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Temporal dynamics of the influence of pre- or anticipated post-sleep stress on dream content

Sandrine Baselgia, Björn Rasch

Neuropsychologia October 30, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109311 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Experimental study with serial awakenings Peer reviewed
Sample size 55
Population Subjects who participated in a sleep study
Intervention relaxation task
Duration One night with early and late sleep period awakenings
Topics Dreaming
Keywords Dream Stressor Cognition Stress linguistics Sleep system call Morning Emotionality Relaxation psychology Stress measures Audiology Developmental psychology Vigilance psychology Content measure theory Perception Mental stress
Citations 1
Key findings Threat intensity in dreams was higher in early sleep when stress occurred before sleep and higher in late sleep when stress was anticipated after sleep.

Abstract

Psychosocial stress induces stress responses at physiological and cognitive levels which disrupt subsequent sleep. A recent study from our group has shown that stress-induced changes are dynamic: stress before sleep led to prolonged sleep latency and changes in the early sleep period, while anticipated post-sleep stress resulted in changes in the late sleep period. A possible explanation is that anticipated stress is spontaneously reactivated during sleep in a dynamic fashion. As reactivations might be linked to dream content, we investigated the influence of anticipated stress vs. pre-sleep stress on dream content in early and late sleep periods. One group of participants performed either a stress or a relaxation task before sleep (pre-sleep group); while another group was informed before sleep that the stress or relaxation task will occur in the morning (post-sleep group). During sleep, they were regularly woken up in the early and late sleep periods and asked about their cognitive activity, while polysomnographic data was recorded. Fifty-five subjects participated and a total of 668 dreams was collected. While there was no difference in the incorporation of threat- and stress-related elements in the dreams, we did find a temporal difference in their emotionality. The threat intensity was influenced in a dynamic manner, with higher impact on early dreams when stress occurred before sleep and higher threat intensity in late dreams when stress was anticipated after sleep. Our results speak for a reactivation of mental activity in temporal proximity to the stressor for some parameters, mainly with impacts on the dream emotionality and length. • We examined the effects of pre- or anticipated post-sleep stress on dream content. • We used serial awakenings to collect dream reports in early and late sleep periods. • Anticipating stress resulted in higher distress intensity in stressful late-night dreams. • Surprisingly, early-night dreams were more negative following pre-sleep relaxation. • The use of a VR-based relaxation protocol may account for the increased negativity in early dreams.

Comparable studies

Other experimental studies on dreaming, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Lucid Dreaming Verified by Volitional Communication during Rem Sleep Selected subjects proficient in lucid dreaming 1981 Experimental study n = 5
Incorporation of concern- and nonconcern-related verbal stimuli into dream content. Seven male subjects studied during sleep Stages 2 and REM 1981 Experimental study n = 7
Lucid Dreaming and Alpha Activity: A Preliminary Report Good dream recallers 1982 Experimental study n = 10
Lucid dreaming during NREM sleep: Two case reports 2012 Sleep laboratory study
The Dream Catcher experiment: blinded analyses failed to detect markers of dreaming consciousness in EEG spectral power. Human participants during sleep 2020 Experimental study with blinded classification n = 9

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