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The sleep physiology of nightmares in veterans with psychological trauma: Evaluation of a dominant model using participant-applied electroencephalography in the home environment.

Anne Richards, Steven H. Woodward, David Paul G Baquirin, Leslie Yack, Thomas J. Metzler, Nikhila S Udupa, Emily J Staggs, Thomas C. Neylan

Journal of Sleep Research May 29, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13639 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational study Peer reviewed
Population Posttraumatic stress disorder treatment-seeking veterans
Topics Dreaming
Keywords Humans Electroencephalography Dreams Stress disorders, post-traumatic Veterans Sleep wake disorders Psychological trauma Home environment Nightmares Posttraumatic stress disorder Heartrate
Key findings Participant-administered, at-home measurement of nightmare physiology was highly feasible. The data showed unexpected stability of rapid eye movement sleep and no evidence of heart rate elevations in sleep preceding nightmare awakenings, which the authors argue questions the sufficiency of the dominant noradrenergic hyperarousal model of nightmares.

Abstract

Nightmares are a core feature of posttraumatic stress disorder, are poorly understood, and are associated with serious negative outcomes. Their biology has been difficult to study, and the feasibility of capturing them in the naturalistic home environment has been poor. This said, the published research and dominant scientific model has focused on nightmares as a manifestation of noradrenergic hyperarousal during rapid eye movement sleep. The current study used at-home, participant-applied devices to measure nightmare physiology in posttraumatic stress disorder treatment-seeking veterans, by examining heartrate measures as indicators of noradrenergic tone, and sleep-stage characteristics and stability in the sleep preceding time-stamped nightmare awakenings. Our data indicate the high feasibility of participant-administered, at-home measurement, and showed an unexpected stability of -rapid eye movement sleep along with no evidence of heartrate elevations in sleep preceding nightmare awakenings. Altogether, these data highlight new opportunities for the study of nightmares while questioning the sufficiency of dominant models, which to date are largely theoretically based.

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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