The effectiveness of lucid dreaming therapy in patients with nightmares: A systematic review.

Lucid dreaming therapy (LDT) appears effective in reducing nightmare frequency among adults with chronic and recurring nightmares, based on a systematic review of four randomized controlled trials, two case series, and five case reports. Nightmares affect 2% to 8% of the general population and can lead to serious psychiatric and physical consequences. No studies were identified in children. The review notes that while the included studies have limited internal validity, the initial results are encouraging, though larger and more rigorous research is needed to better assess LDT's utility for nightmares.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Nightmares can be defined as "an unpleasant dream with anxiety and oppression". They represent a symptom possibly leading to serious psychiatric and physical consequences. It occurs to 2% to 8% of the general population. Lucid dreaming therapy (LDT) is an interesting upcoming psychotherapy for the treatment of nightmares. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of LDT in the treatment of nightmares in adults and children. We performed a systematic review of the literature, based on the Cochrane organisation's methodology. We explored the PubMed, Cochrane library, PsycINFO via Ovid and Embase databases and clinical trial registries (CTR), namely clinicaltrials.gov, EU clinical trials and the WHO clinical trials registry platform. Four randomized controlled trials (RCT), 2 case series and 5 case reports were included. Most of the included studies found LDT effective in reducing nightmare frequency among adults with chronic and recurring nightmares. We did not identify any reports in children. Despite a limited internal validity for the included studies, these first results are encouraging. Nonetheless, larger and more rigorous studies would allow to better assess the utility of LDT for nightmares.