THE NIGHTMARE - BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIGINS

Research on the psychological origins and personality correlates of frequent nightmares suggests that there are three primary categories of nightmares with three distinct etiologies. 1) chronic, lifelong nightmares that are phenomena of personality, 2) traumatic nightmares related to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and 3) drug-induced nightmares. All three, however, appear to be related to a hyper-reactivity of the nervous system which may have the effect of increasing REM-pressure. This paper evaluates nightmare prevalence in the general population, personality characteristics of frequent nightmare sufferers, the relationship between PTSD and REM-sleep disturbance, and the biochemistry of the nightmare. Because, firstly, frequent nightmares may be considered markers for schizophrenia and because, secondly, nightmares are viewed as a hallmark of PTSD, this material may have important clinical implications.