Dream Recall, Nightmares, and Aggression-Related Dream Content in Patients with REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD).
Ruben Jigalin, Michael Schredl
Sleep Science August 18, 2025 DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1809924 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational comparative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 310 |
| Population | 102 patients with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and 208 healthy controls |
| Duration | Two consecutive nights in the sleep laboratory |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Aggression Nightmares |
| Key findings | Patients with iRBD reported higher dream recall frequency and more nightmares than controls in retrospective assessments, but no significant difference was found in prospective assessments. Aggressive dream content was also more frequent in iRBD patients. The authors propose that a future prospective diary study could clarify whether this aggression relates to waking-life traits. |
Abstract
Patients with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) enact their dreams, leading to enhanced dream recall. They report more negative emotions in their dreams, recall retrospective nightmares more frequently, and often experience more aggressive dreams. This study aims to understand dream characteristics in REM sleep behavior disorder using both retrospective and prospective measures in a controlled sleep laboratory setting to address possible recall biases in retrospective dream recall frequency. The sample comprises 102 iRBD-diagnosed patients (21 women, 81 men; M = 64.08, SD = 11.27) and 208 healthy controls (136 women, 72 men; M = 30.08, SD = 12.03), all undergoing identical procedures of two consecutive nights in the sleep laboratory, enabling a robust comparative examination of dream patterns. Retrospective assessments revealed a higher frequency of dream recall in patients with iRBD, while no significant difference was observed in prospective assessments. Nightmares were also reported more frequently in retrospective assessments in iRBD patients compared to healthy controls. Aggressive dream content was more frequent in patients with iRBD compared to controls, a future prospective diary study might clarify whether this heightened aggression in dreams is related to waking-life traits.
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 21
- Can observers link dream content to behaviours in rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder? A cross‐sectional experimental pilot study Journal of Sleep Research August 4, 2011
- Structural differences between REM and non-REM dream reports assessed by graph analysis PLoS One July 23, 2020
- The effectiveness of lucid dreaming therapy in patients with nightmares: A systematic review. L'Encephale October 1, 2023
- Comparing questionnaire and diary measures for eliciting nightmare frequency University Library Heidelberg 2015
- Umgang mit Alpträumen in der Allgemeinbevölkerung: Eine Online-Studie PPmP - Psychotherapie · Psychosomatik · Medizinische Psychologie October 18, 2013
and 16 more in the library