Journal of sleep research
February 1, 2022
Serena Scarpelli, Maurizio Gorgoni, Valentina Alfonsi et al.
37 citations
During the Italian COVID-19 lockdown, 90 participants kept a sleep-dream diary for two weeks: the first week under full lockdown and the second week after restrictions eased. Compared to post-lockdown, the lockdown period was associated with more awakenings, greater difficulty falling asleep, higher dream recall, and more frequent lucid dreams. After restrictions eased, participants reported more dreams about being in crowded places. Poorer sleep quality during lockdown aligns with earlier findings. The increase in lucid dreams during confinement may reflect an attempt to cope with pandemic experiences, while the crowded-place dreams after lockdown support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming.
Journal of sleep research
June 1, 2023
Shuyue Tan, Jialin Fan
35 citations
Lucid dreams are dreams where the dreamer knows they are dreaming. A review of 19 peer-reviewed studies from the past decade identified 14 lucid dream induction techniques. The mnemonic induction of lucid dreams technique was the most effective. Two newer techniques—the senses-initiated lucid dream technique and galantamine intervention—also show promise but require further replication. The overall methodological quality of the studies was higher than in a previous review: 17 studies had moderate quality, and only three had poor quality. The review also proposes a modified classification for induction techniques: cognitive techniques, external stimulation, substance intervention, and cortical stimulation.
Journal of sleep research
June 1, 2021
Monika Kliková, Brian A Sharpless, Jitka Bušková
17 citations
About 23% of people with recurrent sleep paralysis report pleasant episodes, though these often include some fear. Pleasant episodes are more likely to involve illusory body movements (vestibular-motor sensations), and some individuals can intentionally induce these hallucinations. The ability to lucid dream and higher openness to new experiences are associated with pleasant episodes. Lower trauma symptoms or higher life satisfaction did not predict pleasant sleep paralysis.
Journal of sleep research
February 1, 2023
Nerea L Herrero, Francisco T Gallo, Miguel Gasca-Rolín et al.
15 citations
Sleep paralysis involves an inability to move during sleep/wake transitions and often brings negative emotions, while out-of-body experiences—the sensation of perceiving the world from outside the physical body—tend to be more pleasant. An online survey of 329 participants found that positive emotions were more frequent during out-of-body experiences, whereas negative emotions dominated sleep paralysis episodes. People who reported being able to induce out-of-body experiences also experienced more positive emotions during episodes. Auditory, tactile, and visual sensations often preceded sleep paralysis, suggesting an "aura" that could be recognized. Those who had out-of-body experiences without feeling sleep paralysis reported tactile and visual sensations similar to those who felt paralysis, indicating that recognizing this aura might help induce out-of-body experiences in patients to reduce negative symptoms.
Journal of sleep research
February 1, 2025
Francesca Siclari
11 citations
Non-REM sleep parasomnias like sleepwalking and sleep terrors involve a variable spectrum of consciousness, not just automatic or unconscious behavior. In interviews with 35 adult patients, consciousness during episodes ranged from minimal or absent (frequently or always present in 36%) to preserved conscious experiences with delusional thinking (65%), hallucinations (53%), impaired insight (77%), negative emotions (75%), and variable amnesia (30%). Patients described feeling as if they were in a dream while awake, a state termed "awake dreaming." Surroundings could be perceived realistically, misinterpreted, or entirely hallucinated, depending on the delusion. These findings suggest that consciousness, amnesia, and sensory disconnection during episodes are graded and variable, and full-fledged experiences share core features of dreams, offering a model for studying consciousness and sensory disconnection.
Journal of sleep research
February 1, 2024
David A Kalmbach, Anthony N Reffi, Jason C Ong et al.
9 citations
A mindfulness sleep program for pregnant women with insomnia, combining behavioral sleep strategies and meditation, led to large increases in everyday mindfulness and medium-large increases in maternal-fetal attachment. Participants also reported large reductions in anxiety, repetitive thinking, insomnia-focused rumination, and sleep-related daytime impairment. These preliminary results from a small trial of 11 women suggest that such a program may benefit multiple aspects of maternal wellbeing beyond sleep and depressed mood.
Journal of sleep research
June 1, 2025
Jennifer M Mundt, Kristi E Pruiksma, Karen R Konkoly et al.
7 citations
A small trial tested cognitive behavioral therapy for nightmares (CBT-N), adapted for people with narcolepsy, with or without targeted lucidity reactivation (TLR) to enhance lucid dreaming. Six adults who had frequent nightmares (at least 3 per week) received seven treatment sessions. Nightmare frequency dropped from an average of 8.38 per week to 2.25 per week, a large improvement. Nightmare severity and symptoms such as sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and dream enactment also improved. The three participants who received TLR all recalled dreams related to their rescripted nightmare. Participants reported reduced shame and anxiety about sleep and nightmares. The findings offer preliminary evidence that CBT-N and TLR may help manage narcolepsy-related nightmares.
Journal of sleep research
April 1, 2025
Jean-Baptiste Eichenlaub, Romain Bouet, Mathieu Pinelli et al.
3 citations
Among 1,151 preteens aged about 11, nearly half recalled dreams several times a week or almost every morning. About 52% had nightmares less than once a month or never, and 45% had lucid dreams at the same low frequency. No gender differences appeared in dream habits. Nocturnal awakenings were linked to all dream variables (recall, nightmares, lucid dreams, emotional intensity). Shorter sleep duration and lower sleep efficiency were associated with more frequent nightmares and stronger dream emotions, but not with dream recall or lucid dream frequency; Bayesian analyses supported these null findings.
Journal of sleep research
May 10, 2025
Brooke A Prakash, Ishani Shah, Guohao Ni et al.
2 citations
The development of sleep medicines has evolved from ancient herbal sedatives to modern synthetic drugs, driven by deeper understanding of sleep mechanisms. Barbiturates and bromides in the 19th century gave way to benzodiazepines, which promote gamma-amino butyric acid release to inhibit brain signaling. Newer therapies more specifically target the wake-inducing neurotransmitter orexin, reducing side effects. Kinases are predicted to be the next targets for breakthroughs in sleep medicine. Sleep disruptions contribute to the buildup of pathological neuronal proteins in neurodegenerative disorders, so sleep medicine could improve prognosis in such conditions, but medicines that do not fully mimic sleep might worsen disease progression.
Journal of sleep research
July 29, 2025
Long-term meditation practice in older adults is linked to more preserved brain activity during rest and sleep, and to EEG features that suggest higher cognitive states during NREM sleep. Expert meditators (mean age 70.7 years) slept longer, had less stage N1 sleep, and more stage N2 sleep than controls. During NREM sleep, they showed reduced delta power, increased alpha power, and greater theta permutation entropy. During REM sleep, they tended to have greater theta power. Self-reported sleep quality did not differ between groups. Greater meditation expertise was associated with less stage N1 sleep and tended to correlate with more stage N2 and REM theta power.