Prevalence Rates of Frequent Dream Recall and Nightmares by Age, Gender and Sleep Duration in 16 Countries.
Courtney J Bolstad, Bjørn Bjorvatn, Ngan Yin Chan, Frances Chung, Yves Dauvilliers, Luigi De Gennaro, Colin A Espie, Brigitte Holzinger, Yuichi Inoue, Maria Korman, Adrijana Koscec Bjelajac, Anne-Marie Landtblom, Tainá Macêdo, Kentaro Matsui, Ilona Merikanto, Charles M Morin, Sérgio Mota-Rolim, Thomas Penzel, Giuseppe Plazzi, Catia Reis, Serena Scarpelli, Yun Kwok Wing, Michael R Nadorff
Journal of Sleep Research February 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.70070 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 15,854 |
| Population | Adults aged 18-99 from 16 countries |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Covid‐19 Bad dreams Disturbing dreams |
| Key findings | Frequent nightmares increased from 6.9% in 2019 to 11.0% in 2021, while frequent dream recall was 54.0% in 2021 and 51.1% in 2019. |
Abstract
The present study aimed to describe the prevalence rates of frequent (i.e., at least weekly) dream recall and nightmares with consideration for differences in age, gender and sleep duration in 16 countries using equivalent assessment methods. The study sample included 15,854 participants (69.9% women) aged 18-99 years (M = 42.39, SD = 16.43) collected by the International COVID-19 Sleep Study collaboration, which used a unified online survey to collect data from May to November 2021 across 16 countries. Participants provided demographic information as well as self-reported estimates of their dream recall and nightmare frequency and sleep duration in 2021 and retrospectively for 2019. Frequent dream recall occurred in 54.0% of participants in 2021 and 51.1% in 2019. Frequent nightmares were reported by 11.0% of participants in 2021 and 6.9% in 2019. Ad hoc regression models found dream recall and sleep duration to have a linear relation, whereas nightmare frequency demonstrated a quadratic relation to sleep duration. Frequent dream recall and nightmare prevalence rates are reported for each of the 16 study countries by age, gender and sleep duration. This is the first multi-continent study to estimate frequent dream recall and nightmare prevalence, which both provides updated prevalence rates during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as extends existing knowledge to previously never studied countries.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insomnia Symptoms, Nightmares, and Suicidal Ideation in a College Student Sample Undergraduate students at a large, public university in the southeastern United States | 2011 | Observational cross-sectional survey | n = 583 |
| Prevalence and Correlates of Frequent Nightmares: A Community-Based 2-Phase Study Middle-aged Hong Kong Chinese adults from the community, mean age 40.9 years (SD 5.5,... | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey with subsequent clinical evaluation (two-phase design) | n = 8,558 |
| Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Adults (general population sample) | 2003 | Cross-sectional survey with structural equation modeling | n = 444 |
| The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams | 2014 | Online survey | n = 684 |
| Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Representative sample of German adults | 2011 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 919 |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- Prevalence and Correlates of Frequent Nightmares: A Community-Based 2-Phase Study Sleep June 1, 2010
- Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Traumatized Us Collectively? The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Sleep Factors via Traumatization: A Multinational Survey Nature and Science of Sleep August 1, 2022
- Dream Recall Frequency, Lucid Dream Frequency, and Personality During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Imagination, Cognition and Personality December 1, 2022
- Nightmare frequency is a risk factor for suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Sleep Research October 1, 2024
- How our Dreams Changed During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects and Correlates of Dream Recall Frequency - a Multinational Study on 19,355 Adults. Nature and Science of Sleep 2021
and 1 more in the library