Nightmares are Associated with Greater Perceived Sleep Debt

Nightmares are intense emotional experiences that can disrupt sleep quality and affect most people at some point. This investigation examined how nightmare frequency relates to subjective sleep duration, estimated sleep need, and perceived sleep debt. Frequent nightmare sufferers report sleeping the same amount as those without nightmares, yet they feel a greater sleep debt—they believe they need more sleep than they are getting. This shows the importance of considering subjective sleep experiences and dysphoric dreaming alongside standard measures of sleep quality and duration.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Nightmares are intense emotional experiences that can greatly alter sleep quality and affect most people at some point in their lives. Yet little research has focused on the relationship between nightmares and the subjective experience of sleep quality. In this study, we aimed at investigating the relationship between nightmare frequency, subjective sleep duration, subjective estimation of sleep need and perceived sleep debt. We found that nightmares are related to altered sleep need perception: frequent nightmare sufferers report the same amount of sleep as those who do not have nightmares, yet they are in a greater perceived sleep debt. That is, they believe they need more sleep than they are getting. This finding demonstrates the importance of clarifying the relationship between subjective sleep experiences and dysphoric dreaming in addition to and beyond normative metrics of sleep quality and duration.