Disturbed dreaming and the instability of sleep: altered nonrapid eye movement sleep microstructure in individuals with frequent nightmares as revealed by the cyclic alternating pattern.
Péter Simor, Róbert Bódizs, Klára Horváth, Raffaele Ferri
Sleep March 1, 2013 DOI: 10.5665/sleep.2462 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | 17 individuals with frequent nightmares and 23 healthy control participants |
| Duration | Second night of polysomnographic examination |
| Measures | cyclic alternating pattern (CAP), arousal index |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Humans Sleep arousal disorders Eye movements Polysomnography Analysis of variance Dreams Psychometrics Hungary Female Young adult Sleep wake disorders Arousals Sleep microstructure |
| Key findings | People with frequent nightmares showed reduced CAP A1 and increased CAP A2 and A3 subtypes, along with longer CAP A phase durations, during non-REM sleep compared with controls, and these differences persisted after controlling for anxious and depressive symptoms. REM arousal number and frequency did not differ significantly between groups. The authors suggest these findings indicate abnormal arousal processes and an imbalance in sleep-promoting and arousing mechanisms. |
Abstract
Study
Objectives: Nightmares are disturbing mental experiences during sleep that usually result in abrupt awakenings. Frequent nightmares are associated with poor subjective sleep quality, and recent polysomnographic data suggest that nightmare sufferers exhibit impaired sleep continuity during nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Because disrupted sleep might be related to abnormal arousal processes, the goal of this study was to examine polysomnographic arousal-related activities in a group of nightmare sufferers and a healthy control group.
Design: Sleep microstructure analysis was carried out by scoring the cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) in NREM sleep and the arousal index in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on the second night of the polysomnographic examination.
Setting: Hospital-based sleep research laboratory.
Participants: There were 17 in the nightmare (NMs) group and 23 in the healthy control (CTLs) group.
Interventions: N/A. Measurements and
Results: The NMs group exhibited reduced amounts of CAP A1 subtype and increased CAP A2 and A3 subtypes, as well as longer duration of CAP A phases in comparison with CTLs. Moreover, these differences remained significant after controlling for the confounding factors of anxious and depressive symptoms. The absolute number and frequency of REM arousals did not differ significantly between the two groups.
Conclusions: The results of our study indicate that NREM sleep microstructure is altered during nonsymptomatic nights of nightmares. Disrupted sleep in the NMs group seems to be related to abnormal arousal processes, specifically an imbalance in sleep-promoting and arousing mechanisms during sleep. Citation: Simor P; Bódizs R; Horváth K; Ferri R. Disturbed dreaming and the instability of sleep: altered nonrapid eye movement sleep microstructure in individuals with frequent nightmares as revealed by the cyclic alternating pattern. SLEEP 2013;36(3):413-419.
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 |
Citations in the library
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- Nightmare Disorder and Isolated Sleep Paralysis Neurotherapeutics November 23, 2020
- What about dreams? State of the art and open questions Journal of Sleep Research April 13, 2022
- Increased Reward-Related Behaviors during Sleep and Wakefulness in Sleepwalking and Idiopathic Nightmares PLoS One August 19, 2015
- Local Neuronal Synchronization in Frequent Nightmare Recallers and Healthy Controls: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Frontiers in Neuroscience March 18, 2021
- Parasomnias I Oxford University Press eBooks May 22, 2025
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Cites 9
- Prevalence and Correlates of Frequent Nightmares: A Community-Based 2-Phase Study Sleep June 1, 2010
- Nightmare frequency in patients with primary insomnia heiDOK (Heidelberg University) 2009
- Dreaming and health promotion: A theoretical proposal and some epidemiological establishments European Journal of Mental Health June 1, 2008
- Impaired executive functions in subjects with frequent nightmares as reflected by performance in different neuropsychological tasks. Brain and Cognition April 1, 2012
- Frequent nightmares in children: familial aggregation and associations with parent-reported behavioral and mood problems. Sleep April 1, 2011
and 4 more in the library