Homeostatic and Circadian Influences on Dreaming: NREM Mentation During a Short Daytime Nap
Erin J. Wamsley, John S. Antrobus
heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2008 DOI: 10.11588/ijodr.2008.2.77 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Not specified |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Contrary to the hypothesis, afternoon nap awakenings produced less mentation and a lower propensity to report any mentation than late morning reports, indicating that a purely circadian influence following the core body temperature cycle is inadequate to explain the pattern of mentation production. |
Abstract
It has long been known that dream recall, along with various other features of dreaming, changes as a function of time of night. Yet the processes which might account for these time-dependent variations remain obscure. Here we assess the contribution of homeostatic and circadian factors to the generation of NREM mentation across the diurnal cycle. Assuming that previously reported time-of-night mentation effects are primarily driven by a circadian activation cycle which approximates the core body temperature (CBT) rhythm, it was hypothesized that more content would be reported from daytime nap awakenings as compared to night awakenings. Afternoon Nap reports were compared to previously-collected nocturnal reports from Circadian Nadir and Late Morning time points. Contrary to our hypotheses, both amount of mentation reported and propensity to report any mentation at all were lower in Nap as compared to Late Morning reports. A purely circadian influence following the CBT cycle is inadequate to explain this pattern of mentation production.
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 |
| Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects | 2018 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cites 5
- Dreaming During Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep in the Absence of Prior Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Sleep December 1, 2004
- Circadian and ultradian influences on dreaming: a dual rhythm model. Brain Research Bulletin October 30, 2006
- Mental activity after early afternoon nap awakenings in healthy subjects. Brain Research Bulletin June 30, 2004
- Intrinsic dreams are not produced without REM sleep mechanisms: evidence through elicitation of sleep onset REM periods Journal of Sleep Research March 4, 2001
- Dreaming in the late morning: summation of REM and diurnal cortical activation. Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 1995