Brain sciences
October 20, 2021
Serena Scarpelli, Valentina Alfonsi, Maurizio Gorgoni et al.
23 citations
During the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, people reported lower dream recall, fewer nightmares, less frequent lucid dreams, and reduced emotional intensity in dreams compared to the first wave. Dreams during the second wave had a more negative tone. Changes in dream frequency between the two waves were linked to post-traumatic growth, sleep-related PTSD symptoms, and sleep quality. Emotional features of dreams correlated with pandemic-related factors such as job changes, forced quarantine, having infected relatives or friends, and seeking mental health help. The findings partly support the continuity hypothesis, which links dream content to waking experiences.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2021
Serena Scarpelli, Valentina Alfonsi, Anita D'Anselmo et al.
18 citations
During the Italian COVID-19 lockdown, people with narcolepsy type-1 (NT1) reported more lucid dreams than matched controls, and those lucid dreams were linked to greater creativity and problem-solving during waking hours. The study compared 43 NT1 patients with 86 controls. NT1 patients had higher sleepiness, while controls had more sleep disturbances—a difference that disappeared after accounting for medication. Among NT1 patients, nightmare frequency correlated with female gender, longer sleep, and more wakefulness within sleep; dream recall, nightmares, and lucid dreams all correlated with sleepiness. The findings confirm a connection between lucidity and creativity in NT1 but cannot establish causality due to the small sample and cross-sectional design.
Frontiers in neurology
January 1, 2020
Baland Jalal, Ludovico Moruzzi, Andrea Zangrandi et al.
13 citations
A small pilot study tested Meditation-Relaxation (MR) therapy for sleep paralysis (SP) in ten patients with narcolepsy. Over eight weeks, the six patients receiving MR therapy showed a 50% reduction in days with SP and a 54% reduction in total SP episodes in the last month, with large within-group effect sizes. The four patients in the control group (deep breathing) did not show similar improvement. These preliminary findings provide the first proof-of-concept evidence that MR therapy may reduce frequent SP, and the authors cautiously suggest the approach might generalize to people with isolated SP.
Nature and science of sleep
January 1, 2023
Serena Scarpelli, Valentina Alfonsi, Milena Camaioni et al.
3 citations
Dream recall, nightmares, lucid dreams, and emotional intensity all decreased between the first and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in a large Italian sample. People whose general psychological distress improved during that period reported fewer nightmares and less nightmare distress than those whose distress stayed the same or worsened. Poor sleep hygiene was a strong predictor of nightmare distress among the group that did not improve. The findings suggest that people adapted to the pandemic over time and that nightmares are closely tied to well-being, with both stable traits (age, sex) and sleep-related factors influencing nightmare features.