Depressed Mood, Dream Recall and Contentless Dreams
Paul R. Robbins, Roland H. Tanck
Imagination, Cognition and Personality October 1, 1988 DOI: 10.2190/257x-2v80-hrwy-v8da (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 90 |
| Population | College students |
| Duration | 10-day period |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Depressed mood was higher preceding nights with recalled and described dreams than nights without dream recall, while mood was lower preceding contentless dream reports than nights without dream memory. |
Abstract
The study examined the relation between depressed mood and dream report. Levels of depressed mood were assessed nightly on a sample of ninety college students over a ten-day period using a structured diary. Dream reports were obtained each morning during the ten-day period. Depressed mood tended to be higher preceding nights for which dreams were recalled and described than for nights in which there was no memory of dreaming. The opposite pattern was found for reports of contentless dreams; depressed mood tended to be lower preceding reports of contentless dreaming than for nights in which there was no memory of dreaming.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Student volunteers trained to become lucid and signal lucidity with horizontal eye... | 2009 | Observational study | n = 6 |
| Nightmare Prevalence, Nightmare Distress, and Self-Reported Psychological Disturbance Young adults with a mean age of 20 years | 2002 | Prospective observational study | n = 116 |
| Long-term effects of extreme situational stress on sleep and dreaming Survivors of traumatic events who complained of sleep disturbances, compared with... | 1987 | Case-control study | n = 11 |
| The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being Adults who reported dreams | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 147 |
| The prevalence of nightmares and their independence from anxiety. Undergraduates | 1990 | Observational study using daily dream logs | n = 220 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Dream Recall: State or Trait Variable? Part I: Model, Theories, Methodology and Trait Factors Imagination, Cognition and Personality October 1, 1996
- Dream Recall: State or Trait Variable? Part II: State Factors, Investigations and Final Conclusions Imagination, Cognition and Personality March 1, 1997
- Circadian and Sleep Modulation of Dreaming in Women with Major Depression. Clocks & Sleep February 28, 2022
- Trait and neurobiological correlates of individual differences in dream recall and dream content. International review of neurobiology 2010
- REM sleep reduction, mood regulation and remission in untreated depression. Psychiatry Research December 1, 2003