Dream content of patients with sleep apnea

Abstract

ZusammenfassungPrevious research has shown that external stimuli were often incorporated into the dream to some extend. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the internal stimulus sleep apnea is also incorporated into dreams. Findings showed, however, that direct incorporation occurs very seldom. On the other hand, arousals accompanying sleep apneas seem to interfere with dream formation since a marked reduction of dream bizarreness is related to high RDI (respiratory disturbance index). Additionally, small indirect effects on dream content by day-time stressors such as cognitive deficits and sleepiness are suggested by the data. A heightened dream recall frequency in patients with sleep apnea was found. Future dream research should focus on studies including sophisticated EEG analysis methods and detailed measures of day-time symptoms present in patients with sleep apnea.Keywords dream recall -internal stimuli -respiratory disturbance index.Die bisherige Forschung zeigte, dab externe Stimuli teilweise Eingang in den Traum finden. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war die Untersuchung, ob dies in ~ihnlicher Weise auf ftir einen internen Stimulus wie die Apnoephase gilt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen jedoch, dab ein direkter Einflug auf den Trauminhalt sehr selten vorkommt. Auf der anderen Seite zeigte sich, dab die Weckreaktionen, die mit den Apnoephasen einher gehen, mit dem Traumbil-dungsprozeB interferieren, da eine deutliche Reduktion der Traumbizarrheit mit einem hohen RDI (Respiratory Disturbance Index) korreliert. Eine erh6hte Traumerinnerung wurde ftir die Schlaf-Apnoe-PatientInnen gefunden. Zuktinftige Forschung sollte sich auf Studien konzentrieren, die ausgekltigelte EEG-Analysemethoden und genauere Mage ftir das Vorkommen von Stressoren im Wachteben von Schlaf-Apnoe-PatientInnen beinhalten.SchliisselwOrter Traumerinnerung -interne Stimuli -RDI.<

Nightmares and oxygen desaturations: is sleep apnea related to heightened nightmare frequency?

“…Dream recall frequency in patients with sleep apnea was reduced in this study, which is in contrast to previous findings [19,20]. Schredl [19] and Schredl et al [20] found a heightened dream recall frequency in these patients compared to healthy controls, which was partly explained by the frequency of nocturnal awakenings (higher in the sleep apnea group) and the amount of daytime stress.…”

“…Schredl [19] and Schredl et al [20] found a heightened dream recall frequency in these patients compared to healthy controls, which was partly explained by the frequency of nocturnal awakenings (higher in the sleep apnea group) and the amount of daytime stress. To explain these contradictory findings, it will be necessary to measure various factors such as personality dimensions, interest in dreams, creativity, and sleep behavior that have been found to be related to dream recall in persons without sleep disorders (cf.…”

“…Schredl et al [20] speculated that there might be an adaptation to this internal stimuli, which seems plausible as severity of the sleep apnea syndrome worsens over a long period of time. To test this hypothesis, it will be interesting to repeat the experiments that were carried out by Boerner [7] in a more sophisticated way: Healthy persons will wear a mask during sleep and, for short periods (10 to 20 s) during REM sleep, the flow will be interrupted by the experimenter; subsequent awakenings with eliciting dream content will show whether this stimulus was incorporated into dream content.…”

“…Powerlessness and also resignation came up." [Patient with sleep apnea, male, 39 years, respiratory disturbance index (RDI): 68.1 apneas per hour, maximal drop of blood oxygen saturation: 43%; [19], p. 295] However, RDI and minimal oxygen saturation did not correlate with negative dream emotions, a finding that was confirmed by Schredl et al [20] using the REM awakening method in another sample of 44 patients. In this group, one patient reported having recurrent nightmares of the following type: He was lying in a coffin-dead.…”

Dreaming: a neurological view

“…Schredl et al found an elevated dream-recall frequency in patients with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) without any correlation, however, with the frequency of nocturnal awakenings [86]. A strong negative correlation was found between the frequency of respiratory events and dream bizarreness, suggesting that apnoea-induced arousals may interrupt the (REM-)dream process.…”