Nightmare frequency and nightmare distress in psychiatric inpatients.
Michael Schredl, Elisabeth Anzenberger, Claudia Schilling
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience June 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-024-01891-z (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 75 |
| Population | Psychiatric inpatients |
| Topics | Depression Dreaming |
| Keywords | Mental disorders Nightmare distress Nightmare frequency |
| Key findings | 61.54% of inpatients with PTSD and 40.32% without PTSD reported nightmares at least once per week; depression and PTSD were associated with higher nightmare distress. |
Abstract
Previous research indicated that the prevalence of frequent nightmares and/or the presence of a nightmare disorder is quite high in patients with mental disorders. In the present study, 75 randomly selected psychiatric inpatients were interviewed and completed questionnaires regarding nightmares, sleep, and psychopathology. The percentage of patients with nightmares once per week or more often was 61.54% in the group with PTSD diagnosis (N = 13) and 40.32% in the patients without PTSD diagnosis (N = 62). Moreover, depression scores and having PTSD were related to heightened nightmare distress. Based on the high prevalence rates of frequent nightmares, future research should aim at understanding better the interplay between psychopathology and nightmares and test whether nightmare interventions like Imagery Rehearsal Therapy might be beneficial for patients with mental disorders.
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
Cited by 3
- Dreams and nightmares: Clinical aspects, management, and links to psychiatric disorders L'Encephale April 9, 2026
- Psychometric Properties of the Nightmare Distress Questionnaire in Veterans with Posttraumatic Nightmares Behavioral Sleep Medicine September 12, 2026
- Nightmares and insomnia are frequent in patients with functional neurological disorders. Journal of Psychosomatic Research July 26, 2025
Cites 19
- Prevalence and Correlates of Frequent Nightmares: A Community-Based 2-Phase Study Sleep June 1, 2010
- Prevalence of Nightmare Disorder in Psychiatric Outpatients Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2013
- Nightmares in Patients with Psychosis: The Relation with Sleep, Psychotic, Affective, and Cognitive Symptoms The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry August 1, 2015
- The relationships between insomnia, nightmares, and dreams: A systematic review Sleep Medicine Reviews April 16, 2024
- Nightmare frequency is a risk factor for suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Sleep Research October 1, 2024
and 14 more in the library