Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31849749›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in psychology2019

My Dream, My Rules: Can Lucid Dreaming Treat Nightmares?

Tainá Carla Freitas de Macêdo, Glescikelly Herminia Ferreira, Katie Moraes de Almondes, Roumen Kirov, Sérgio Arthuro Mota-Rolim

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in psychology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Lucid Dreaming: Not Just Awareness, but Agency.Journal of sleep research · 2026
    Article
  3. The Future of Parasomnias.Journal of sleep research · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Electrophysiological Correlates of Lucid Dreaming: Sensor and Source Level Signatures.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. The Oneiric Activity during and after the COVID-19 Total Lockdown in Italy: A Longitudinal Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Lucid Dreams in Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Include Nightmares.Dreaming : journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams · 2021
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Tainá Carla Freitas de MacêdoDepartment of Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
Glescikelly Herminia FerreiraDepartment of Philosophy, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Katie Moraes de AlmondesDepartment of Psychology, Postgraduate Program in Psychobiology, Onofre Lopes University Hospital, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
Roumen KirovInstitute of Neurobiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Sérgio Arthuro Mota-RolimBrain Institute, Physiology and Behavior Department, Onofre Lopes University Hospital, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Nightmares are defined as repeated occurrences of extremely dysphoric and well-remembered dreams that usually involve subjective threats to survival, security, or physical integrity. Generally, they occur during rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) and lead to awakenings with distress and insufficient overnight sleep. Nightmares may occur spontaneously (idiopathic) or as recurrent nightmares. Recurrent nightmares cause significant distress and impairment in occupational and social functioning, as have been commonly observed in post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. By contrast, during lucid dreaming (LD), subjects get insight they are dreaming and may even control the content of their dreams. These features may open a way to help those who suffer from nightmare disorder through re-significations of the dream scene, i.e., knowing that they are dreaming and having control over their dream content. Thus, lucid dreamers might be able to render nightmares normal dreams, thereby assuring a restoring sleep. The aim of the present study is to review the existing literature of the use of LD as an auxiliary tool for treatment of nightmares. We conducted a careful literature search for eligible studies on the use of LD treatment for nightmares. We observed that whereas LD may be a feasible aid in the treatment of patients with nightmares through minimizing their frequency, intensity and psychological distress, the available literature is still scarce and does not provide consistent results. We conclude therefore that more research is clearly warranted for a better estimation of the effective conductance and therapeutic outcome of LD treatment in clinical practice.

Indexed as

anxietydepressionlucid dreamingnightmarepost-traumatic stress disorderrapid eye movement sleep

Identifiers

PMID31849749
PMCPMC6902039

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.