symptomology (t(46) = 4.75,p <.001) and depressive symptomology (t(46) = 5.87,p <.001). Further, the effect size in terms of pre-post reductions on ISI scores was large (dz 1.17).
Conclusions: Whilst the results are promising, further testing of LDT-I is needed to inform its place amongst the non-pharmacological treatments for insomnia.