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Nightmares and Stress: A Longitudinal Study.

Michael Schredl, Maria Gilles, Isabell Wolf, Verena Peus, Barbara Scharnholz, Marc Sütterlin, Svenja Bardtke, Tabea Sarah Send, Angelina Samaras, Michael Deuschle

Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine September 1, 2019 DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.7904 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Longitudinal study Cross-sectional Peer reviewed
Sample size 406
Population Pregnant women followed after giving birth
Duration Approximately 6 months and 4 years after giving birth
Measures nightmare frequency scale, stress-related questionnaires
Topics Dreaming
Keywords Humans Pregnancy complications Longitudinal studies Follow-up studies Cross-sectional studies Stress, psychological Dreams Adolescent Female Young adult Surveys and questionnaires Longitudinal study Nightmares
Key findings Nightmare frequency was very stable and decreased slightly across approximately four years in 406 pregnant women. Cross-sectional analyses showed stressors were associated with current nightmare frequency, but longitudinal analyses indicated that previously measured nightmare frequency had even stronger effects on current nightmare frequency. The authors argue that nightmares should be treated as early as possible, even in childhood.

Abstract

Study

Objectives: In nightmare etiology, trait and state factors play important roles. However, the interaction of state and trait factors has never been studied in a longitudinal design.

Methods: The current sample included 406 pregnant women who were followed up approximately 6 months after giving birth (n = 375) and 4 years later (n = 302). A nightmare frequency scale and several stress-related questionnaires were presented at three measurement points.

Results: Despite the major life events in this sample, nightmare frequency was very stable over this time period and decreased slightly. In line with previous findings, cross-sectional analyses showed that stressors were associated with current nightmare frequency but longitudinal analyses indicated that previously measured nightmare frequency showed even stronger effects on current nightmare frequency.

Conclusions: Because the nightmare frequencies were very stable, it would be desirable to carry out intervention studies treating nightmares as early as possible-even in childhood-and study whether nightmare occurrence is lower even years after the intervention. Citation: Schredl M, Gilles M, Wolf I, Peus V, Scharnholz B, Sütterlin M, Bardtke S, Send TS, Samaras A, Deuschle M. Nightmares and stress: a longitudinal study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2019;15(9):1209-1215.

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

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