We dream about typical themes in both REM and non-REM sleep

Abstract

This study examined whether typical dream themes would occur in both REM and non-REM (NREM) sleep. The sample consisted of 15 participants, who spent 3 consecutive nights at a sleep laboratory. A total of 219 awakenings and sleep interviews were conducted in the second and third laboratory nights, resulting in 133 interviews with mentation reports. Apart from free-recall reports collected via sleep interviews, the participants were asked next morning to recognize any typical themes occurring in each episode of REM/NREM mentation using a provided list of dream themes. It was found that slightly more than half of the mentation reports contained at least 1 typical theme. Despite their different retrieval rates, narrative complexity, and involvement of visual and verbal modalities, REM and NREM mentation reports exhibited similar amounts of typical themes. Consistent with more positive than negative emotions experienced by the participants, grandiose, erotomania, and appetitive themes were relatively common in the reports. In contrast to theorizing of sleep mentation being skewed toward adverse emotions, this alludes to a more balanced affective experience of sleep mentation.