Ordinary and Recurrent Dream Recall of Active, Past and Non-recurrent Dreamers During and After Academic Stress
Theresa Duke, J. Davidson
December 1, 2002 DOI: 10.1023/a:1021152411010 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 39 |
| Population | Students in active, past, and non-recurrent dream groups |
| Duration | Two one-week periods (pre-exam and neutral study week) |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Recurrent dream nights increased during the stress week for the active recurrent dream group but not for other groups; anxiety and negative affect were higher pre-exam, and overall dream recall increased pre-exam. |
Abstract
The role of stress in the onset and frequency of recurrent dreams was investigated by comparing dream recall of students undergoing naturalistic stress conditions. Thirty nine students in active, past and non-recurrent dream groups (n = 13) recorded frequency of nights per week involving overall and recurrent dream recall in the week prior to mid-term examinations and in a neutral study week in second semester. Self-report measures of everyday hassles and uplifts, anxiety and positive and negative affect experienced during these conditions were also collected. Anxiety and negative affect were reported as significantly higher in the pre-examination week. Overall the groups reported dreams on significantly more nights in the pre-examination week than the post examination week. Recurrent dream nights increased during the stress week for the active recurrent dream group but there was no change in recurrent dream recall for the other groups. These findings are consistent with theories that the experience of emotional stress is a critical factor in the onset and persistence of recurrent dreams.
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 11
- Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming Frontiers in Psychology August 18, 2015
- Spotlight on dream recall: the ages of dreams Nature and Science of Sleep 2018
- An analysis of laypeople’s beliefs regarding the origins of their worst nightmare Papyrus : Institutional Repository (Université de Montréal) 2015
- Dream content discovery from social media using natural language processing EPJ Data Science May 23, 2025
- Structural and Functional Differences in Brain Mechanisms of Dream Recall Handbook of Sleep Research 2019
and 6 more in the library
Cites 3
- Emotions in diary dreams. Consciousness and Cognition December 1998
- Dream Content, Dream Recurrence and Well-Being: A Replication with a Younger Sample Imagination, Cognition and Personality June 1, 1998
- REM sleep and adaptation of psychiatric patients: an application of sleep studies. American Journal of Psychiatry October 1976