Solving the nightmare mystery: The autonomic nervous system as missing link in the aetiology and treatment of nightmares.

This article outlines how the theory may provide a missing link in understanding specific ways that trauma and adversity lead to chronic nightmares, and it offers a way to make sense of the heterogeneity of trauma-related symptoms and concomitant responses to nightmare treatments. A review of the literature demonstrates evidence of links between measures of ANS and physiological responses to nightmares. Content similarities between threat responses described by polyvagal theory and common nightmare themes provides an additional avenue for assessment and intervention. Theories of nightmare aetiology and treatment are evaluated with respect to polyvagal theory, and lastly, a proposed treatment protocol, nightmare relief, offers a polyvagal-informed, process-experiential approach to treating nightmares, with links to clinical examples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: Dreaming - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research