0730 EFFECT OF EVERYDAY ANXIETY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING ON THE RECALL OF DISTURBED DREAMING
Cristina Banu, Pierre McDuff, Antonio Zadra
Sleep April 28, 2017 DOI: 10.1093/sleepj/zsx050.729 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational daily diary study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 224 |
| Population | Adults aged 17-74 (186 female, 38 male; mean age 31.8 years) |
| Duration | Daily dream log kept from 1 to 4 weeks; 83.0% completed 4 consecutive weeks |
| Measures | Beck Depression Inventory-II, Symptom Checklist-90-R, Nightmare Distress Questionnaire, nightly pre-sleep anxiety scale, daily dream log |
| Topics | Anxiety Dreaming |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Higher pre-sleep anxiety predicted a greater probability of recalling a disturbing dream the following morning (B=0.08), and age (B=0.46), nightmare distress (B=0.22), and general psychopathology (B=0.11) also contributed positively, whereas depression and gender did not. The authors argue these results support Levin and Nielsen's (2007) neurocognitive model, in which everyday perceived stress predicts disturbed dreaming beyond nightmare-related distress, general psychopathology, and age. |
Abstract
The present study tested a prediction from Levin and Nielsen’s (2007) neurocognitive model of disturbed dreaming stipulating that variations in the frequency of bad dreams and nightmares are partly determined by day-to-day variations in emotional stress. The model also suggests that relations between dreams and stress may vary as a function of personality traits. 224 adults (186F, 38M, mean age=31.8 yrs; range = 17–74) completed several measures of psychological well-being, including of depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II), general psychopathology (Symptom Checklist-90-R), and nightmare distress (Nightmare Distress Questionnaire). Participants subsequently kept a daily dream log from one to four weeks in which they were required to report all dreams recalled, including their emotional tone and intensity, and noted whether the recalled dream was a bad dream or nightmare (ie, disturbed dreaming). Participants also completed a nightly pre-sleep anxiety scale. A large majority of participants (83.0%) completed the log for 4 consecutive weeks. Almost half the mornings (45.3%) where accompanied by dream recall and most participants (75.9%) reported at least one disturbing dream in their logs. General equation estimation analyses using a negative binomial distribution were performed with levels of pre-sleep anxiety, depression, general psychopathology, nightmare distress, age and gender as predictors of disturbed dreaming. The model revealed that higher pre-sleep levels of anxiety predicted a greater probability of recalling a disturbing dream the following morning (B=0.08, t=2.03 p=0.042). Age (B=0.46, t=13.34, p<0.001), nightmare distress (B=0.22, t=5.07, p<0.001) and general psychopathology (B=0.11, t=2.25, p=0.024) also contributed positively to this model, whereas depression and gender did not (ps>0.05). In line with neurocognitive model put forth by Levin and Nielsen (2007), these results show that everyday levels of perceived stress predict recall of disturbed dreaming beyond the effects attributable to nightmare-related distress, general psychopathology and age. Additional work, however, is required to delineate the role of trait versus state variables play in the frequency and intensity of disturbed dreaming. Research is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
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 |