Lucid Dreams in Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Include Nightmares.
Dreaming : journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams – June 01, 2021
Source: PubMed
Summary
Over half of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience lucid dreaming, particularly during nightmares. In a study of 54 veterans, nearly all those with lucid dreams reported heightened awareness while feeling unable to control the dream's content. This "lucid nightmare profile" revealed that veterans often felt trapped and anxious, struggling to wake from these distressing dreams. The findings suggest that lucid nightmares are prevalent among this population, mirroring patterns seen in general lucid dreaming experiences, highlighting a significant aspect of their PTSD symptoms.
Abstract
A previous study in military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and recurrent nightmares found a high prevalence of lucid dreaming (LD), the awareness while a dream continues that one is dreaming, and an "LD profile" characterized by frequent dream awareness and rare dream content control. Given the importance of the nightmare disturbance in PTSD, this study assessed with questionnaires the prevalence and characteristics of lucid nightmares, specifically, in a sample of 54 veterans with PTSD. Over half the sample endorsed experiencing LD, with nearly all of these individuals explicitly reporting lucidity in nightmares. The lucid nightmare profile was characterized by high awareness and low content control. Veterans reported feeling stuck and anxious, trying unsuccessfully to awaken from lucid nightmares. We conclude that lucid nightmares may occur commonly in veterans with PTSD, with a profile resembling that previously reported for LD experiences generally in this group.