1056 Targeted Dream Incubation’s Impact on Dream Self-Efficacy, Nightmares, Suicide, PTSD, and Insomnia

A single 90-minute session of Targeted Dream Incubation (TDI), which involves giving auditory cues to shape dream content, increased dream self-efficacy (DSE) immediately after and one week later in both a non-clinical group and a group with frequent trauma-related nightmares (TRNs). A control nap group showed no change in DSE. Only the non-nightmare TDI group showed significant reductions at one-week follow-up in thoughts of suicide, insomnia, PTSD, and nightmare distress. The results suggest TDI may reduce negative outcomes in people with TRNs, potentially through increased DSE, and justify larger-scale investigation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Targeted Dream Incubation (TDI) is the process of giving an individual auditory cues (i.e., “think of a tree”) while they are falling asleep, with the goal of shaping dream content (into something such as a tree). Recent research has demonstrated TDI may be able to increase dream self-efficacy (DSE) and influence other mental health outcomes. Thus, our study explored how TDI impacted DSE, nightmare distress, PTSD, insomnia, and thoughts of suicide in a non-clinical sample and a sample that experiences frequent trauma-related nightmares (TRNs). Methods Our study included N = 30 participants; n = 20 received one 90-minunte session of TDI and n = 10 received one 90-minute nap instead of TDI. Within the TDI condition there were two groups, one group that experienced TRNs (n = 10) and one group that did not (n = 10). All participants completed surveys immediately prior to TDI or nap (baseline), immediately after TDI or nap (post), and one-week after completing TDI or nap (follow-up). ANOVAs were used to analyze the differences in DSE among our groups. Paired sample t-tests were used to examine changes in our outcome variables between baseline, post, and follow-up. Results At baseline, there were no significant differences in DSE among any groups (p > .05). The control group saw no changes in DSE across any timepoints, but both TDI groups saw significant (p < .05) increases in DSE immediately after TDI (t = -1.85) and at one-week follow-up (t = -3.60). Regarding outcomes, only the TDI-NM group had any significant changes. Specifically, at the follow-up they had significant (p < .05) reductions in thoughts of suicide (t = 2.11), insomnia (t = 1.93), PTSD (t = 2.92), and nightmare distress (t = 3.88). Conclusion Our results support previous research, by demonstrating that TDI can increase DSE. Furthermore, our results suggest that TDI may be able to significantly reduce several negative outcomes variables within individuals experiencing trauma related nightmares, potentially through the intervening variable of DSE. These results justify a further large-scale investigation into the relationship between TDI, DSE, and negative outcomes in a sample that experiences TRNs. Support (if any)