Increased Lucid Dreaming Frequency in Narcolepsy

People with narcolepsy recall dreams and nightmares significantly more often than healthy controls, and they also experience lucid dreaming—awareness of dreaming during a dream—at a much higher rate. Among 60 narcolepsy patients and 919 controls, narcolepsy patients reported roughly double the frequency of dream recall and nightmares, and their lucid dreaming frequency was about four times higher. Most narcolepsy patients who had experienced lucid dreaming said it helped relieve the distress from nightmares. Medication did not affect lucid dreaming frequency, though it did reduce dream recall and nightmare frequency.

Study at a glance

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Nightmares are a frequent symptom in narcolepsy. Lucid dreaming, i.e., the phenomenon of becoming aware of the dreaming state during dreaming, has been demonstrated to be of therapeutic value for recurrent nightmares. Data on lucid dreaming in narcolepsy patients, however, is sparse. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of recalled dreams (DF), nightmares (NF), and lucid dreams (LDF) in narcolepsy patients compared to healthy controls. In addition, we explored if dream lucidity provides relief during nightmares in narcolepsy patients. DESIGN: We interviewed patients with narcolepsy and healthy controls. SETTING: Telephone interview. PATIENTS: 60 patients diagnosed with narcolepsy (23-82 years, 35 females) and 919 control subjects (14-93 years, 497 females). INTERVENTIONS: N/A. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Logistic regression revealed significant (P 0.8). The differences in NF and LDF between patients and controls stayed significant after controlling for DF. Comparison of 35 narcolepsy patients currently under medication with their former drug-free period revealed significant differences in DF and NF (z < 0.05, signed-rank test) but not LDF (z = 0.8). Irrespective of medication, 70% of narcolepsy patients with experience in lucid dreaming indicated that dream lucidity provides relief during nightmares. CONCLUSION: Narcolepsy patients experience a markedly higher lucid dreaming frequency compared to controls, and many patients report a positive impact of dream lucidity on the distress experienced from nightmares.