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Frequency of Nightmares and Gender Significantly Predict Distressing Dreams of German Athletes Before Competitions or Games
Abstract
Important sports events are highlights and stressful situations in every athlete's career. This stress might alter the dream content of athletes and consequently evoke disturbed dreaming. In this study, the authors asked 840 German athletes from various sports about distressing dreams on the nights before an important competition or game. About 15% of the athletes stated that they experienced at least 1 distressing dream before an important competition or game during the preceding 12 months. An almost equal number of athletes reported at least 1 distressing dream in their sports career. With respect to the base rate, in about 3% of the events a distressing dream occurred. Reported dream content referred mainly to athletic failure. The main risk factor for an athlete experiencing a distressing dream before a competition appears to be the frequency of experienced nightmares in general. Future research should use diary techniques to study the impact of distressing dreams on the next-day athletic performance in a competition or game.
... Another proposed mechanism is the dual role of some neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine, serotonin) in regulating both sleep and emotion (Harvey et al., 2011). Few studies have to date examined relationships between athlete sleep and psychological state prior to competition (Erlacher et al., 2011;Juliff et al., 2015;Lastella et al., 2014). Nonetheless, surveys indicate that 60-70% of athletes experience sleep difficulties prior to competition, which are primarily attributed to competition-related thoughts and nervousness (Erlacher et al., 2011;Juliff et al., 2015;Lastella et al., 2014). ...
... Few studies have to date examined relationships between athlete sleep and psychological state prior to competition (Erlacher et al., 2011;Juliff et al., 2015;Lastella et al., 2014). Nonetheless, surveys indicate that 60-70% of athletes experience sleep difficulties prior to competition, which are primarily attributed to competition-related thoughts and nervousness (Erlacher et al., 2011;Juliff et al., 2015;Lastella et al., 2014). Conversely, shorter sleep duration before a marathon has been associated with increased perceptions of "tension" on race day (Lastella et al., 2014). ...
... Conversely, shorter sleep duration before a marathon has been associated with increased perceptions of "tension" on race day (Lastella et al., 2014). These studies have typically used subjective measures of sleep (Erlacher et al., 2011;Juliff et al., 2015;Lastella et al., 2014), and have often surveyed athletes retrospectively rather than collected data in real-time (Erlacher et al., 2011;Juliff et al., 2015). Subjective sleep data often correlate poorly with objective data (Lauderdale et al., 2008), and retrospective surveys are susceptible to recall bias. ...
This study examined sex differences among endurance athletes in pre-race relationships between sleep, and perceived stress and recovery. Thirty-six athletes completed the Short Recovery and Stress Scale, and had sleep monitored via actigraphy, over four consecutive days prior to an ultra-marathon. Overall, compared with males, females had shorter wake after sleep onset (mean ± SD, 50 ± 23 vs 65 ± 23 min, p = .04) and lower emotional balance (3.9 ± 1.1 vs 4.8 ± 1.1 arbitrary units, p = .001). The day before the race, females scored higher for all stress-related items (p < 0.05). Among females, higher scores for emotional balance (β = -31 min, p = .01) and negative emotional state (β = -21 min, p < .001) were associated with reduced sleep duration. Among males, higher scores for overall stress were associated with increased sleep duration (β = 22 min, p = .01). Across all athletes, longer sleep duration was associated with improved overall recovery (β = 0.003 arbitrary units, p = .02). Females experienced greater pre-race stress than males, and their sleep duration was associated with emotional factors. The SRSS may help identify female athletes at risk of sleep difficulties prior to competition.
... Może po ja wić się on kil ka dni przed i po wy ko na niu wysił ku star to we go. Po nad to za wod ni cy zgła sza ją cy silną an ty cy pa cje za da nia, zgła sza ją ta kże za kłó ce nie noc ne go snu przed star tem [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. W kon se kwen cji at mos fe ra za wo dów mo że od po wia dać za tzw. ...
... It may be appeared few days prior-and after the performance of the competitive exertions. Moreover, contestants reporting strong anticipatory stress, report also disruption of nocturnal sleep prior to a competition [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. In a consequence, competi tive climate may be responsible for so-called choking under pressure, which according to Baumeister [13] is defined as "performance decrements under circum stances that increase the importance of good or improved performance". ...
... Only the effects of travel fatigue encountered during domestic flights on sleep are addressed. Additionally, it is not the aim of the present review to assess the effects of terrestrial altitude on sleep [10], Ramadan [11,12], disturbed sleep and nightmares before competition [13,14] or sleep apnea [15]. ...
... Learning and motor memory are associated with slow-wave sleep, REM sleep [20][21][22] and sleep spindles [23] during the night, and result in overnight systems-level plastic reorganization within the brain, including increased activation in the primary motor cortex [24]. Nishida and Walker [23] have found that motor skill improvements are significantly associated with stage-2 non-REM sleep (r = 0.55, p = 0.04), and also with the density (r = 0.65, p = 0.01) and power (r = 0.57, p = 0.04) of locally expressed sleep spindles-a defining electrophysiological signature of non-REM sleep involving short (&1 s) synchronous bursts of activity (12)(13)(14)(15). Walker et al. [24] have reported a systems-level change in the functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning of a learned motor-sequence task after a night of sleep (8.1 ± 0.8 h). ...
In elite soccer, players are frequently exposed to various situations and conditions that can interfere with sleep, potentially leading to sleep deprivation. This article provides a comprehensive and critical review of the current available literature regarding the potential acute and chronic stressors (i.e. psychological, sociological and physiological stressors) placed on elite soccer players that may result in compromised sleep quantity and/or quality. Sleep is an essential part of the recovery process as it provides a number of important psychological and physiological functions. The effects of sleep disturbance on post-soccer match fatigue mechanisms and recovery time course are also described. Physiological and cognitive changes that occur when competing at night are often not conducive to sleep induction. Although the influence of high-intensity exercise performed during the night on subsequent sleep is still debated, environmental conditions (e.g. bright light in the stadium, light emanated from the screens) and behaviours related to evening soccer matches (e.g. napping, caffeine consumption, alcohol consumption) as well as engagement and arousal induced by the match may all potentially affect subsequent sleep. Apart from night soccer matches, soccer players are subjected to inconsistency in match schedules, unique team schedules and travel fatigue that may also contribute to the sleep debt. Sleep deprivation may be detrimental to the outcome of the recovery process after a match, resulting in impaired muscle glycogen repletion, impaired muscle damage repair, alterations in cognitive function and an increase in mental fatigue. The role of sleep in recovery is a complex issue, reinforcing the need for future research to estimate the quantitative and qualitative importance of sleep and to identify influencing factors. Efficient and individualised solutions are likely needed.
... Hence, sleep disorders as well as nightmares could occur for athletes when they face challenges, which may affect their performance. These sleep and dream disturbances could lead to the formation of a vicious cycle [29], and how to break these cycles and establish effective preventive measures is also a matter of concern. However, there are few studies on athletes' nightmare experiences. ...
Objective:
Frequent nightmare behavior or deep nightmare experiences may harm the physical and mental health and performance of athletes. This study explores the nightmare experiences of athletes, and includes non-athletes with similar experiences for comparison.
Methods:
The Nightmare Experience Questionnaire (NEQ); Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire, Shortened Form (ZKA-PQ/SF); and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were used. The subjects were 187 athletes (mean age = 20.44 years, SD = 0.85; 91 females, 96 males) and 90 non-athletes (mean age = 20.34 years, SD = 1.65; 52 females, 38 males) who reported having nightmares.
Results:
A total of 87 athletes (46.5%) reported having nightmare experiences. The athlete nightmare group scored significantly higher in neuroticism than the non-nightmare group, and their anxiety scores were significantly higher than those of non-athletes, who scored higher in aggressiveness, neuroticism, and sensation seeking. Moreover, anxiety, neuroticism, and sensation seeking positively predicted athletes' nightmare experiences.
Conclusions:
Personality traits and anxiety levels can be effectively applied to predict athletes' nightmare experiences.
... with future events is unknown, analyses of dream content have long suggested that dreams do at least sometimes reference anticipated episodes. For example, students dream of upcoming exams [38], patients dream of upcoming surgeries [39], pregnant women dream of their future baby [40], and athletes dream of approaching competitions [41]. Experimentally introduced future events can induce dreams in the laboratory environment as well. ...
Memories of the past help us adaptively respond to similar situations in the future. Originally described by Schacter & Addis in 2007, the “constructive episodic simulation” hypothesis proposes that waking thought combines fragments of various past episodes into imagined simulations of events that may occur in the future. This same framework may be useful for understanding the function of dreaming. N = 48 college students were asked to identify waking life sources for a total of N = 469 dreams. Participants frequently traced dreams to at least one past or future episodic source (53.5% and 25.7% of dreams, respectively). Individual dreams were very often traced to multiple waking sources (43.9% of all dreams with content), with fragments of past memory incorporated into scenarios that anticipated future events. Waking-life dream sources are described in terms of their phenomenology and distribution across time and sleep stage, providing new evidence that dreams not only reflect the past, but also utilize memory in simulating potential futures.
... Compared to the general population, athletes have a higher risk of poor sleep health due to the frequent travel. 33 Moods such as nervousness and anxiety resulting from travel and competition may cause insomnia and nightmares in athletes during sleep, which can reduce the total sleep time and sleep efficiency, [34][35][36] which would ultimately affect sleep quality. ...
This study investigated the factors that are associated with sleep disturbances among Chinese athletes. Sleep quality and associated factors were assessed by the Athlete Sleep Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ, n = 394, aged 18–32 years, 47.6% female). Sleep difficulty score (SDS) and level of sleep problem (none, mild, moderate, or severe) were used to classify participants' sleep quality. Categorical variables were analyzed by Chi-squared or fisher's exact tests. An ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to explore factors with poor sleep (SDS ≥8).
Approximately 14.2% of participants had moderate to severe sleep problem (SDS ≥8). Fifty-nine percent of the athletes reported sleep disturbance during travel, while 43.3% experienced daytime dysfunction when travelling for competition. No significant difference was found in SDS category between gender, sports level and events. Athletes with evening chronotype were more likely to report worse sleep than athletes with morning and intermediate chronotype (OR, 2.25; 95%CI, 1.44–3.52; P < 0.001). For each additional year of age, there was an increase of odds ratio for poor sleep quality (OR,1.15; 95% CI, 1.04–1.26; P = 0.004), while each additional year of training reduced the odds ratio (OR,0.95; 95% CI, 0.91–0.99; P = 0.044). To improve sleep health in athletes, chronotype, travel-related issues, age and years of training should be taken into consideration.
... From curbing nightmares [8][9][10] to skill enhancement, problem-solving to creativity and mood upliftment to wish fulfillment [11], people have been reported to use LD as a tool to cope up with stress and eventually understanding the higher virtue of life [12,13]. Dreams are truly based on personal experiences and temperaments, hence it holds the key to decipher a customized approach in healing the person, which would be more productive in recovery and restoration of his/her sound mental health effectively [14]. ...
Deciphering the significance of dreams, remains a dream till date. A little is known about its underlying mechanism, brain regions involved and implications with wake life. This review is aimed to investigate the latest developments to summarize the differences in nature of dreams in Rapid eye movement and Non rapid eye movement sleep, possible role of dreams in day to day life with larger focus on Lucid Dreaming- its significant role in elevating productivity and efficiency. To carry out this review, combination of keywords like Lucid Dreaming, Rapid eye movement, Non rapid eye movement, Sleep Cycle, Dream Patterns, molecular mechanism of dreaming etc. were entered in databases like National library of Medicine, Google Scholar etc. Nature and composition of dreams are distinct in different sleep phases and it tends to influence cognitive skills, memory consolidation, mood and personal temperaments. It was observed that dreams in distinct phases, can be directly/indirectly related to development of cognition, skill enhancements, learning, healing, and even stress management affecting overall performance and productivity of an individual. Understanding the nature of dream contents in different phases can possibly inculcate insights for not only recovery aid in several mental illnesses but for elevated efficiency and productivity in normal individuals as well. Realising dreams as an effective tool for its contribution in daily activities might help organising our mood and overall mental well-being, a foremost component to thrive in the contemporary world which is currently undergoing the chaos of Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019.
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... Erlacher et al. studied the dreams of 840 German athletes from various sports 21 . It was found in this study that about 15% of the athletes experienced at least one upsetting dream previous toa significant competition or game. ...
... As music often has a positive effect on the listener during the day (Liljeström et al., 2013), positive emotions in dreams with music might be found. But negative emotions do occur, e.g., in the music dream example mentioned above as well as in the Vogelsang et al. (2016) study, similar to the findings for athletes (Erlacher, Ehrlenspiel, & Schredl, 2011). Future research could analyze whether professional musicians and music students have more negative dreams related to the stress of music performances. ...
In every culture and nation music has been mentioned as a sort of natural language. While the existence of dreams including music in musicians has been anecdotally reported, music in dreams have been rarely studied empirically. In the present study, 425 participants, mostly psychology students, reported their dreams in a dream diary for 14 days as well as the intensity of their dream emotions and answered a questionnaire about whether they play existing music or compose new music during the day. As expected, for persons playing an instrument in their leisure time, there was a direct link between playing an instrument during the day and having more dreams including music, thus confirming the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. In addition, dreams including music were more positively-toned regarding emotions than dreams in general. Further research might investigate, for example, whether dreams including music play a role in improving music performance skills.
... with future events is unknown, analyses of dream content have long suggested that dreams do at least sometimes reference anticipated episodes. For example, students dream of upcoming exams [38], patients dream of upcoming surgeries [39], pregnant women dream of their future baby [40], and athletes dream of approaching competitions [41]. Experimentally introduced future events can induce dreams in the laboratory environment as well. ...
Dreaming has often been viewed as a "mysterious" experience entirely distinct from waking cognition. An alternative view proposes that dreams are generated by the same fundamental processes that give rise to spontaneous thought during wakefulness. New evidence suggests that these processes include activity of the brain's memory systems, supporting consolidation of newly encoded experience. During both sleep and wakefulness, fragments of recently encoded memory are recombined with related remote memory and semantic information to create novel scenarios. This is an adaptive process that contributes to the "consolidation" of memory and is reflected in the phenomenology of both our nightly dreams and waking daydreams.
... In a questionnaire study, approximately 15% of athletes (n = 840) stated that they experienced at least one distressing dream before an important competition or game during the preceding 12 months. 34 Dream content might also mirror the need for recovery or recovery related processes, however, research has not examined dream content in athletes after high intensity exercise up to now. ...
The body of research that reports the relevance of sleep in high-performance sports is growing steadily. While the identification of sleep cycles and diagnosis of sleep disorders is limited to lab-based assessment via polysomnography, the development of activity-based devices estimating sleep patterns provides greater insight into the sleep behaviour of athletes in ecological settings. Overall, small sleep quantity and/or poor quality appears to exist in many athletic populations, though this may be related to training and competition context. Typical sleep-affecting factors are the scheduling of training sessions and competitions as well as impaired sleep-onset as a result of increased arousal prior to competition or due to the use of electronic devices before bedtime. Further challenges are travel demands which may be accompanied by jet-lag symptoms and disruption of sleep habits. Promotion of sleep may be approached via behavioural strategies, such as sleep hygiene, extending night-time sleep or daytime napping. Pharmacological interventions should be limited to clinically-induced treatments as evidence among healthy and athletic populations is lacking. To optimise and manage sleep in athletes, it is recommended to implement routine sleep monitoring on an individual basis.
... Dreams about ego-dominated preoccupations might be ascribed more to students' chance-oriented locus of control than to their obsessions with materialistic gratification or self-assertion. Likewise, dreams involving school and learning activities do not necessarily reflect the ego-grasping tendency or locus of control in students but, instead, as suggested by some previous findings (Arnulf et al., 2014;Erlacher, Ehrlenspiel, & Schredl, 2011;Yu, 2015cYu, , 2016a, are aimed at rehearsing significant future events. Rather than the internal threats to the ego integrity in the psychodynamic sense, the latter interpretation could be seen to correspond with Revonsuo's (2000) evolutionary theory, according to which the major function of dreaming is to simulate threatening events in the physical world. ...
Themes involving ego-centered concerns—such as performing very badly or failing at something, being blamed or punished, and blaming something on someone—are common in dreams. This study examined the extent to which dream themes characteristic of ego-centered concerns could be accounted for by Taoist orientation, with consideration of self-perceived adversity and locus of control. The sample contained 242 participants, 111 university students and 131 nonstudent participants. Participants’ incidence of dreaming of ego-centered concerns, Taoist orientation, and locus of control was measured using the Dream Motif Scale; the Ego-Grasping Orientation Scale; and the Internality, Powerful Others, and Chance Scales, respectively. The results suggest that the incidence of dreaming of ego-centered concerns is associated positively with the experience of chronic adversity and negatively with Taoist orientation. In addition, people who have left school, as compared with students, are more Taoist-oriented and are more inclined toward an internal locus of control. It seems that cultivating a Taoist lifestyle may help mitigate psychological distress springing from the ego-dominated perspective.
... Există mai multe modalități de administrare a tetraclorurii de carbon pentru a induce fibroză hepatică. Una dintre cele mai utilizate căi este administrarea intraperitoneală, în doze variabile (13,39,40), dizolvat în ulei de măsline, de porumb sau de floarea soarelui. În general se obține fibroză după 6-8 săptămâni de administrare (13,41). ...
Teaching involves a variety of ethical issues, which the authors of this paper try to highlight. In respect to the fact that each area of teaching has some specific ethical problems to consider, the authors go one step further to give an overview of characteristic ethical aspects regarding teaching activity. It is shown that the academic community acts on ethical codes that are based on law and different regulations, but often ethical questions raised from the teaching activity cannot find their answer in laws and regulations. For this reason authors consider it necessary to provide a platform through which the compliance to the law and the ethical or moral aspirations can integrate.
... It would be interesting to investigate whether or not professional musicians and music students who might be exposed to stress related to music performance have more negatively associated music dreams. This relationship has been shown for athletes (Erlacher, Ehrlenspiel, & Schredl, 2011). It also would be interesting to study whether the positively toned music dreams are related to positive waking-life experiences with music, for example, listening to favorite music titles. ...
As expressed in anecdotal reports, dreams have provided inspiration to both classical and popular musicians. According to the continuity hypothesis, engaging in music activities in the daytime should be related to the occurrence of music dreams. One-hundred and 44 participants (mostly psychology students, music students, and choir members) were asked to complete questionnaires about music-related waking-life activities and music in dreams. As expected, the amount of time invested in music activities during the day is directly related to the percentage of music dreams, thereby confirming the continuity hypothesis. Also, composing music in waking-life is related to a higher frequency of dreams with new music. Due to possible recall biases regarding retrospective measures for eliciting the percentage of music dreams, future research should follow up this study by using dream diaries in larger samples.
... Life goals may also find their reflection in contents of dreams connected with events that are still to come. Erlacher, Ehrlenspiel, and Schredl (2011), examining German athletes, showed that 15% out of 840 representatives of different sport disciplines experienced during the last year at least one stressful dream about a competition that they were to participate in the following day. As many athletes experienced a similar dream over their entire sport career. ...
The aim of the study was to verify hypotheses about time changeability of dream characteristics depending on the participants’ age and affective value of the dream. The study was conducted online. Participants of the study were 68 individuals between the age of 17 and 85. The participants were asked to prepare detailed descriptions of their dreams, next they had to identify elements of the dreams, refer them to their real life, and assess their affective value. In the dreams of late adolescents, and young and middle-aged adults the most frequently recalled period in a positive context turned out to be late adolescence and early adulthood, whereas in a negative context the participants would recall their present developmental phase and the period of late childhood. Unpleasant dreams of older individuals were mainly connected with the period of middle adulthood, whereas those pleasant ones referred to various periods of their entire life.
... Schredl & Erlacher, 2004;Schredl, 2003) and the frequencies reported by German athletes (cf. Erlacher, Ehrlenspiel, & Schredl, 2011;Erlacher, Stumbrys, & Schredl, 2011-12). As expected, lucid dream and nightmare frequencies, as measured by the eight-point scales, did not differ between the two measurements. ...
Lucid dream and nightmare frequencies vary greatly between individuals and reliable instruments are needed to assess these differences. The present study aimed to examine the reliability of eight-point scales for measuring lucid dream and nightmare frequencies. The scales were administered twice (with a four-week interval) to 93 sport students. A re-test reliability r=.89 (p<.001) for the lucid dream frequency was found and for the nightmare frequency r=.75 (p<.001). Both eight-point scales appear to be reliable measures for assessing individual differences in lucid dream and nightmare frequencies.
In this chapter the topics of sleep, recovery and rest will be discussed in the context of sport psychology. While sleep may be considered the most natural and essential recovery strategy in every human being, it is worthwhile to regard waking activities that serve the restoration of physical and psychological resources as equally important for athletes.
Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund
Schlaf spielt auch für SportlerInnen eine wichtige Rolle, vor allem vor Wettkämpfen.
Ziel der Arbeit
In einer Stichprobe von NachwuchsathletInnen soll erfasst werden, ob ein gestörter Schlaf vorliegt und welche Ursachen und Auswirkungen ein gestörter Schlaf vor Wettkämpfen aus subjektiver Sicht hat.
Material und Methode
Mittels eines Online-Fragebogens wurden 46 SchülerInnen eines Sportgymnasiums (Tenero, Schweiz) befragt.
Ergebnisse
Über zwei Drittel der jugendlichen Athletinnen berichten über einen schlechteren Schlaf vor wichtigen Wettkämpfen oder Spielen. 40 % dieser AthletInnen gaben an, dass der schlechte Schlaf vor dem Wettkampf/Spiel ihre Leistung beeinträchtigt hat.
Diskussion
Da aus subjektiver Sicht schlechter Schlaf die Wettkampfleistungen beeinträchtigen kann, ist es sinnvoll, dieses Thema intensiver zu beforschen (kontrollierte Studien) und Schlafinterventionen für diese Zielgruppe zu entwickeln.
In diesem Kapitel soll das Traumerleben von Sportlerinnen und Sportlern näher betrachtet werden. Für sportliche Aktivität zeigt sich eine Kontinuität zwischen Wacherleben und Trauminhalten, wer intensiv Sport treibt träumt auch häufig davon. Die Trauminhalte können sich negativ oder positiv auf das Wachleben auswirken. Albträume beispielsweise über bevorstehende Wettkämpfe drücken Ängste aus, die sich leistungsmindernd auswirken können. Dementsprechend wären therapeutische Angebote für anfällige Sportlerinnen und Sportler durchaus lohnenswert. Kreative Träume können dagegen beispielsweise beim Finden einer komplexen motorischen Lösung einen Anstoß für das Wachleben anbieten. Bislang nicht geklärt werden konnte, ob sich Konsolidierungsprozesse in den Trauminhalten widerspiegeln.
Objective
To evaluate the effect of observing Ramadan on athletes’ sleep patterns.
Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Data sources
The entire content of PubMed/MEDLINE and Web of Science.
Eligibility criteria for selecting studies
Single-group, prepost and cross-over design studies conducted in athletes aged ≥18 years, training at least twice a week and published in English before 12 July 2018 were included. Studies assessing sleep quantity, quality, daytime sleepiness and/or daily naps based on objective or subjective methods were deemed eligible.
Study appraisal
The methodological quality was assessed using ‘QualSyst’.
Results
Of 13 selected articles, 7 were of strong quality, 3 were moderate and 3 were weak. 11 studies evaluated total sleep time (TST); this decreased during Ramadan in 4 studies, increased in 1 and remained unchanged in 6. Pooled TST findings indicated a moderate effect size (− 0.97, SE=0.37, 95% CI −1.69 to −0.25, t=−2.64, p=0.01) with significant heterogeneity but no publication bias. Meta-regressions showed no effects of study year, age, sample size, type of sport or competition level, but there were effects of country (with France and Tunisia being the most affected countries and Turkey the least affected, Q=32.14, p<0.0001) and study design (Q=7.74, p=0.02). Four studies measured self-reported sleep quality and it decreased in three studies. One study of sleep architecture reported more frequent waking and more light sleep during Ramadan. Daily nap duration was increased in two studies, but daytime sleepiness remained unchanged in four studies.
Conclusion
When athletes continue to train at least two times/week while observing Ramadan, TST is decreased compared with athletes’ baseline levels.
Zusammenfassung. Die vorliegende Studie analysierte die Häufigkeit von Musikträumen in einer langen Traumserie (N = 10.398 Träume) einer Person. Insgesamt beinhalteten 5.41 % der Träume Bezüge zu Musik wie Hören von Musik, Spielen eines Instruments, Singen, Gespräche über Musik oder Musikinstrumente. Die Analyse einzelner Aspekte wie Setting des Traumes, Aktivität, Musiktitel, Art der Instrumente zeigte klar die Kontinuität zwischen dem Wachleben des Träumers und den Inhalten der Musikträume. Emotional intensivere Musikerlebnisse (live gehörte Musik) scheinen häufiger in die Träume aufgenommen zu werden. Frühere Befunde, die zeigten, dass Musikträume überwiegend von positiven Gefühlen begleitet werden, wurden von dieser Studie gestützt. Forschungsarbeiten mit nicht selektierten Stichproben als auch Musikern und Musikstudierenden mittels Traumtagebüchern und Fragebogen zur Erfassung der Wachmusikaktivitäten sind vielversprechend, mehr über Musik in Träumen zu erfahren.
We tested whether dreams can anticipate a stressful exam and how failure/success in dreams affect next-day performance. We collected information on students' dreams during the night preceding the medical school entrance exam. Demographic, academic, sleep and dream characteristics were compared to the students' grades on the exam. Of the 719 respondents to the questionnaire (of 2324 total students), 60.4% dreamt of the exam during the night preceding it. Problems with the exam appeared in 78% of dreams and primarily involved being late and forgetting answers. Reporting a dream about the exam on the pre-exam night was associated with better performance on the exam (p=.01). The frequency of dreams concerning the exam during the first term predicted proportionally higher performance on the exam (R=0.1, p=.01). These results suggest that the negative anticipation of a stressful event in dreams is common and that this episodic simulation provides a cognitive gain.
Some athletes repeatedly fail in competition in spite of good results during training (training champions). In contrast, some athletes are able not only to transfer their achievements from training to competition, but often surpass them and achieve even better competition results (competitor types). Other athletes are less consistent in the transfer of performance during training and competition (mixed types). The purpose of this study is to explore whether these three types of elite athletes differ in terms of self-concept, body-concept, and daily mood. Thirty-two athletes in artistic roller and figure skating participated in this study during the German National championships. Participants were German National champions, European and World champions as well as participants in the Olympic Games in Nagano (Japan) 1998 and in Salt Lake City (USA) 2002. Findings indicated that, compared to training champions, competitor types exhibited more positive self-and body-concept. Concerning mood, there were no differences among the three groups but changes over time were found. The results have implications for both training and selection of athletes for participation in highlight sports competitions.
Factors affecting or inducing nightmares have been investigated repeatedly. However, little research is carried out on the behavioral consequences of nightmares. The present study thus served to investigate behavioral effects of nightmares in correlation to personality variables. 41 non-clinical participants, who suffer from about 2 nightmares per month recorded their dreams and nightmares over a 4-week period. A nightmare was defined as a dream that frightens the dreamer and could be recalled in detail on awakening. Anxiety and mood were monitored every morning. All nightmares and their behavioral consequences were noted on a questionnaire. Personality traits and life events were assessed at the beginning of the investigation. 100 nightmares were reported by the subjects over the 4-week period (range: 0–8). Following a nightmare, the subjects were significantly more anxious and were of a less stable mental condition compared to nights without nightmares. Additionally, nightmares induced physical complaints. This was considered to be an indicator that something was wrong in their lives and induced them to solve personal problems. The behavioral effects were most pronounced in subjects scoring high on neuroticism and on the number of physical complaints and low on achievement orientation and openness. The results suggest that sufferers of nightmares intend to change their lives, especially those with a neurotic-like personality.
The present study investigated the incidence of lucid dreaming within a Japanese university student sample. From 153 Japanese students 47% reported experiencing a lucid dream at least once and 19% were frequent lucid dreamers (frequency equal or higher than once a month). Dream recall frequency was significantly related to lucid dream frequency. In the Japanese sample the incidence of lucid dreaming was not related to that of nightmares after controlling for dream recall frequency. Compared to other countries, the Japanese sample showed significantly lower prevalence rates. This result might be explained by differences in the verification process of lucid dreaming (e.g., definition) and participants (e.g., psychology students). Representative samples are needed to gain a clearer picture of cross-cultural differences. The results, thus, indicated that lucid dreaming is a known phenomenon in Japan. Due to the long cultural history of dreams and dreaming in Japan it would be interesting to investigate groups with strong relationships with those roots (e.g., monks) to learn more about a possible lucid dream culture, comparable to Tibetan Buddhism (e.g., dream yoga).
Empirical studies largely support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. For example, it has been shown in past research that sport students dream more often about sports than psychology students do, presumably reflecting their engagement in sport activities and sport theory. The present study tested the hypothesis whether frequency of sport dreams is related to the amount of time spent on waking sport activities for elite athletes. As expected, the amount of time spent with sport activity was directly related to the frequency of sport dreams. Secondly, the amount of competitions was also related. The findings also indicated that other factors such as emotional involvement associated with competitions might be of importance in explaining the relationship between waking activities and dream events. Future studies using longitudinal designs will shed more light on this relationship and will help derive a more precise formulation of the continuity hypothesis.
Investigated the effect of presleep stress on home dream recall for a total of 57 male undergraduates who rated themselves on a questionnaire as frequent or infrequent dream recallers. In the stress condition, Ss observed an accomplice being "shocked" for error on a sensorimotor test which Ss expected to be tested on in a few days. There was no difference in amount of home dream recall for the stress and control conditions. The prediction of more dream recall for frequent recallers and less dream recall for infrequent recallers in the stress condition was supported. The tendency toward more contentless and vague dream recall for the stress condition, especially for infrequent recallers, was discussed in terms of (a) the larger percentage of dreams scorable for hostility in the stress condition, and (b) the hypothesis that contentless dreams are correlates of repression. (21 ref.)
Sleep is generally considered to be restorative and the notion of exercise being associated with the changes in subsequent sleep is popular but has only recently been demonstrated. There are several facets of exercise performed that have an influence on sleep. These include the intensity and duration of the exercise, and the interval between the cessation of exercise and sleep onset. Other factors that may alter sleep after exercise are the age and fitness of the subject, and his lean body mass. Most studies on the effect of exercise on sleep can be interpreted as being partially or totally supportive of the restorative theory of sleep function.
We performed a Monte Carlo study to evaluate the effect of the number of events per variable (EPV) analyzed in logistic regression analysis. The simulations were based on data from a cardiac trial of 673 patients in which 252 deaths occurred and seven variables were cogent predictors of mortality; the number of events per predictive variable was (252/7 =) 36 for the full sample. For the simulations, at values of EPV = 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25, we randomly generated 500 samples of the 673 patients, chosen with replacement, according to a logistic model derived from the full sample. Simulation results for the regression coefficients for each variable in each group of 500 samples were compared for bias, precision, and significance testing against the results of the model fitted to the original sample. For EPV values of 10 or greater, no major problems occurred. For EPV values less than 10, however, the regression coefficients were biased in both positive and negative directions; the large sample variance estimates from the logistic model both overestimated and underestimated the sample variance of the regression coefficients; the 90% confidence limits about the estimated values did not have proper coverage; the Wald statistic was conservative under the null hypothesis; and paradoxical associations (significance in the wrong direction) were increased. Although other factors (such as the total number of events, or sample size) may influence the validity of the logistic model, our findings indicate that low EPV can lead to major problems.
This study, for the first time, distinguishes between nightmares and bad dreams, measures the frequency of each using dream logs, and separately assesses the relation between nightmares, bad dreams, and well-being. Eighty-nine participants completed 7 measures of well-being and recorded their dreams for 4 consecutive weeks. The dream logs yielded estimated mean annual nightmare and bad-dream frequencies that were significantly (ps < .01) greater than the mean 12-month and 1-month retrospective estimates. Nightmare frequency had more significant correlations than bad-dream frequency with well-being, suggesting that nightmares are a more severe expression of the same basic phenomenon. The findings confirm and extend evidence that nightmares are more prevalent than was previously believed and underscore the need to differentiate nightmares from bad dreams.
This meta-analysis (k = 48) investigated two relationships in competitive sport: (1) state cognitive anxiety with performance and (2) state self-confidence with performance. The cognitive anxiety mean effect size was r = -0.10 (P < 0.05). The self-confidence mean effect size was r = 0.24 (P < 0.001). A paired-samples t-test revealed that the magnitude of the self-confidence mean effect size was significantly greater than that of the cognitive anxiety mean effect size. The moderator variables for the cognitive anxiety-performance relationship were sex and standard of competition. The mean effect size for men (r = -0.22) was significantly greater than the mean effect size for women (r = -0.03). The mean effect size for high-standard competition (r = -0.27) was significantly greater than that for comparatively low-standard competition (r = -0.06). The significant moderator variables for the self-confidence-performance relationship were sex, standard of competition and measurement. The mean effect size for men (r = 0.29) was significantly greater than that for women (r = 0.04) and the mean effect size for high-standard competition (r = 0.33) was significantly greater than that for low-standard competition (r = 0.16). The mean effect size derived from studies employing the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (r = 0.19) was significantly smaller than the mean effect size derived from studies using other measures of self-confidence (r = 0.38). Measurement issues are discussed and future research directions are offered in light of the results.
Problems with nightmares are reported by a sizable proportion of individuals with a history of trauma and by approximately 5% to 8% of the general population. Chronic nightmares may represent a primary sleep disorder rather than a symptom of a psychiatric disorder, and direct targeting of nightmares is a feasible clinical approach to the problem. Of the treatments proposed, imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) has received the most empirical support. An up-to-date account of this cognitive-imagery approach shows how to treat nightmares during 4 roughly 2-hr sessions. The main points covered in each therapy session and their underlying rationale are presented. Dismantling protocols are suggested to discern active ingredients of IRT and to develop flexible applications based on patients' needs.
Nightmares are common, occurring weekly in 4%-10% of the population, and are associated with female gender, younger age, increased stress, psychopathology, and dispositional traits. Nightmare pathogenesis remains unexplained, as do differences between nontraumatic and posttraumatic nightmares (for those with or without posttraumatic stress disorder) and relations with waking functioning. No models adequately explain nightmares nor have they been reconciled with recent developments in cognitive neuroscience, fear acquisition, and emotional memory. The authors review the recent literature and propose a conceptual framework for understanding a spectrum of dysphoric dreaming. Central to this is the notion that variations in nightmare prevalence, frequency, severity, and psychopathological comorbidity reflect the influence of both affect load, a consequence of daily variations in emotional pressure, and affect distress, a disposition to experience events with distressing, highly reactive emotions. In a cross-state, multilevel model of dream function and nightmare production, the authors integrate findings on emotional memory structures and the brain correlates of emotion.
p>Nightmares are defined as dreams with strong negative emotions that result in awakening. Overall, the findings of the present representative survey (N = 915) indicate that nightmare frequency decrease with age and living in urban areas are associated with heightened nightmare frequency. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify how age affects nightmare frequency because the findings of cross-sectional studies are conflicting. In addition, it would be interesting to test whether increased nightmare frequency is explained by the presence of a mental disorder or whether urban environment is an independent risk factor for nightmares. As nightmares are underdiagnosed and undertreated, it would also make sense to carry out studies that try to clarify the reasons behind this problem that nightmare sufferers not receive adequate treatment.</p
One hundred and twelve college students (mean age = 19.6 yrs.) completed a modification of Smith, Reilly, and Midkiff's (1989) Morningness/Eveningness (M/E) survey. Subjects were students in an introductory sport psychology class, and more than half were Division I athletes (65 vs. 47 non-athletes). Gender was equally distributed with 59 males and 53 females in the study. The average score for all subjects on the M/E survey was 33.06, with the mean score for competitive collegiate athletes and non-athletes at 33.87 and 31.92, respectively. This difference was not significant (p ≥.05). A main effect for gender was not found. In addition to the 13 items from Smith and colleagues (1989), all athletes in this sample answered 10 additional questions generated by the authors, specific to athletic competition. A mixed 3×2 ANOVA (condition by gender) revealed that there was a significant decrease in competitive collegiate athletes' self-report of hours of sleep one night before competition versus usual amount of nightly sleep (p <.001). Also, sleep amount was significantly less than usual two nights before competition (p <.001). Athletes also reported factors that influence their sleep. Findings revealed that the sleep of these athletes varies significantly dependent upon athletic competition. Many factors may explain this, with pre-competitive anxiety one likely factor. This expanded version of the M/E survey offers a valuable, non-invasive means of increasing the athlete's awareness of his/her sleep patterns and the influence that pre-competitive sleep may exert on performance.
Introduction
The present paper introduces the three most common methods for measuring dream recall: laboratory awakenings, dream diaries and questionnaire scales. An easy applicable seven-point scale, its retest reliability and validity analyses will be presented.
Patients and Methods
Within several studies, 941 healthy persons rated their dream recall frequency using the scale. The retest sample (70 days retest interval) consisted of 42 patients with sleep disorders.
Results
The data of the healthy persons replicated the previous significant findings of gender differences (women tend to recall their dreams more often than men) and the decline of dream recall frequency with age. Retest relibility was high.
Conclusions
The introduced scale is well qualified for measuring interindividual differences and permits—by breaking down of the data into four age groups—comparisons with samples stemming from different settings, e. g. patient groups.
Thirteen male gymnasts were given a standard questionnaire and interviewed during the final trials for the U.S. Olympic team. Particular attention was given to psychological factors and cognitive strategies in their training and competition. Using their final competitive grouping as the primary dependent variable, correlations were performed to assess the relationship between these factors and superior athletic performance. Data from this exploratory study suggested that varying patterns of cognition may be strongly correlated with successful and superior gymnastic performance. Specifically, dream frequency, self-verbalizations, and certain forms of mental imagery seemed to differentiate the best gymnasts from those who failed to make the Olympic team. These two groups also appeared to show different anxiety patterns and different methods of coping with competitive stress. The implications of these results for sport psychology are briefly discussed.
Sleep is generally regarded as a valuable resource for psychological and physiological well-being. Although the effects of sleep on athletic performance have been acknowledged in sport science, few studies have investigated the prevalence of sleep problems and their effects on elite athletes before a sport event. In this study, 632 German athletes from various sports were asked about their sleep habits during the night(s) before an important competition or game. The findings indicate that 65.8% of the athletes experienced poor sleep in the night(s) before a sports event at least once in their lives and a similarly high percentage (62.3%) had this experience at least once during the previous 12 months. Athletes of individual sports reported more sleep difficulties than athletes of team sports. The main sleep problem was not being able to fall asleep. Internal factors such as nervousness and thoughts about the competition were rated highest for causing sleep problems. Most athletes stated that disturbed sleep had no influence on their athletic performance; however, athletes also reported effects such as a bad mood the following day, increased daytime sleepiness, and worse performance in the competition or game. The differences between individual and team sports indicate that athletes in some sports need more help than those in other sports in managing sleep problems.
Nightmares are defined as disturbing mental experiences that generally occur during REM sleep and often result in awakening. Whereas the number of publications addressing nightmare frequency and psychopathology, nightmare etiology and treatment is increasing rapidly in the last few years, nightmare content has been studied very rarely in a systematic way, especially in adults. The present study investigated nightmare frequency and the frequency of various nightmare topics in a representative German sample. The five most common themes were falling, being chased, paralyzed, being late, and the deaths of close persons. Even though several effects can be explained by the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, further research is needed to investigate the possible metaphoric relationship between nightmare topics like falling or being chased and waking-life stressors.
In a new approach, this study compared the effects of trait and state factors on nightmare frequency in a non-clinical sample. Although neuroticism and boundary thinness were related to nightmare frequency, regression analyses indicated that the trait measures did not add to the variance explained by the state measures. This finding supports the so-called continuity hypothesis of dreaming, i. e., nightmares reflect negative waking-life experiences. Second, the moderate relationship between nightmare frequency and poor sleep quality was partly explained by the day-time measures of neuroticism and stress, but it can be assumed that nightmares are an independent factor contributing to complaints of insomnia. Longitudinal studies measuring nightmare frequency and stress on a daily basis will shed light on the temporal relationship between daytime measures and the occurrence of nightmares. It will be also very interesting to study the relationship between stress and nightmare frequency in a sample who have undergone cognitive-behavioral treatment for nightmares.
Dream recall frequency varies widely between people as well as within individuals. To explore the relationship between dream recall frequency and trait variables such as personality dimensions, a measure of stable interindividual differences is necessary. In the present study (N = 198 patients with sleep disorders; 115 women, 83 men; M age = 45.8 +/- 15.3 yr.) a high retest reliability of the 7-point Dream Recall Frequency scale developed by Schredl in 2002a was found. If the participants' focus was not directed explicitly towards dream recall when the scale was presented within a general sleep questionnaire, the hitherto-reported increase of dream recall due to measuring dream recall frequency did not occur. In conclusion, the present scale is well suited for measuring interindividual differences in dream recall frequency reliably.
The DSM-IV-TR definition of nightmares-extremely frightening dreams from which the person wakes up directly-is unnecessarily narrow. Other emotions (anger, grief) have also been reported in nightmares, and direct awakening from a bad dream seems to be unrelated to increased distress. In addition, assessment of nightmares is problematic. Polysomnographic recordings have an ameliorating effect on nightmare frequency, retrospective measurements tend to underestimate nightmare frequency, and persons with frequent nightmares may feel reluctant to fill out (daily) prospective measurements. For studying nightmares, it is necessary to distinguish idiopathic nightmares from posttraumatic nightmares, which are part of a posttraumatic stress reaction or disorder that may result from experiencing a traumatic event. Both types of nightmares have been associated with an elevated level of periodic limb movements, although only posttraumatic nightmares seem to be related to more and longer nocturnal awakenings. Nightmares have also been repeatedly associated with the general level of psychopathology, or the so-called personality factor neuroticism. Nightmare distress, the impact on daily functioning caused by nightmares, may function as a mediating variable. Several studies in the last decades have shown that nightmares can be treated with several cognitive-behavioral techniques. The cognitive-restructuring technique imagery rehearsal therapy is the treatment of choice for nightmares, although a randomized controlled trial with an attention control-group has not yet been carried out. Nightmares are more than a symptom of a larger (anxiety) syndrome and need to be viewed from a sleep medicine perspective: nightmares are a highly prevalent and separate sleep disorder that can and should receive specific treatment.
Sleep tight, don't let the competition bite?! Subjective sleep quality and competitive state anxiety
- F Ehrlenspiel
- D Erlacher
- M Ziegler
- V Seitz
- O Adegbesan
Ehrlenspiel, F., Erlacher, D., Ziegler, M., Seitz, V., & Adegbesan, O. (2011). Sleep tight,
don't let the competition bite?! Subjective sleep quality and competitive state anxiety.
Manuscript submitted for publication.
The incidence of lucid dreaming within a Japanese university student sample
- D Erlacher
- M Schredl
- T Watanabe
- J Yamana
- F Ganzert
Erlacher, D., Schredl, M., Watanabe, T., Yamana, J., & Ganzert, F. (2008). The incidence
of lucid dreaming within a Japanese university student sample. International Journal of
Dream Research, 1, 39-43.
- Schredl M.