Partners and Ex-Partners in Dreams: A Diary Study.
Michael Schredl, Lara C Wood
Clocks & Sleep May 26, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/clockssleep3020018 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 425 |
| Population | Students |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Romantic relationships Ex-partner |
| Key findings | Partner dreams were more frequent than ex-partner dreams, supporting the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. Dreamed interactions with ex-partners were more often negatively toned than those with current partners, yet ex-partner dreams unexpectedly showed more positive emotions and friendliness, which the authors interpret as partner dreams being more mundane. |
Abstract
Romantic relationships are an important part of human life and thus, according to the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, one's romantic partner should show up in dreams quite frequently. The present study is based on 1612 dream reports provided by 425 students. The findings confirmed the hypothesis that partner dreams are more frequent than ex-partner dreams and, thus, support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. Moreover, interactions with ex-partners within the dream were more often negatively toned compared to dreamed interactions with the partner. Unexpectedly, we also found more positive emotions and friendliness in ex-partner dreams compared to partner dreams, indicating that partner dreams are more mundane. To conclude, dreams reflect important aspects of romantic partnerships and their break-ups and, thus, can be very helpful in psychotherapy.
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 |