Circadian and Sleep Modulation of Dreaming in Women with Major Depression.
Angelina Birchler-Pedross, Sylvia Frey, Christian Cajochen, Sarah L Chellappa
Clocks & Sleep February 28, 2022 DOI: 10.3390/clockssleep4010012 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 17 |
| Population | Young unmedicated women with major depressive disorder and healthy women aged 20-31 |
| Duration | 40-hour multiple nap protocol with ten alternating cycles of 150 min wake/75 min sleep |
| Topics | Depression Dreaming |
| Keywords | Nrem sleep Circadian rhythms Dream Emotionality Mental health |
| Key findings | Women with MDD did not differ from healthy controls in dream recall frequency but had a two-fold higher negative emotional load in dreams, particularly during the circadian night. |
Abstract
Growing evidence indicates an association between reduced dream recall and depressive symptomatology. Here, we tested the prediction that reduced dream recall in individuals experiencing major depressive disorder (MDD) is due to alterations in circadian and sleep processes. Nine young healthy women (20−31 years) and eight young unmedicated women (20−31 years) diagnosed with MDD underwent a 40 h multiple nap protocol with ten alternating cycles of 150 min wake/75 min sleep under a stringently controlled circadian laboratory protocol. After each nap, we assessed dream recall, number of dreams and dream emotional load using the Sleep Mentation Questionnaire. Dream recall and the number of dreams did not significantly differ between groups (pFDR > 0.1). However, there was a significant difference for the dream emotional load (interaction of “Group” vs. “Time”, pFDR = 0.01). Women with MDD had a two-fold higher (negative) emotional load as compared to healthy control women, particularly after naps during the circadian night (between ~22:00 h and ~05:00 h; Tukey−Kramer test, p = 0.009). Furthermore, higher (negative) dream emotional load was associated with impaired mood levels in both groups (R2 = 0.71; p < 0.001). Our findings suggest that the circadian and sleep modulation of dreaming may remain intact in unmedicated young women experiencing MDD.
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 15
- Dream content and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study of the continuity hypothesis Journal of Clinical Psychology 2005
- Dreams, Sleep, and Psychotropic Drugs. Frontiers in Neurology 2020
- EEG predictors of dreaming outside of REM sleep. Psychophysiology July 1, 2019
- The Functional Role of Dreaming in Emotional Processes. Frontiers in Psychology 2019
- The neural correlates of dreaming. Nature Neuroscience April 10, 2017
and 10 more in the library