Sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming are both dissociated experiences related to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Anecdotal evidence suggests that episodes of sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming are related but different experiences. In this study we test this claim systematically for the first time in an online survey with 1928 participants (age range: 18-82 years; 53% female). Confirming...
Despite the considerable prevalence of the nightmare disorder and its burden on the patient, nightmares are underdiagnosed and undertreated, even in sleep centers. A total of 1,125 patients in a sleep center undergoing routine diagnostic procedures for their sleep disorders completed a questionnaire about nightmares. About 20% of the sample indicated an interest in more information about...
The aim of this paper is a short overview of the book of Evan Thompson Wak ing, Dreaming, Being.Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy, with some polemic remarks.Thompson presents an interest ing approach to the problem of cognition, knowledge and selfknowledge -the problems considered in philosophy, psychology, neurosciences, which -if they interact -create an...
We report a quality effects meta-analysis on studies from the period 1966-2016 measuring either (a) lucid dreaming prevalence (one or more lucid dreams in a lifetime); (b) frequent lucid dreaming (one or more lucid dreams in a month) or both. A quality effects meta-analysis allows for the minimisation of the influence of study methodological quality on overall model estimates. Following...
The former refers to alternations in the dreaming process that may be seen as abnormal, whereas the latter refers to the dreams that are the concomitants of a mental disorder. Detailed phenomenological descriptions are needed of the dream experience in normal subjects and in the various psychiatric illnesses—both in and out of the laboratory—utilizing quantitative techniques in order to capture...
Humans have employed an incredible variety of plant-derived substances over the millennia in order to alter consciousness and perception. Among the innumerable narcotics, analgesics, 'ordeal' drugs, and other psychoactive substances discovered and used in ritualistic contexts by cultures around the world, one class in particular stands out not only for its radical psychological effects, but...
Background Up to 71% of trauma victims diagnosed with PTSD have frequent nightmares (NM), compared to only 2% to 5% of the general population. Objectives The present study examined whether nightmares before the beginning of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could influence overall PTSD symptom reduction for 71 individuals with PTSD and different types of...
In a recent review, Aspy, Delfabbro, and Proeve (2015) highlighted the tendency for retrospective measures of dream recall to yield substantially lower recall rates than logbook measures, a phenomenon they termed the retrospective-logbook disparity. One explanation for this phenomenon is that retrospective measures underestimate true dream recall. Another explanation is that keeping a logbook...
This study examined whether college students reporting frequent nightmares would score differently on scales of the Ausburg Multidimensional Personality Instrument (AMPI; Kelly, 2012) relative to a comparison group.University students (N=373) completed the AMPI and a questionnaire to assess how frequently they experienced nightmares.The results indicated that individuals with frequent...
Prazosin is increasingly being used off-label to treat nightmares in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. The literature about the psychiatric adverse effects of prazosin is very limited. We present a case in which low-dose prazosin was associated with nightmares and sleep disturbances in an elderly patient without previously diagnosed mental illness or coexisting environmental risk...