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Nightmare and sleep paralysis among Japanese adolescents: a nationwide representative survey.

Takeshi Munezawa, Yoshitaka Kaneita, Yoneatsu Osaki, Hideyuki Kanda, Tadahiro Ohtsu, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Masumi Minowa, Kenji Suzuki, Susumu Higuchi, Junichirou Mori, Takashi Ohida

Sleep Medicine 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2010.04.015 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 90,081
Population Japanese junior and senior high school students nationwide
Topics Dreaming
Keywords Humans Sleep paralysis Health surveys Prevalence Confidence intervals Logistic models Risk factors Chi-square distribution Cross-sectional studies Life style Mental health Dreams Age factors Adolescent Japan Female Surveys and questionnaires Sleep wake disorders
Key findings Among 90,081 Japanese adolescents, 35.2% reported nightmares and 8.3% reported sleep paralysis. The authors report that both symptoms were associated with poor mental health, drinking alcohol, difficulty initiating sleep, low subjective sleep assessment, and excessive daytime sleepiness, and suggest that maintaining regular sleep habits may help prevent them.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to clarify the prevalence of nightmares and sleep paralysis and associated factors among Japanese adolescents.

Methods: This study was designed as a cross-sectional sampling survey. The targets were junior and senior high schools throughout Japan. Self-reported anonymous questionnaires were sent to schools for all students to complete.

Results: A total of 90,081 questionnaires were analyzed. The overall response rate was 62.6%, and the prevalence of nightmares and sleep paralysis was 35.2% and 8.3%, respectively. Multiple logistic analyses revealed that female sex, drinking alcohol, poor mental health, difficulty initiating sleep, low subjective sleep assessment, presence of excessive daytime sleepiness, and presence of sleep paralysis had higher odds ratios than others for nightmares. Male sex, poor mental health, drinking alcohol, taking a long daytime nap, early or late bedtime, difficulty initiating sleep, low subjective sleep assessment, presence of excessive daytime sleepiness, and presence of nightmares had higher odds ratios than other factors for sleep paralysis.

Conclusions: This study has revealed the prevalence of nightmares and sleep paralysis among Japanese adolescents. Furthermore, the results of this study suggest that it is important to maintain regular sleep habits for preventing these symptoms. We propose that health education about regular sleep habits should be promoted among Japanese adolescents.

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

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