The Effects of Lucid Dreaming and Nightmares on Sleep Quality and Mental Health Outcomes.
Michelle Carr, Westley Youngren, Martin Seehuus, Raphaëlle Semin, Emma Angle, Wilfred R Pigeon
Behavioral sleep medicine January 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/15402002.2024.2423297
Summary
Lucid dreaming is linked to poorer mental health outcomes, with 62% of participants reporting anxiety and 56% experiencing depressive symptoms. In a sample of 1,332 individuals, nightmares emerged as the primary predictor of poor sleep quality and stress, overshadowing the effects of lucid dreaming. Notably, while lucid dreaming alone correlated with increased anxiety and depression, the combination of nightmares and lucid dreaming significantly heightened depressive symptoms. Thus, nightmares play a crucial role in understanding the mental health impacts associated with lucid dreaming.
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate relationships between lucid dreaming and sleep and mental health outcomes within a representative sample of the general population. We also sought to examine how nightmares interact with the relationship between lucid dreaming, sleep, and mental health outcomes. Participants (N = 1332) completed measures of lucid dream frequency, nightmare frequency, anxiety and depressive symptoms, stress, and sleep quality. Hierarchical regression models were conducted, where step-1 examined the direct effect of lucid dreaming on all outcome variables, and step-2 added nightmares into the equation (to examine direct effects of lucid dreaming frequency and nightmares, and the indirect effect of nightmares). Step-1 results demonstrated that lucid dreaming positively predicted poor sleep quality, stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Step-2 results revealed that nightmares were the only significant predictor of poor sleep quality, stress, and anxiety symptoms, accounting for all of the variance of lucid dreaming. Nightmares and the interaction of nightmares and lucid dreaming positively predicted depressive symptoms. Our results suggest that nightmares alone explain associations between lucid dreaming and poor sleep quality, anxiety symptoms, and stress. However, both nightmares and the combination of nightmares and lucid dreaming are associated with increased depressive symptoms.