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The relationship of nightmare frequency and nightmare distress to well‐being

Mark Blagrove, Laura Boyd Farmer, E. R. L. Williams

Journal of Sleep Research May 26, 2004 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2004.00394.x (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Peer reviewed
Sample size 147
Population Adults who reported dreams
Duration 2-week dream log
Topics Dreaming
Citations 215
Key findings Low well-being correlates more strongly with prospective unpleasant dream frequency than with nightmare frequency, and nightmare reporting is confounded by nightmare distress. Retrospective nightmare frequency underestimated log-based frequency, with underestimation related to mean dream unpleasantness and nightmare distress.

Abstract

Nightmares can be defined as very disturbing dreams, the events or emotions of which cause the dreamer to wake up. In contrast, unpleasant dreams can be defined in terms of a negative emotional rating of a dream, irrespective of whether or not the emotions or events of the dream woke the dreamer. This study addresses whether frequency of unpleasant dreams is a better index of low well-being than is frequency of nightmares. A total of 147 participants reported their nightmare frequency retrospectively and then kept a log of all dreams, including nightmares, for 2 weeks, and rated each dream for pleasantness/unpleasantness. Anxiety, depression, neuroticism, and acute stress were found to be associated with nightmare distress (ND) (the trait-like general level of distress in waking-life caused by having nightmares) and prospective frequency of unpleasant dreams, and less so with the mean emotional tone of all dreams, or retrospective or prospective nightmare frequency. Correlations between low well-being and retrospective nightmare frequency became insignificant when trait ND was controlled for, but correlations with prospective unpleasant dream frequency were maintained. The reporting of nightmares may thus be confounded and modulated by trait ND: such confounding does not occur for the reporting of unpleasant dreams in general. Thus there may be attributional components to deciding that one has been awoken by a dream, which can affect estimated nightmare frequency and its relationship with well-being. Underestimation of nightmare frequency by the retrospective questionnaire compared with logs was found to be a function of mean dream unpleasantness and ND.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

  • State of the evidence: Dreaming Supports

    Low well-being correlated more strongly with prospective unpleasant dream frequency than with nightmare frequency, and retrospective nightmare frequency underestimated log-based frequency, with nightmare distress confounding reporting.

    Synthesized

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
Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles Healthy human subjects 2018 Observational cohort n = 14
Lucid Dreaming in Narcolepsy Consecutive patients with narcolepsy and healthy controls 2015 Case-control study n = 106

Citations in the library

Cited by 106

and 101 more in the library

Cites 6

and 1 more in the library

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Dreaming Anxiety Depression