Mental Sleep Activity and Disturbing Dreams in the Lifespan
Open accessAbstract
Sleep significantly changes across the lifespan, and several studies underline its crucial role in cognitive functioning. Similarly, mental activity during sleep tends to covary with age. This review aims to analyze the characteristics of dreaming and disturbing dreams at different age brackets. On the one hand, dreams may be considered an expression of brain maturation and cognitive development, showing relations with memory and visuo-spatial abilities. Some investigations reveal that specific electrophysiological patterns, such as frontal theta oscillations, underlie dreams during sleep, as well as episodic memories in the waking state, both in young and older adults. On the other hand, considering the role of dreaming in emotional processing and regulation, the available literature suggests that mental sleep activity could have a beneficial role when stressful events occur at different age ranges. We highlight that nightmares and bad dreams might represent an attempt to cope the adverse events, and the degrees of cognitive-brain maturation could impact on these mechanisms across the lifespan. Future investigations are necessary to clarify these relations. Clinical protocols could be designed to improve cognitive functioning and emotional regulation by modifying the dream contents or the ability to recall/non-recall them.
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The frequency of nightmares decreases from early adolescence to late adulthood, and so does the frequency of dream recalls.
“Likewise, the frequency of nightmares decreases from early adolescence to late adulthood [85], and so does the frequency of dream recalls [86].”
From How Adversarial REM Dreams May Facilitate Creativity, and Why We Become Aware of Them (2024) · cites this paper as [85]
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“The first sign of this sleep maturation is represented by the appearance, at two months of age, of the first sleep spindles during the QS / NREM sleep, whose occurrence reaches a peak during the second half of the first years of age and then declines [27,28].”
InfluentialNREM sleep parasomnias as disorders of sleep-state dissociation
Castelnovo, A., Lopez, R., Proserpio, P., Nobili, L., & Dauvilliers, Y. (2018) · Nature Reviews Neurology · doi:10.1038/s41582-018-0030-y · Cited by 202 · cited 1× · see citing works
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InfluentialAge-dependent changes in sleep EEG topography
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Effects of state and trait factors on nightmare frequency
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Prediction of general mental ability based on neural oscillation measures of sleep
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All night spectral analysis of EEG sleep in young adult and middle-aged male subjects
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The Functional Role of Dreaming in Emotional Processes
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“Hence, the dysregulation of these mechanisms can a ff ect both daytime and dream experience (for a review, see [11]).”
Self-citationSleep spindles and learning potential.
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Prevalence and Correlates of Frequent Nightmares: A Community-Based 2-Phase Study
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“Spindle activity is involved in long-term memory consolidation [30,31] and cognitive abilities [32].”
Dreamed movement elicits activation in the sensorimotor cortex
Dresler, M., Koch, S. P., Wehrle, R., Spoormaker, V. I., Holsboer, F., Steiger, A., Sämann, P. G., Obrig, H., & Czisch, M. (2011) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.09.029 · Cited by 168 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Interestingly, it was suggested that dream lucidity may help nightmare su ff erers intervene on their dream contents, modifying the negative emotional load of the dream experience [4,184].”
Sex, puberty, and the timing of sleep EEG measured adolescent brain maturation
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The functional significance of K-complexes
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“In this respect, it is important to specify that one of the main symptoms in narcolepsy, such as the cataplexy, is usually triggered by events with a high emotional charge [178] and that such patients show an impairment in the limbic system (e.g., [179]).”
Induction of lucid dreams: A systematic review of evidence
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Lucid dreaming treatment for nightmares: a pilot study
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“In this respect, lucid dreaming could be considered as a sort of coping strategy with unpleasant emotions in dream experience [185], and some authors proposed the induction of lucid dreams as a useful intervention for nightmare disorders [186].”
Development of Disturbing Dreams During Adolescence and Their Relation to Anxiety Symptoms
Nielsen, T., Laberge, L., Paquet, J., Tremblay, R. E., Vitaro, F., & Montplaisir, J. Y. (2000) · SLEEP · doi:10.1093/sleep/23.6.1 · Cited by 155 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In fact, children with emotional disorders and generalized distress, such as separation anxiety [95] or di ffi cult temperament in infancy [96,97], more frequently report bad dreams [95,98].”
Cortical Thinning Explains Changes in Sleep Slow Waves during Adulthood
Dubé, J., Lafortune, M., Bedetti, C., Bouchard, M., Gagnon, J. F., Doyon, J., Evans, A. C., Lina, J., & Carrier, J. (2015) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3956-14.2015 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Developmental changes in the human sleep EEG during early adolescence.
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“During adolescence, the reduction in the grey matter, following the initial growth during the early infancy, is associated, during sleep, to a marked reduction of cortical oscillation power and amplitude [39,41,110,111].”
Impaired Prefrontal Sleep Spindle Regulation of Hippocampal-Dependent Learning in Older Adults
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“On the other hand, according to the critical role of these sleep oscillations in memory processes, it is not surprising that their impairment has been linked to the cognitive and memory decline observed in normal aging [187,196].”
Nightmare frequency and nightmare topics in a representative German sample
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“Several studies found a general decline in dream recall frequency during aging also for nightmares [216–218].”
Dream recall and dream recall failure: an arousal-retrieval model
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“These findings highlighted that dream experience is possible when the brain revealed a certain degree of activation and are in line with the hypothesis that the higher cortical arousal and light sleep promote the encoding and consolidation of the dream experience during sleep [137,156,157].”
Dreaming in NREM Sleep: A High-Density EEG Study of Slow Waves and Spindles
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A Role for Non-Rapid-Eye-Movement Sleep Homeostasis in Perceptual Learning
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Nightmares: prevalence among the Finnish general adult population and war veterans during 1972-2007
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Sleep disorders during childhood: a practical review
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“The child shows himself shaken, not responsive, inconsolable, and, after the awakening, he cannot remember the episode [81].”
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“Both within-and between-subject investigations revealed that the last five minutes of REM sleep with high frontal theta oscillations are related to the retrieval of dream content upon awakenings [8,9].”
InfluentialSelf-citationDreaming: cognitive processes during cortical activation and high afferent thresholds
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Austrian dream behavior: Results of a representative population survey.
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Imagery Rehearsal Therapy: Principles and Practice
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“Some therapeutic protocols have been applied both in children and adults to ameliorate nightmares through a mental imagery technique [228–230].”
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“It is well known that narcoleptic patients reported many lucid dreams compared with controls [181].”
Sleep Spindle Activity and Cognitive Performance in Healthy Children
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“Spindle activity is involved in long-term memory consolidation [30,31] and cognitive abilities [32].”
Ontogeny of EEG-sleep from neonatal through infancy periods
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Sleep slow-wave activity reveals developmental changes in experience-dependent plasticity
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Prediction of lower developmental performances of healthy neonates by neonatal EEG-sleep measures
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Effects of aging on slow-wave sleep dynamics and human spatial navigational memory consolidation
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“The gradual deterioration of the sleep-wake regulatory system [198,199] and the age-related thinning of the gray matter [192,194,200] have been associated with sleep instability and fragmentation, and with the impairment of brain oscillations reported in the elderly.”
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“[85].”
Resting brain activity varies with dream recall frequency between subjects
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“Moreover, subjects with high dream recall frequency showed greater regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) than low recallers in the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) during REM sleep, stage 3 NREM sleep, and wakefulness, and in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during REM sleep [19].”
REM Dreaming and Cognitive Skills at Ages 5-8: A Cross-sectional Study
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“The available results on this issue revealed no correlation with language measures, while visuo-spatial abilities and organizational skills were strongly linked to dream recall [66,74,76].”
InfluentialLongitudinal sleep EEG trajectories indicate complex patterns of adolescent brain maturation
Feinberg, I., & Campbell, I. G. (2012) · American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00422.2012 · Cited by 105 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Changes in cortical activity during REM sleep also involves delta / theta oscillations [40,45,52].”
Changes in orexin (hypocretin) neuronal expression with normal aging in the human hypothalamus
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“The gradual deterioration of the sleep-wake regulatory system [198,199] and the age-related thinning of the gray matter [192,194,200] have been associated with sleep instability and fragmentation, and with the impairment of brain oscillations reported in the elderly.”
Lucid dreaming incidence: A quality effects meta-analysis of 50 years of research
Saunders, D. T., Roe, C. A., Smith, G., & Clegg, H. (2016) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2016.06.002 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
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“Moreover, memory could strongly impact on dreaming across the whole lifespan, since the dream cannot be recalled until the ability to organize the memories is developed [65].”
Changes in chronic nightmares after one session of desensitization or rehearsal instructions
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Nightmares and anxiety in elementary-aged children: is there a relationship.
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Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Consolidation
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Quantitative EEG of Rapid-Eye-Movement Sleep
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Reduced alpha power associated with the recall of mentation from Stage 2 and Stage REM sleep
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“Furthermore, Esposito et al. [147] found a reduction in alpha power also over the right frontal regions during NREM, and these e ff ects were replicated in REM sleep.”
Spoormaker, V. I., Gleiser, P. M., & Czisch, M. (2012) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2012.00080 · Cited by 83 · cited 1× · see citing works
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Amygdala and hippocampus volumetry and diffusivity in relation to dreaming
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Traveling Slow Oscillations During Sleep: A Marker of Brain Connectivity in Childhood
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“These modifications might be summarized as a posterior-to-anterior shift of the theta/SWA prevalence, which parallels the trajectory of the concurring structural and functional cortical maturation [38,42,49].”
The sleeping infant brain anticipates development
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“In keeping with the perspective that dreaming can represent an expression of human cognitive development, the prevalence of spontaneous lucid dreams is higher from adolescence until the early years of adulthood, as suggested by the “maturational hypothesis” by Voss and colleagues [226,227].”
Different Roles for REM and Stage 2 Sleep in Motor Learning: A Proposed Model
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“During the NREM-REM sleep sequences, two complementary processes would occur: (1) the downscaling of cortical plasticity in a learning-dependent way though SWA [127], and (2) the connections strengthening within specific circuits through their reactivation (replay) during higher frequency activities, such as spindles…”
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“Only one study reported microstructural changes in REM sleep in normal aging, while major frequency-and regional-specific modifications in this sleep stage have been associated with several neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease [201,202].”
Cortical activation patterns herald successful dream recall after NREM and REM sleep
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Developmental changes in brain connectivity assessed using the sleep EEG
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“The improvement in cortical connectivity is reflected during sleep by the increased EEG coherence, encompassing all sleep stages and frequency bands [113], and pointing to a general improvement in cortical communication that underlies the new and more complex cognitive functions.”
Development of Brain EEG Connectivity across Early Childhood: Does Sleep Play a Role?
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“…regional-specificity of these changes in cortical oscillations during sleep and the changes in functional connectivity accompanying them [48,49,54], some authors also proposed that these modifications in cortical rhythms play a key role in cognitive development and that sleep, by mediating and…”
Sleep and Early Cortical Development
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“…mediating and driving the cortical plasticity processes in critical periods, promotes the acquisition of new abilities, from motor-sensory to more complex cognitive and socio-emotional functions, such as self-awareness, semantic memory, response inhibition, and self-regulation strategies [55–63].”
Do REM (lucid) dreamed and executed actions share the same neural substrate?
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“In the attempt to overcome this “asynchrony”, some authors have used the eye-signaling technique, i.e., pre-decided sequences of intentional eye movements during dreaming [2–4], to reveal the exact moment of dream production.”
The maturation of cortical sleep rhythms and networks over early development
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“Major changes in quiet / NREM sleep activity during infancy and childhood to adolescence mainly involve the low-frequency bands, with earlier changes reflected by the theta activity [27,38,45], and the subsequent modifications mainly involve slow wave activity (SWA) [42,45,48].”
Nightmare prevalence in the healthy elderly.
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“Although the prevalence of nightmares in the elderly is just equal to 4% [216], older adults that su ff er from anxiety disorders frequently report nightmares [223], showing, once again, a continuity between sleep and waking experiences [6].”
Sopp, M. R., Michael, T., Weeß, H.-G., & Mecklinger, A. (2017) · Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-017-0542-8 · Cited by 68 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The results are substantially consistent with the view that frontal theta activity during REM sleep is associated with the consolidation of emotional memories [141,142].”
Sleep spindling and fluid intelligence across adolescent development: sex matters
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Self-citationDream Recall Frequency in a Representative German Sample
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“They found a reduction during aging, confirming findings from previous cross-sectional studies [219–221].”
Rem dreaming in the transition from late childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal study
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“At the same time, dreaming becomes characterized by high involvement and emotional charge [66,68,69].”
Sleep problems in childhood and borderline personality disorder symptoms in early adolescence
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“8 years) to collect their children’s oneiric activity found that the rate of nightmares was higher in relation to abuse history and family adversity occurring at 0–4 years [94].”
Age changes in dream recall in adulthood.
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“Several authors hypothesized that the changes in dream recall rate [64,204] could also be considered an expression of age-dependent cognitive deterioration.”
Predicting dream recall: EEG activation during NREM sleep or shared mechanisms with wakefulness?
Scarpelli, S., D’Atri, A., Mangiaruga, A., Marzano, C., Gorgoni, M., Schiappa, C., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2017) · Brain Topography · doi:10.1007/s10548-017-0563-1 · Cited by 63 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Morerecently, studies on dream recall inyoung adults usedthe polysomnographic(PSG) recordings with provoked awakenings (e.g., [9,137–139]).”
Sikka, P., Revonsuo, A., Noreika, V., & Valli, K. (2019) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2884-18.2019 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Sleep EEG Provides Evidence that Cortical Changes Persist into Late Adolescence
Tarokh, L., Reen, E. V., LeBourgeois, M. K., Seifer, R., & Carskadon, M. A. (2011) · SLEEP · doi:10.5665/sleep.1284 · Cited by 59 · cited 1× · see citing works
“During adolescence, the reduction in the grey matter, following the initial growth during the early infancy, is associated, during sleep, to a marked reduction of cortical oscillation power and amplitude [39,41,110,111].”
Increased lucid dreaming frequency in narcolepsy
Rak, M., Beitinger, P., Steiger, A., Schredl, M., & Dresler, M. (2015) · SLEEP · doi:10.5665/sleep.4676 · Cited by 58 · cited 3× · see citing works
“It was proposed that sleep features of narcoleptic patients, such as short sleep latency, anticipated REM onset, and fragmented sleep, and facilitate the appearance of lucid dreams [182].”
InfluentialSleep Spindles and Intellectual Ability: Epiphenomenon or Directly Related?
Fang, Z., Sergeeva, V., Ray, L. B., Viczko, J., Owen, A. M., & Fogel, S. M. (2016) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01034 · Cited by 58 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For instance, sleep spindle activity shows a positive relation with the intelligence quotient (IQ), which is stronger in females than in males [114]; reasoning and learning abilities; and visual-spatial working memory [115–119].”
Temporal references in dreams and autobiographical memory.
Grenier, J., Cappeliez, P., St-Onge, M., Vachon, J., Vinette, S., Roussy, F., Mercier, P., Lortie-Lussier, M., & De Koninck, J. (2005) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03195317 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Different maturational changes of fast and slow sleep spindles in the first four years of life
D’Atri, A., Novelli, L., Ferrara, M., Bruni, O., & Gennaro, L. D. (2017) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2017.11.1138 · Cited by 56 · cited 2× · see citing works
“A boost in spindle density [27,28] could be related to functional changes during this period occurring within the thalamo-cortical circuit.”
Self-citationVallat, R., Chatard, B., Blagrove, M., & Ruby, P. (2017) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185262 · Cited by 55 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Besides, studies on young adults found attenuation of the emotional charge related to wakefulness memories when the experiences are incorporated in dreams [170].”
Takeuchi, T., Ogilvie, R. D., Murphy, T. I., & Ferrelli, A. V. (2003) · Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/s1388-2457(02)00385-1 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Paul, F., Schredl, M., & Alpers, G. W. (2015) · Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation · doi:10.1186/s40479-014-0023-4 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Eichenlaub, J.-B., van Rijn, E., Gaskell, M. G., Lewis, P. A., Maby, E., Malinowski, J. E., Walker, M. P., Boy, F., & Blagrove, M. (2018) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsy041 · Cited by 53 · cited 7× · see citing works
“From the electrophysiological perspective, theta oscillations both in young and older adults are related with the retrieval of dream contents [8–10, 139], Although no studies directly assessed the relationship between cognitive functioning and disturbing dreams during the lifespan, the literature…”
InfluentialAn increase in sleep slow waves predicts better working memory performance in healthy individuals
Ferrarelli, F., Kaskie, R. E., Laxminarayan, S., Ramakrishnan, S., Jaques Reifman, A., & Germain, A. (2019) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.02.020 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
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“Interestingly, Simor and colleagues [163] analyzed the cycling alternating pattern (CAP; [164]), an index of sleep stability, and found that the NREM sleep of university students with frequent nightmares is characterized by a reduced A1 phase of CAP, i.e., a parameter linked to EEG synchronization…”
A study on the development of sleep-wakefulness cycle in the human fetus
Okai, T., Kozuma, S., Shinozuka, N., Kuwabara, Y., & Mizuno, M. (1992) · Early Human Development · doi:10.1016/0378-3782(92)90198-p · Cited by 52 · cited 1× · see citing works
“During the first weeks of life, signs of AS and QS could occur simultaneously, during the so-called indeterminate-sleep (IS) that progressively disappears [25], pointing to the stabilization of the sleep controlling processes.”
Volitional components of consciousness vary across wakefulness, dreaming and lucid dreaming
Dresler, M., Eibl, L., Fischer, C. F. J., Wehrle, R., Spoormaker, V. I., Steiger, A., Czisch, M., & Pawlowski, M. (2014) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00987 · Cited by 52 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Interestingly, it was suggested that dream lucidity may help nightmare sufferers intervene on their dream contents, modifying the negative emotional load of the dream experience [4,184].”
Developmental changes in the sleep electroencephalogram of adolescent boys and girls
Baker, F. C., Turlington, S. R., & Colrain, I. M. (2011) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2011.00930.x · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Waterman, D. (1991) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.1991.73.2.355 · Cited by 51 · cited 2× · see citing works
“However, other studies showed that this age-related reduction in dream recall seems already reduced in first and middle adulthood [64,204,208], and no di ff erences occurred between middle-aged and older adults [64,209].”
Variations in Dream Recall Frequency and Dream Theme Diversity by Age and Sex
Nielsen, T. (2012) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2012.00106 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Schredl, M. (2008) · Heidelberg University Library · doi:10.11588/heidok.00008425 · Cited by 50 · cited 1× · see citing works
“These patients usually experience very vivid, bizarre, and frightening dreams [176], with frequent aggressive scenes [177].”
Children's Dreams: From Freud's Observations to Modern Dream Research
Colace, C. (2010) · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Nightmare prevalence in the healthy elderly.
Salvio, M.-A., Wood, J. M., Schwartz, J., et al. (1992) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.7.2.324 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Individual Differences in Memory for Dreams: The Role of Cognitive Skills
Butler, S. F., & Watson, R. (1985) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.1985.61.3.823 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Nightmares in narcolepsy: underinvestigated symptom?
Pisko, J., Pastorek, L., Buskova, J., Sonka, K., & Nevsimalova, S. (2014) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2014.03.006 · Cited by 46 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Nightmares can also frequently occur in narcoleptic patients [171–173], with a percentage of 33% [173] as compared to the prevalence of 5% reported in the general population [174,175].”
FOULKES, D. (1993) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.1993.tb00090.x · Cited by 45 · cited 8× · see citing works
“…bracket, such as (a) the presence of infantile amnesia before 3-4 years of age [64,68]; and (b) the di ffi culty in collecting reliable dream reports from children because of their inability to discern dreaming from reality (the period in which this skill is acquired is yet to be defined) [66,68,69].”
InfluentialPosttraumatic nightmares and psychopathology in children after road traffic accidents
Wittmann, L., Zehnder, D., Schredl, M., Jenni, O. G., & Landolt, M. A. (2010) · Journal of Traumatic Stress · doi:10.1002/jts.20514 · Cited by 45 · cited 1× · see citing works
“However, very few studies during childhood provide information on dreaming in healthy subjects, and most of the data were obtained from clinical samples (see next Section) [72,73].”
Dopaminergic system and dream recall: an MRI study in Parkinson's disease patients
De Gennaro, L., Lanteri, O., Piras, F., Scarpelli, S., Assogna, F., Ferrara, M., Caltagirone, C., & Spalletta, G. (2016) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.23095 · Cited by 45 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Recent neuroimaging findings point in this direction, showing that microstructural measures of specific limbic areas were related to qualitative and quantitative features of dream reports [15–18].”
Self-citationEarly childhood adversity associations with nightmare severity and sleep spindles
Nielsen, T., Carr, M., Picard‐Deland, C., Marquis, L., Saint‐Onge, K., Blanchette‐Carrière, C., & Paquette, T. (2019) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2019.03.004 · Cited by 44 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Furthermore, idiopathic nightmares, i.e., without a known cause, begin during early childhood and decrease in adulthood, and they are more prevalent in females [87].”
Narcolepsy and emotional experience: a review of the literature
Schiappa, C., Scarpelli, S., D’Atri, A., Gorgoni, M., & Gennaro, L. D. (2018) · Behavioral and Brain Functions · doi:10.1186/s12993-018-0151-x · Cited by 43 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In this respect, lucid dreaming could be considered as a sort of coping strategy with unpleasant emotions in dream experience [185], and some authors proposed the induction of lucid dreams as a useful intervention for nightmare disorders [186].”
Self-citationDaily Life Experiences in Dreams and Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation
Eichenlaub, J.-B., Cash, S. S., & Blagrove, M. (2017) · Studies in Neuroscience, Psychology and Behavioral Economics · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-45066-7_10 · Cited by 42 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Recent neuroimaging findings point in this direction, showing that microstructural measures of specific limbic areas were related to qualitative and quantitative features of dream reports [15–18].”
EEG oscillations during sleep and dream recall: state- or trait-like individual differences?
Scarpelli, S., D’Atri, A., Gorgoni, M., Ferrara, M., & Gennaro, L. D. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00605 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Self-citationCharacteristics of sleep EEG power spectra in healthy infants in the first two years of life
Sankupellay, M., Wilson, S. J., Heussler, H., Parsley, C., Yuill, M., & Dakin, C. (2010) · Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2010.06.030 · Cited by 41 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Changes in cortical activity during REM sleep also involves delta/theta oscillations [40,45,52].”
Nightmares and terminal insomnia in depressed patients with and without melancholic features
Beşiroğlu, L., Ağargün, M. Y., & Inci, R. (2005) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2004.12.001 · Cited by 40 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Furthermore, comorbidity between insomnia disorder and nightmares in adolescents has been reported [99,100].”
Nightmares do result in psychophysiological arousal: A multimeasure ambulatory assessment study
Paul, F., Alpers, G. W., Reinhard, I., & Schredl, M. (2019) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.13366 · Cited by 40 · cited 3× · see citing works
“A recent study highlighted that the activation of the autonomic nervous system could be associated with nightmares [161].”
InfluentialNadorff, M. R., Porter, B., Rhoades, H. M., Greisinger, A. J., Kunik, M. E., & Stanley, M. A. (2013) · Behavioral Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1080/15402002.2012.755125 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Mapping changes in cortical activity during sleep in the first 4 years of life
Novelli, L., D’Atri, A., Marzano, C., Finotti, E., Ferrara, M., Bruni, O., & Gennaro, L. D. (2016) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/jsr.12390 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Self-citationScarpelli, S., Marzano, C., D’Atri, A., Gorgoni, M., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00928 · Cited by 38 · cited 5× · see citing works
“Interestingly, theta activity, besides having a crucial role in the cortical maturation [38], represents one of the main EEG signatures that predicts dream recall [8,9].”
InfluentialSelf-citationDream disturbed sleep in insomnia and narcolepsy
HIE LEE, J., BLIWISE, D. L., LEBRET-BORIES, E., GUILLEMINAULT, C., & DEMENT, W. C. (1993) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-199305000-00008 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Sleep Moderates the Association Between Response Inhibition and Self-Regulation in Early Childhood
Schumacher, A. M., Miller, A. L., Watamura, S. E., Kurth, S., Lassonde, J. M., & LeBourgeois, M. K. (2016) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2016.1204921 · Cited by 34 · cited 1× · see citing works
“…specific sleep patterns (e.g., maturational changes of sleep spindles and SWA) is strictly linked with cognitive functions and cortical plasticity [56,58–60 It has been emphasized that visuo-spatial abilities and executive functions play a pivotal role in dream experience both in adults and in…”
Developmental Changes in Sleep Oscillations during Early Childhood
Olbrich, E., Rusterholz, T., LeBourgeois, M. K., & Achermann, P. (2017) · Neural Plasticity · doi:10.1155/2017/6160959 · Cited by 34 · cited 4× · see citing works
“Changes in cortical activity during REM sleep also involves delta / theta oscillations [40,45,52].”
InfluentialDream content in patients with narcolepsy: preliminary findings
Schredl, M. (1998) · Dreaming · doi:10.1023/b:drem.0000005900.63728.a7 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Posttraumatic nightmares and imagery rehearsal: The possible role of lucid dreaming.
Harb, G. C., Brownlow, J. A., & Ross, R. J. M. (2016) · Dreaming · doi:10.1037/drm0000030 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Sleeping difficulties in relation to depression and anxiety in elderly adults
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Correlation of visuospatial memory ability with right parietal EEG spindling during sleep
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Nightmares, life events and behaviour problems in preschool children
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“As previously mentioned, most of the studies investigating the children’s oneiric activity focused on the presence of nightmares, which are defined as disturbing dreams with negative emotions, such as fear and vivid and realistic images [81–84].”
Dreams and dreaming among the elderly: An overview
Funkhouser, A. T., Hirsbrunner, H.-P., Cornu, C. M., & Bahro, M. (1999) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607869956398 · Cited by 29 · cited 1× · see citing works
“However, other studies showed that this age-related reduction in dream recall seems already reduced in first and middle adulthood [64,204,208], and no di ff erences occurred between middle-aged and older adults [64,209].”
Psychophysiological Parallels in Dreams
Hauri, P., & de Castle, R. L. V. (1973) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-197307000-00004 · Cited by 29 · cited 1× · see citing works
“These results are consistent with the assumption that high emotional charge in dreams results in increased arousal [162].”
REM sleep theta changes in frequent nightmare recallers
Marquis, L.-P., Paquette, T., Blanchette-Carrière, C., Dumel, G., & Nielsen, T. (2017) · SLEEP · doi:10.1093/sleep/zsx110 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
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Sorted by citations
Pandemic nightmares: Effects on dream activity of the COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy
Scarpelli, S., Alfonsi, V., Mangiaruga, A., Musetti, A., Quattropani, M. C. A., Lenzo, V., Freda, M. F., Lemmo, D., Vegni, E. A. M., Borghi, L., et al. (2021) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/jsr.13300 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Self-citationWhat about dreams ? State of the art and open questions
Scarpelli, S., Alfonsi, V., Gorgoni, M., & Gennaro, L. D. (2022) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/jsr.13609 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
“Sociodemographic factors like gender (Schredl & Reinhard, 2008; Settineri et al., 2019) and age (Mangiaruga et al., 2018; Scarpelli et al., 2019a) can predict dream recall.”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationGorgoni, M., Scarpelli, S., Alfonsi, V., Annarumma, L., Cordone, S., Stravolo, S., & Gennaro, L. D. (2021) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2021.02.006 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
“First, as predictable, demographic features classically associated with dream recall: gender [50e53] and age [26,71].”
Self-citationEichenlaub, J.-B., van Rijn, E., Gaskell, M. G., Lewis, P. A., Maby, E., Malinowski, J. E., Walker, M. P., Boy, F., & Blagrove, M. (2018) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsy041 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Nightmares in People with COVID-19: Did Coronavirus Infect Our Dreams?
Scarpelli, S., Nadorff, M. R., Bjorvatn, B., Chung, F., Dauvilliers, Y. A., Espie, C. A., Inoue, Y., Matsui, K., Merikanto, I., Morin, C. M., et al. (2022) · Nature and Science of Sleep · doi:10.2147/nss.s344299 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Self-citationBartolacci, C., Scarpelli, S., D’Atri, A., Gorgoni, M., Annarumma, L., Cloos, C., Giannini, A. M., & Gennaro, L. D. (2020) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci10060327 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“As people age, sleep undergoes some macrostructural and microstructural changes [19–22].”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe role of sleep and dreams in long‐ COVID
Scarpelli, S., Santis, A. D., Alfonsi, V., Gorgoni, M., Morin, C. M., Espie, C. A., Merikanto, I., Chung, F. F., Penzel, T., Bjorvatn, B., et al. (2022) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/jsr.13789 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“Further, aging predicted a lower NMF, and this may depend on the reduced interest in dreaming during senescence, as well as a consequence due to cognitive impairment (Scarpelli et al., 2019).”
BackgroundSelf-citationScarpelli, S., D’Atri, A., Bartolacci, C., Gorgoni, M., Mangiaruga, A., Ferrara, M., & Gennaro, L. D. (2020) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci10060343 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“In particular, the effect of aging on dreaming has been poorly investigated, despite the close relationship between aging and sleep changes [18,19].”
BackgroundSelf-citationEEG Patterns Prior to Motor Activations of Parasomnias: A Systematic Review
Camaioni, M., Scarpelli, S., Gorgoni, M., Alfonsi, V., & De Gennaro, L. (2021) · Nature and Science of Sleep · doi:10.2147/nss.s306614 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“Besides, sleep changes during the life span, particularly concerning SWA, are associated with brain maturation.(72,73) Thus, transversal and longitudinal studies should be performed to identify eventual agerelated differences in EEG patterns before the BEp.”
BackgroundSelf-citationMa, C., Li, M., & Wu, C. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph192416707 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
“For example, dreams during sleep may be closely related to memory and visuospatial ability [55], which suggested that individuals with fewer sleeping hours at night, which may lead to longer daytime sleep, might have lower visual–spatial ability [56].”
BackgroundScarpelli, S., Bartolacci, C., D’Atri, A., Camaioni, M., Annarumma, L., Gorgoni, M., Cloos, C., Ferrara, M., & Gennaro, L. D. (2020) · Nature and Science of Sleep · doi:10.2147/nss.s279786 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citationDreaming during the COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative review
Gorgoni, M., Scarpelli, S., Alfonsi, V., & Gennaro, L. D. (2022) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104710 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Self-citationEnd-of-life dreams and visions: A systematic integrative review
Hession, A., Luckett, T., Chang, S., Currow, D. C., & Barbato, M. P. (2022) · Palliative & Supportive Care · doi:10.1017/s1478951522000876 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
The vision of dreams: from ontogeny to dream engineering in blindness
Vitali, H., Campus, C., GIORGIS, V. D., Signorini, S. G., & Gori, M. (2022) · Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine · doi:10.5664/jcsm.10026 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“96,97 The absence of objective and quantitative data prevents us from identifying the exact developmental moment when dreams begin.”
Learning beyond sensations: How dreams organize neuronal representations
Deperrois, N., Petrovici, M. A., Senn, W., & Jordan, J. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105508 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Barbeau, K., Lafrenière, A., Massaoud, H. B., Campbell, E., & Koninck, J. D. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.770380 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“As it was recently proposed that dream mentation could mirror neurocognitive development across the lifespan (78, 79), one could hypothesize that such developmental processes might influence the content of dreams at different levels.”
BackgroundDreaming in Parasomnias: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder as a Model
Fasiello, E., Scarpelli, S., Gorgoni, M., Alfonsi, V., & Gennaro, L. D. (2022) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm11216379 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Moreover, since changes in dream recall seem dependent on cognitive deterioration [78], monitoring alterations in the DRF in RBD patients may be useful to evaluate the relationship between the frequency of dream recalls and the neurodegenerative processes onset.”
BackgroundSelf-citationAslamyar, D., Pilz, L. K., & von Gall, C. (2025) · Nature and Science of Sleep · doi:10.2147/nss.s537593 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Previous studies already suggested that stress and workload are associated with sleep quality 13,46 and with nightmares, 47 which in turn are associated with other daytime effects on well-being, such as anxiety and depressive symptoms.”
Orchestration of dreams: a possible tool for enhancement of mental productivity and efficiency
Krishnan, D. (2021) · Sleep and Biological Rhythms · doi:10.1007/s41105-021-00313-0 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Aushadha bheshajiyam of kashyapa indriya sthana - an explorative study
Gupta, K., & Mamidi, P. (2021) · International Journal of Complementary & Alternative Medicine · doi:10.15406/ijcam.2021.14.00571 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Abdul‐Razzak, K. K., & Alkhatatbeh, M. J. (2021) · Research in Psychotherapy Psychopathology Process and Outcome · doi:10.4081/ripppo.2021.533 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
How Adversarial REM Dreams May Facilitate Creativity, and Why We Become Aware of Them
Deperrois, N., Petrovici, M., Jordan, J., Huber, L., & Senn, W. (2024) · Clinical and Translational Neuroscience · doi:10.3390/ctn8020021 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Likewise, the frequency of nightmares decreases from early adolescence to late adulthood [85], and so does the frequency of dream recalls [86].”
BackgroundLongitudinal Findings on the Oneiric Activity Changes Across the Pandemic
Scarpelli, S., Alfonsi, V., Camaioni, M., Gorgoni, M., Albano, A., Musetti, A., Quattropani, M. C. A., Plazzi, G., Gennaro, L. D., & Franceschini, C. (2023) · Nature and Science of Sleep · doi:10.2147/nss.s410732 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationCharles Dickens' Hypnagogia, Dreams, and Creativity
Gomes, M. D. M., & Nardi, A. E. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700882 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Spinoni, M., Scarpelli, S., Benedetti, I. D. P., Med, C., Ciolli, P., Rech, F., Gennaro, L. D., & Grano, C. (2024) · Journal of Sleep Research · doi:10.1111/jsr.14423 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…(Krippner et al., 1974; Schredl et al., 2016), more directly, the augmented frequency and recall of dreams by pregnant women could have a functional role in facilitating the preparation process for motherhood and childbirth (Cartwright, 2005, 2010; Mancuso et al., 2008; Scarpelli et al., 2019).”
InfluentialSelf-citationHow Adversarial Rem-Dreams May Facilitate Creativity, and Why We Become Aware of ThemPreprint
Deperrois, N., Petrovici, M. A., Jordan, J., Huber, L. S., & Senn, W. (2024) · Preprints.org · doi:10.20944/preprints202403.0684.v2 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Onward: The future orientation of constructive memory
Erickson-Klein, R. (2021) · American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis · doi:10.1080/00029157.2021.1941744 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
El-Hourani, M., Zadra, A. L., Ryan, N. C., Rioux, C., Tremblay, R. E., Parent, S., & Séguin, J. R. (2023) · Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology · doi:10.1007/s10802-023-01109-1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Seventh, although we examined a range of key variables at significant and different develop - mental periods, we did not include measures of other sleep disturbances or sleep-related variables known to influence the occurrence and recall of disturbed dreaming (Scarpelli et al., 2019).”
Mogavero, M. P., Lanza, G., DelRosso, L. M., & Ferri, R. (2023) · Neuromethods · doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-3545-2_12 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
How Rapid-Eye-Movement Dreams May Facilitate Learning and CreativityPreprint
Deperrois, N., Petrovici, M. A., Jordan, J., Huber, L. S., & Senn, W. (2024) · Preprints.org · doi:10.20944/preprints202403.0684.v1
Vaak voorkomende slaapproblemen bij jonge kinderen
N, D. R., & Deschoemaeker, M. (2020) · JGZ Tijdschrift voor jeugdgezondheidszorg · doi:10.1007/s12452-020-00229-0
When the Illness Originates in the Mind
Angel, S., & Damsgaard, J. B. (2022) · Nordisk Sygeplejeforskning · doi:10.18261/nsf.12.1.5
The Nature of Dreams in Persons with Neurological Disorders
Baum, D. E., Викторовна, С. Ю., & Ponomarenko, I. V. (2022) · Reflexio · doi:10.25205/2658-4506-2021-14-2-22-29
“У таких пациентов наблюдается общая спутанность сознания, и содержание сновидений может вторгаться в их сознание во время бодрствования [Scarpelli et al., 2019].”
Alptraumbehandlung bei Kindern und Jugendlichen
Pietrowsky, R., & Thünker, J. (2023) · Somnologie - Schlafforschung und Schlafmedizin · doi:10.1007/s11818-023-00415-6
“Bei Kindern wird angenommen, dass Alpträume zum Reifungsprozess gehören [8], auchwenndieseAnnahmeempirischnicht belegt und umstritten ist [20].”
BackgroundPellegrini, E., Scarpelli, S., Alfonsi, V., Gorgoni, M., Pazzaglia, M., & Gennaro, L. D. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106012
Self-citationAthazagoraphobia, Psychological Distress and Sleep Quality among Young Adults
Ramzan, A., & Saleem, A. R. (2025) · Journal of Professional & Applied Psychology · doi:10.52053/jpap.v6i4.421
“These nightmares can cause sudden awakenings and make it difficult to fall back asleep, further fragmenting their sleep throughout the night (Scarpelli et al., 2019).”
Why do some of us vividly remember dreams and others say they ‘don’t dream’?
Fatima, Y., Aouira, N., & Wilson, D. L. (2026) · doi:10.64628/aa.7d3hy5fux
Mapping the Genetics of Snoring: Insights into Family Patterns
Kadiri, S. K., & Tiwari, P. K. (2026) · Current Genomics · doi:10.2174/0113892029378464260218054551
“The studies show that the airway is more likely to be blocked in those who are genetically predisposed to having narrower airways or larger tongues, causing them to snore or have an apneic episode [49].”
Tsironis, C., Dragioti, E., Mantzoukas, S., Nakou, A., Bartzou, E., Zagorianakou, N., Tatsis, F., Paschou, A., & Gouva, M. (2026) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.113322
“Previous research has examined dream activity in relation to emotional and cognitive processes [21,22], while the frequency of dream recall has been shown to vary according to individual, attentional, and contextual factors [23,24].”
O'Grady, A. M., & Nag, S. (2026) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs16091482
“…a child no longer consciously engages with others or tasks, but in which emotional experience can still arise, as evidenced by research on the experience of dreams relayed through child dream reports (Sándor et al., 2016) and nightmares (Scarpelli et al., 2019a; Secrist et al., 2019), for example.”
The reflection of childhood memories in adult dreams: a psychological and physiological approach
Bekiet, M. A., Youssef, S. M. Z., & Ali, A. J. N. (2026) · The Egyptian Journal of Neurology Psychiatry and Neurosurgery · doi:10.1186/s41983-026-01259-1
“This supports Schredl and Reinhard [31], who report near to moderate associations of anxiety distress with nightmare severity (r ≈ 0.26–0.44) and Scarpelli et al. [32], who report high levels of anxiety were significantly associated with increased dream fragmentation and negative affect.”
Influential
- Authors
- Scarpelli, S., Bartolacci, C., D’Atri, A., Gorgoni, M., & De Gennaro, L.
- Affiliations
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
- Department of Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2019-09-29
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 19
- Pages
- 3658
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6801786
- OpenAlex
- W2976868230
- Cited by
- 41
- References
- 225
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 4 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 0.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi dell Aquila (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- sleep, dreams, nightmares, lifespan development, brain maturation, cognitive development, frontal theta oscillations, episodic memory, visuospatial ability, emotion regulation, stress coping, dream recall, cognitive aging
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Cognition, Dreams, Humans, Mental Recall, Sleep, Memory, Episodic
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