Group dream work incorporating a psychophysical embodied approach.
This article presents an initial account of a 6-month process with a group of undergraduate students, in an educational environment, which explored the possibilities of archetypal group dream work and the incorporation of embodied activities to explore dream imagery. This work incorporated activities based in psychophysical actor training and aligns itself to an archetypal post-Jungian perspective for dream work. We suggest here that the model developed for this inquiry appears to have positive effects for the dreamer and for other participants. The main benefit of the practice is its capacity to evade ego’s defenses and...
Source: Dreaming - April 27, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
A full night’s sleep at home improves memory performance in an associative and relational learning task.
This study evaluated the effect of sleep in mediating episodic memory performances in a recognition task of visually associated and related elements. It also considered links between memory performances, dreams mentation, and emotional salience of items. Two groups of participants were studied; in the wake group, they stayed awake on a normal day, and in the sleep group, they slept at home according to their usual sleep schedule and context. Compared with the wake group, participants in the sleep group performed better in the delayed associative and relational tests. Negative and positive emotional images were better recog...
Source: Dreaming - April 16, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Indications that a Northern New Mexico petroglyph was inspired by traumatic nightmare.
Artists in aboriginal and modern societies often use dreams as inspiration for their created images. It is a reasonable assumption that some prehistoric images were also inspired by dreams. A variety of anthropological approaches indicate this assumption to be a logical probability. Another way to approach this possibility is to apply modern understandings of dream science to petroglyph images with phenomenology similar to dream-based art. Focusing on Mesa Pietra, a petroglyph site in Northern New Mexico, the argument is made for at least one petroglyph being inspired by dream—specifically, a nightmare image produced aft...
Source: Dreaming - June 24, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
A brief self-report measure for frequent distressing nightmares: The Nightmare Experience Scale (NExS).
Both nightmare frequency and nightmare distress have been described as cardinal features of the nightmare experience. However, most previous research has either neglected nightmare distress or measured it separately from nightmare frequency. Based on current nosology of nightmare disorder and recent research findings, the current work conceptualizes the two as representing a single construct, frequent distressing nightmares. Four studies are presented involving a total of 819 university students aimed at the development and examination of a brief scale, the Nightmare Experience Scale (NExS), for measuring frequent distress...
Source: Dreaming - June 24, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Impact of fearful attachment style on nightmares and disturbed sleep in psychiatric inpatients.
This study used an archival data set of 1,092 patients from an inpatient psychiatric hospital to explore the relationships between adult attachment style, nightmare frequency, disturbed sleep due to nightmares, and difficulty falling asleep due to fear of nightmares. Expanding on previous research conducted by Belfiore and Pietrowsky (2017), this study examined whether fearful attachment style and trait neuroticism predicted disturbed sleep due to nightmares above and beyond trait neuroticism alone. In addition, this study examined whether fearful attachment style and trauma history predicted disturbed sleep due to nightma...
Source: Dreaming - June 24, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Nightmares in mental disorders: A review.
In conclusion, this review highlights the importance for clinicians to investigate for the presence of chronic nightmares along with other sleep difficulties (most commonly, insomnia and sleep apnea), to consider the potential influence of nightmares on the course of the primary mental disorder, and to be prepared to grant access to treatments targeting nightmares. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: Dreaming)
Source: Dreaming - June 24, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Relationships between video game play factors and frequency of lucid and control dreaming experiences.
Lucid and control dream states have been linked to a variety of positive psychological outcomes, but are uncommon and difficult to induce. Delineating connections between lucid and control dreaming and immersion in other virtual environments could aid in understanding the nature of those dream states and developing more effective induction training. Video game play takes place in immersive virtual environments and has been linked to more frequent lucid dreaming (Gackenbach, 2006, 2009). The current research sought to identify connections between specific genres of video game play and lucid and lucid/control dream experienc...
Source: Dreaming - May 9, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Can learning to lucid dream promote personal growth?
A lucid dream occurs when a dreamer knows that he or she is dreaming while continuing to dream. Many people practice lucid dreaming to promote personal growth, including enhanced creativity and self-esteem. However, such benefits are evidenced by anecdotal reports and correlational studies rather than controlled experiments. Further, this existing evidence is confounded by the fact that most lucid dreaming procedures involve two supporting practices—dream journaling and a mindfulness exercise called reality checking—that may be independently associated with personal growth. Our study asked whether successfully inducing...
Source: Dreaming - May 9, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity of the Nightmare Proneness Scale.
The current study examined the validity of the Nightmare Proneness Scale (NPS; Kelly, 2018) as measuring a personality disposition that predisposes individuals to experience frequent nightmares. The NPS and measures to estimate its convergent and discriminant validity were administered to a sample of 140 university students. The convergent validity of the scale was supported through significant correlations with nightmare frequency, nightmare distress, nightmare effects, general psychological distress, neuroticism, and trauma symptoms. Discriminant validity was demonstrated through nonsignificant correlations with feminine...
Source: Dreaming - March 18, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Measuring attitude toward lucid dreams: A six-item scale.
In recent years, the interest in lucid dreaming (dreaming with the conscious knowledge that one is dreaming) was stimulated by blockbuster films like “Inception” and the media interest in studies indicating that lucid dreaming can be beneficial. However, systematic studies regarding the attitude toward lucid dreams are lacking. An online survey was completed by 1,380 persons (777 women and 603 men), whose mean age was 51.63 ± 14.13 years. The six-item scale measuring attitude toward lucid dreams showed high internal consistency. The attitude toward lucid dreams was highly correlated with the general attitude toward lu...
Source: Dreaming - March 18, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
The mediational roles of sleep disorders and nightmares in the relationship between trauma and dissociation.
The aim of this study was to test the validity of the “sleep-dissociation” perspective. In addition, and to gain a more comprehensive overview of the trauma–sleep–dissociation complex, we aimed to test in which manner and to what degree trauma sleep disorders and nightmares are related to dissociation. A total of 100 male and 100 female university students with mean age of 24 completed and returned a 160-item questionnaire designed to detect the extent of dissociation, childhood and recent trauma history, sleep disorders, and nightmares. Correlation analyses showed that sleep disorders and nightmares correlated sig...
Source: Dreaming - March 18, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Who dreams of the deceased? The roles of dream recall, grief intensity, attachment, and openness to experience.
This research addressed the question of why some bereaved individuals dream of the deceased whereas others do not. Two studies were conducted. In one, participants were 268 U.S. residents (150 men, 116 women, 1 other, and 1 undisclosed), with an age range of 20 to 70 (M = 33.8), who had lost a romantic partner or spouse in the previous 12 to 24 months. The second study had 162 U.S. residents (88 men and 74 women), aged 18 to 63 (M = 32.1), whose dog or cat had died in the previous 6 months. In both studies, participants completed online questionnaires assessing frequency of dreams of the deceased, general dream recall, con...
Source: Dreaming - March 18, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Neural correlate of the impact of dream recall on emotional processing.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dream recall on the neurophysiological correlates of emotional processing. The hypothesis was that dream recall will produce an increased activation of fronto-limbic areas during an emotional task. Thirty-seven women were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups. Both groups were exposed to a visual task with emotional images (positive vs. negative) presented in two stages (T0 and T1). Between T0 and T1, in the experimental group, women were asked to recall and report a dream; whereas, in the control group, they were asked to report their work experiences. Electro...
Source: Dreaming - March 18, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Common factors leading to a universal approach to dreamwork: A qualitative analysis.
Using 2 texts that survey the most prevalent current Western Euro-based dreamwork modalities, this qualitative analysis identifies common factors in dreamwork techniques. The results show a clear movement toward experiential and collaborative methods and away from interpretation by the dreamworker. The study found general agreement about the main dreamwork practices among the 14 approaches surveyed, except with respect to the use of associations and others’ projections, which some see as helpful and others see as leading too far from the original dream content. This analysis led to a proposed universal method for working...
Source: Dreaming - March 18, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Dreaming is imaginative play in sleep: A theory of the function of dreams.
This article presents evidence in support of the theory that dreaming is imaginative play in sleep. Both play and dreaming are innate behaviors of our species that have the adaptive, survival-enhancing effect of stretching our minds beyond what is to imagine what might be. To explain why dreaming can best be conceived as a kind of play, the article draws upon research in evolutionary biology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, anthropology, religious studies, and therapeutic practices. The play theory of dreaming is capable of integrating these various sources of evidence into a clear conceptual framework that can acc...
Source: Dreaming - March 18, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
