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Changes in dreaming induced by CPAP in severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome patients.

Eva Carrasco, Joan Santamaria, Alex Iranzo, Luis Pintor, Joan De Pablo, Antonio Solanas, Hatice Kumru, José Enrique Martínez-Rodríguez, Teresa Boget

Journal of Sleep Research December 2006 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2006.00553.x (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Peer reviewed
Sample size 37
Population Twenty consecutive patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and 17 healthy controls
Intervention Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
Duration Baseline and CPAP titration night, 3 months after effective treatment, and 2 years later
Topics Dreaming
Key findings Patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea recalled dreams during REM sleep as often as controls, but their dreams were longer and more emotionally intense, with violent or highly anxious dreams seen only in patients. Dream recall decreased during the first months of CPAP treatment and recovered by two years, a pattern the authors associate with sleep normalization.

Abstract

To study dream content in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and its modification with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy. We assessed twenty consecutive patients with severe OSAS and 17 healthy controls. Polysomnograms were recorded at baseline in patients and controls and during the CPAP titration night, 3 months after effective treatment and 2 years later in patients. Subjects were awakened 5-10 min after the beginning of the first and last rapid eye movement (REM) sleep periods and we measured percentage of dream recall, emotional content of the dream, word count, thematic units, sleep architecture and REM density. Dream recall in REM sleep was similar in patients at baseline and controls (51.5% versus 44.4% respectively; P = .421), decreased to 20% and 24.3% the first and third month CPAP nights, and increased to 39% 2 years later (P = 0.004). Violent/highly anxious dreams were only seen in patients at baseline. Word count was higher in patients than in controls. REM density was highest the first CPAP night. Severe OSAS patients recall dreams in REM sleep as often as controls, but their dreams have an increased emotional tone and are longer. Despite an increase in REM density, dream recall decreased the first months of CPAP and recovered 2 years later. Violent/highly anxious dreams disappeared with treatment. A dream recall decrease with CPAP is associated with normalization of sleep in OSAS patients.

Comparable studies

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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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