Nightmares

Question 1

What are nightmares?

Answer 1

• Characterized by awakenings primarily from REM sleep with clear recall of disturbing themes, typically fear-related
• A Extremely dysphoric dream, involves efforts to avoid threats to survival

Question 2

measurement of the frequency of nightmares

Answer 2

• In studying nightmares there is a problem that retrospective estimates lead to under-reporting

Question 3

Wood 1990

Answer 3

found that nightly log estimates are far higher than retrospective estimates

Question 4

individual differences in nightmares can stem from…

Answer 4

factors such as
- psychological
- biological
- environmental influences

Question 5

psychological factor differences in nightmares
- personality traits

Answer 5

• certain traits, such as neuroticism or openness have been linked to increased nightmares.
• individuals with higher level of neuroticism may be more prone to experiences anxiety - which can manifest nightmares

Question 6

psychological factor differences in nightmares
- trauma and stress

Answer 6

• past traumatic experiences or ongoing stressors can increase the likelihood of nightmares
• trauma related nightmares may be a way for the mind to process and cope with distressing events

Question 7

biological factor differences in nightmares
- brain chemistry imbalances in neurotransmitters

Answer 7

• can affect sleep patterns and increase likelihood
• for example - disruptions in serotonin levels have been linked to sleep disturbances and nightmares

Question 8

biological factor differences in nightmares
- genetics

Answer 8

• may be a genetic predisposition to experiencing nightmares
• research suggests - genetics play a role in susceptibility to various sleep disorders

Question 9

environmental factor differences in nightmares

Answer 9

sleep environment
- noise, light, temperature, comfort level - can all impact sleep quality and nightmares

medications - drugs
- disrupt sleep pattern - case nightmares

daily stressors
- such as work pressures, relationship problems can trigger nightmares

Question 10

Sleep disorders that can lead to nightmares

Answer 10

sleep apnea
- disrupt sleep patterns - increase likelihood

REM rebound
- occurs when there is an increase in the duration and intensity of REM sleep following a period of REM deprivation - can lead to vivid dreams and nightmares

Question 11

Nightmare distress

Answer 11

Belicki 1992
- measures trait nightmares distress

• showed a moderate relationship between nightmare frequency and nightmare distress

Question 12

Belicki 1992 - nightmare distress findings

Answer 12

shows that waking life negative well-being is more related to nightmare distress

Question 13

relationship between individual differences in having a nightmare and trait nightmare distress

Answer 13

• refers to how certain personality traits can influence the frequency of nightmares
• most obvious factor associated with nightmare distress is nightmare frequency

Question 14

Belicki - correlation of nightmare frequency and distress

Answer 14

• it is relatively small
• indicated that additional factors might affect nightmare distress
• the findings that psychopathology measures are more related to nightmare distress than to nightmare frequency suggest that factors such as neuroticism are not only associated with nightmare frequency but can also add to the distress of nightmares

Question 15

Zadra 2000

Answer 15

showed that poor well being is related to nightmare frequency but not to bad dream frequency

Question 16

aetiology of nightmares

Answer 16

explaining why some people get nightmares

Question 17

the affective network dysfunction model

Answer 17

• stressful events in waking life cause fear memories
• fear extinction memories are created during dreaming by associating the fear memory with a non-fearful context

Question 18

affect distress - Levin

Answer 18

proposes that affect distress is a major determinant of whether a nightmare will constitute a clinical problem

• propose that nightmares can occur following increase affect load in waking life

Question 19

Revonsuos threat stimulation theory

Answer 19

• holds that fear is represented in nightmares
• in dreams and nightmares we practice overcoming the circumstances that create fear

Question 20

claims about nightmares resulting of evolutionary pressures

Answer 20

they are speculative and not universally accepted within the scientific community

Question 21

proponents of the evolutionary perspective on nightmares

Answer 21

• argue that nightmares may have served adaptive functions - help rehear responses to threat
• however, these claims are largely speculative and difficult to test empirically
• the relationship is challenging due to lack of direct evidence

Question 22

alternative explanations for occurrence of nightmares that don’t rely on evolutionary pressures

Answer 22

psychological processes
- stress, trauma

physiological factors
- sleep disorders

developmental perspective
- common in childhood - decrease with age
- suggest they might be related to cognitive and emotional development

Question 23

Tousignant 2022

Answer 23

• suggested that having a bad dream might mean we have an emotionally easier day ahead
• if a person is going through a emotionally stressful period - bad dreams can help them process these emotions

Question 24

a study from 2019

Answer 24

• researchers found that through a week long experiment
• that among people who were trying to suppress emotionally disturbing thoughts
• those who dream about them - the unpleasant thought decreased by end of week

Question 25

nightmares - adaptive function of threat stimulation and preparedness

Answer 25

• some evolutionary theories propose that nightmares serve an adaptive function by stimulating threatening situations, allowing individuals to rehearse coping strategies

Question 26

perspective developed by Deirdie Barret

Answer 26

believed there are emotional underpinning to bad dreams that developed to help our ancestors practice reactions to threats

Question 27

nightmares - adaptive function of problem solving and insight

Answer 27

• nightmares often involve complex scenarios, which may stimulate cognitive processes related to problem solving and insight
• nightmares may prompt individuals to reflect on their fears, anxieties, potentially leading to greater self-awareness and psychological insight

Question 28

treating nightmares

Answer 28

• introduce the idea of imagery
• medical treatment
• talk about the dream (to remind that they are not real)
• rewrite the ending (imagine a happier one)