Lucid Dreams in Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Include Nightmares

Among military veterans with PTSD and recurrent nightmares, over half reported experiencing lucid dreaming, and nearly all of those reported lucidity specifically during nightmares. The lucid nightmare profile involved high awareness of dreaming but low ability to control dream content. Veterans described feeling stuck and anxious, and they tried unsuccessfully to wake themselves from these lucid nightmares. The pattern matches the general lucid dreaming profile previously observed in this group.

Study at a glance

Abstract

A previous study in military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and recurrent nightmares found a high prevalence of lucid dreaming (LD), the awareness while a dream continues that one is dreaming, and an “LD profile” characterized by frequent dream awareness and rare dream content control. Given the importance of the nightmare disturbance in PTSD, this study assessed with questionnaires the prevalence and characteristics of lucid nightmares, specifically, in a sample of 54 veterans with PTSD. Over half the sample endorsed experiencing LD, with nearly all of these individuals explicitly reporting lucidity in nightmares. The lucid nightmare profile was characterized by high awareness and low content control. Veterans reported feeling stuck and anxious, trying unsuccessfully to awaken from lucid nightmares. We conclude that lucid nightmares may occur commonly in veterans with PTSD, with a profile resembling that previously reported for LD experiences generally in this group.