ABSTRACT Although about 5% of the German population report having nightmares at least once a week, nightmares are inadequately diagnosed and treated. We therefore examined how people in the general population cope with nightmares in everyday life. The present study aimed to examine the influence of Big Five personality traits on nightmare‐coping behaviour. In an online survey of 411...
52 validation analyses across 6 datasets, 148 subjects, and 1,267 awakenings. No dataset-stage combination showed evidence of above-chance generalization after bootstrap testing. Dataset identity dominates predictive variance (74.5%). All code and data publicly available.
Sleep ResearchJune 2, 2026Filipa Almeida, Maria Inês Clara, Margarida Rodrigues et al.
Abstract Introduction Nightmare Disorder (ND) is a prevalent sleep disorder linked to nocturnal and daytime impairments. Image Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) shows moderate effects, and evidence for other psychological interventions, including eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), remains scarce in adults with idiopathic ND (IND). Methods This case study explored EMDR therapy's...
Abstract: A dream's context and the dreamer's individual history, culture, and language, create a significant matrix for dreamwork. When analyzing the dream of a patient from another culture, we may not understand the associations of the dreamer, not only because we cannot discuss the imagery and feelings aroused by the dream, or because we are unaware of the cultural references, but also...
Introduction Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is a relatively new and still under-recognized phenomenon. It is characterized by prolonged and emotionally engaging immersion in highly structured fantasies. Unlike normal daydreaming, MD involves narrative scenarios with complex characters and plots that may extend into real life. Individuals often spend hours per day in such fantasies, typically...
Julia Maruani, Pierre A Geoffroy; Nightmare-Focused Interventions and Suicide Prevention: Clarifying the Role of Imagery Rehearsal Therapy and Prazosin, Sl
Nightmare proneness and neuroticism are strongly related constructs which differentially predict variance in nightmares, yet their empirical distinctiveness remains unclear. The current study examined relationships among nightmare proneness, neuroticism, and nightmares in 774 university students. Principal axis exploratory factor analysis indicated that nightmare proneness and neuroticism items...
Nightmares, which are associated with various biopsychosocial issues, are common and often undertreated among veterans. To address the demand for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares (CBT-N) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), experts have trained mental health clinicians in its delivery. Program evaluation data show positive clinician perceptions of CBT-N but reveal...
Abstract Dream recall varies substantially both between individuals and from night to night within the same individual. Although nocturnal awakenings are thought to facilitate the encoding and later retrieval of dream experiences, it remains unclear whether dream recall is shaped primarily by awakening frequency or by more specific awakening characteristics, including duration, sleep stage, and...
Nightmares can trigger stress responses and lead to insufficient or poor-quality sleep, which are associated with cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) and their risk factors. However, research on the association and underlying mechanisms between nightmares and CMD in the general population remains limited. Data from three follow-ups of the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus study (Lausanne, Switzerland). Frequent...
SLEEPJMay 8, 2026James R. Hall, Mercy Azubuko-Uduh, Naomi Ghildiyal et al.
Abstract Introduction Nightmares are usually associated with insomnia but rarely can arise from distinct and overlapping etiologies that can result in hypersomnia. The etiologies that need to be considered would be PTSD, acute stress disorder, nightmare disorder, depression, anxiety, medication/substance effect, narcolepsy, Idiopathic Hypersomnia. Rare causes are intracranial mass lesion, CNS...
SLEEPJMay 8, 2026Alexei Kotov, Andrea Diaz-Pacheco, Patricia Molina et al.
Abstract Introduction Previous research has linked nightmares to anxiety, depression, and poor sleep quality. However, much less is known about how nightmares intersect with acculturation patterns and bicultural experiences in border communities. Understanding the connection between nightmares and acculturation is especially important in contexts where cultural identity, discrimination, and...
SLEEPJMay 8, 2026Jing Zhang, Andres Pena, Negin Sattari Barabadi et al.
Abstract Introduction Sleep supports emotion regulation by preferentially consolidating emotional memories while attenuating reactivity. We have shown that dream recall plays an active role by increasing negative over neutral memories and reducing reactivity. In women, fluctuating reproductive hormones across the menstrual cycle influence sleep features implicated in emotional memory, yet...
Abstract Introduction Nightmares are emotionally intense sleep disturbances linked to impaired emotion regulation and physiological arousal. Although stress sensitivity is theorized to increase vulnerability to nightmares, little research has examined whether specific HPA-axis indices, particularly the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR), predict nightmare frequency in non-clinical young adults....
Abstract Introduction Nightmares are common, undertreated, and linked to various biopsychosocial issues in veterans. To address this clinical need, a provider training and consultation program in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares (CBT-N) was established in 2020 within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Program evaluation data indicate that clinicians perceive CBT-N to be...
Abstract Introduction Dreaming is theorized to facilitate fear extinction, a type of implicit emotion regulation, whereas nightmares are thought to reflect failures in this regulatory process. However, it is not known whether the frequency of nightmares and associated functional impairment are related to explicit emotion regulation styles. This study examined associations between nightmare...
Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing feelings and a tendency toward externally oriented thinking. This study investigated the relationship between alexithymia and dream emotions among 282 Japanese adults using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Japanese version of the Mannheim Dream Questionnaire (MADRE), and a Most Recent Dream report...
Nightmares are considered a hallmark symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A risk factor for nightmares may be sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), a constellation of traits involving increased responsivity to sensory stimulation and emotion, and deeper cognitive processing. Here we tested whether this relationship between SPS and nightmares mainly occurs when stress or trauma are...
Background: The nursing profession is recognized as a high-risk occupation, with the emotional toll on healthcare workers reaching a critical point. A complex interplay of anger and cynicism, often stemming from systemic pressures and chronic moral injury, seems to increasingly affect nurses’ professional and personal lives. This psychological strain does not end when the shift ends; rather, it...