Post by Ophiuchus on Mar 13, 2014 21:02:31 GMT -6
Fear not a factor in half of all nightmares, study finds
Almost half of all disturbing dreams contain primary emotions other than fear, study finds
By Lucy Kinder
5:38PM GMT 30 Jan 2014
Nightmares have a greater emotional impact than bad dreams but fear doesn't always feature in them, a new study by scientists at the University of Montreal has found.
Although fear was the most frequently reported main emotion in nightmares and bad dreams, almost half of all disturbing dreams in the survey contained primary emotions other than fear, including anger, sadness, and frustration.
Nightmares were defined as "very disturbing dreams in which the unpleasant visual imagery and/or emotions wake you up (ie, the dream’s unpleasant content woke you up while the dream was still ongoing)."
Bad dreams were defined as "very disturbing dreams which do not cause you to awaken."
Fear appeared as a main emotion in 65 per cent of nightmares and 45 per cent of bad dreams.
Researchers collected nearly 10,000 dream reports and analysed 253 nightmares and 431 bad dreams from 572 respondents. The results found that nightmares were significantly more likely to contain themes of physical aggression, being chased, evil forces and accidents, whereas themes of interpersonal conflicts were significantly more frequent in bad dreams.
The researchers wrote: "the present findings show that physical threats are more likely to characterise nightmares whereas psychological threats, including threats to self-esteem, are more prominent in bad dreams."
Nightmares were rated by participants as being significantly more intense than were bad dreams.
Nightmares were also classed as "significantly more bizarre" (more unlike everyday life) than bad dreams.
Participants noted the cause of their awakening in more than a third of nightmares reported.
The most frequent explanations included an immediate threat, the intensity of the emotions experienced, and an intentional awakening from the nightmare.
The research also found that men and women tend to have different dreams. Men were "significantly" more likely to report themes involving disaster or calamity as well as insects while women's dreams were more likely to feature interpersonal conflicts.
According to the researchers the study revealed that triggers for nightmares are often caused by external events but that the first portion of bad dreams can be relatively uneventful.
However they also concluded that 22 per cent of all nightmares and 38 per cent of bad dreams contained either a partially positive or entirely positive outcome such as finally being saved or rescued.
The lead author of the survey, Dr Geneviève Robert, said: “Death, health concerns and threats are common themes in nightmares, but it would be wrong to think that they characterise all nightmares.
“Sometimes, it is the feeling of a threat or an ominous atmosphere that causes the person to awaken. I'm thinking of one narrative, in which the person saw an owl on a branch and was absolutely terrified.”
www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10607640/Fear-not-a-factor-in-half-of-all-nightmares-study-finds.html
