Insomnia symptoms, nightmares and suicidal ideation in a university sample
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 583 |
| Population | Undergraduate students at West Virginia University |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key findings | Nightmares and insomnia symptoms were each related to suicidal ideation independently of one another. After adjusting for anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms, nightmares (beta = .021, SE = .008) but not insomnia symptoms remained related to suicidal ideation, suggesting nightmares may have a distinct association with suicidal ideation beyond these symptoms. |
Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated a link between insomnia symptoms, nightmares, and suicidal ideation. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether insomnia symptoms and nightmares were related to suicidal ideation independent of each other. Further, the study aimed to determine whether suicidal ideation and nightmares were related with suicidal ideation independent of the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. The study consisted of 583 undergraduate students at West Virginia University. Results indicated that both nightmares (beta = .054 (SE = .008), p > .01) and insomnia symptoms (beta = .045 (SE = .009), p > .01) were related to suicidal ideation, and this relation was independent of each other. However, nightmares (beta = .021 (SE = .008), p = .01), but not insomnia symptoms, were related with suicidal ideation independent of the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Implications, limitations and future directions are discussed.
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 |