Differences in dream content during a daytime nap and the relationship of the dream content to procedural learning in Vipassana meditators and controls.
Elizaveta Solomonova, Simon Dubé, Arnaud Samson-Richer, Cloé Blanchette-Carrière, Tyna Paquette, Tore Nielsen
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | Meditators and non-meditator controls |
| Duration | Daytime nap |
| Topics | Dreaming Meditation |
| Key findings | Meditators had longer dreams with friendlier and more compassionate interactions but did not incorporate a learning task into dreams more often than controls, and dream content was not related to task performance for meditators. |
Abstract
Vipassana meditation is characterized by observing bodily sensations, developing emotional and attentional stability and promoting pro-social qualities. Whether these qualities are also reflected in dream content is not currently known. Evidence relating dream content with sleep-depending learning is mixed: some studies suggest that dreaming of a task is beneficial for improvement, while others find no such effect. This study aimed at investigating whether meditators have qualitatively different dreams than controls; whether meditators incorporate a procedural learning task more often than controls; and whether dreaming about the task is related to better post-sleep performance on the task.20 meditators and 20 controls slept for a daytime nap at the laboratory. Prior to sleep and upon awakening they completed a procedural learning task. Dream reports were collected at sleep onset and upon awakening (REM/N2 sleep). Dreams were then scored for qualities associated with meditation practice and for incorporations of the procedural task and of the laboratory. Meditators had longer dreams, slightly more references to the body and friendlier and more compassionate interactions with dream characters. Dreams of meditation practitioners were not more lucid than those of controls. Meditators did not incorporate the learning task or laboratory into dream content more often than controls, and no relationship was found between dream content and performance on a procedural task. In control participants, in contrast, incorporating task or laboratory in REM/N2 dreams was associated with improvement on the task, but incorporations at sleep onset were associated with slightly worse performance on the task.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cites 29
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence Journal of Neuroscience October 21, 2009
- Meditation Experience Predicts Introspective Accuracy PLoS One September 25, 2012
- Experienced Mindfulness Meditators Exhibit Higher Parietal-Occipital EEG Gamma Activity during NREM Sleep PLoS One August 28, 2013
and 24 more in the library