Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39658302›Full record

ArticleJournal of sleep research2025

The association between dream activity and alexithymia during pregnancy: A cross-sectional study in a sample of pregnant women.

Marta Spinoni, Serena Scarpelli, Ilaria Di Pasquale Benedetti, Carlotta Med, Paola Ciolli, Francesco Rech, Luigi De Gennaro, Caterina Grano

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of sleep research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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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

8 authors.

Marta SpinoniDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-2065-1858
Serena ScarpelliDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9260-7111
Ilaria Di Pasquale BenedettiDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Carlotta MedDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Paola CiolliDepartment of Maternal and Child Health and Urological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Francesco RechDepartment of Maternal and Child Health and Urological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Luigi De GennaroDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-3613-6631
Caterina GranoDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The gestational period is a sensitive time marked by significant changes that can affect women's sleep and dreaming processes, with an augmented frequency and recall of dreams suggesting that dreaming represents an adaptive mechanism of emotional regulation. This study investigates the relationship between pregnancy-related variables, alexithymia, and depressive symptoms in influencing dream characteristics in women during the first trimester of pregnancy. A total of 118 pregnant women were recruited at the Obstetric Outpatient Service of an Italian University Hospital and completed the Mannheim Dream Questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Regression analysis, t-test, and moderation analysis were conducted through Jamovi. Dream recall frequency was predicted by age, parity, and depressive symptoms. Nightmare frequency and lucid dream frequency were significantly predicted by depressive symptoms, while nightmare distress was predicted by an unplanned pregnancy. Alexithymia was linked to higher nightmare frequency and nightmare distress. Moderation analysis revealed that the presence of depressive symptoms predicted increased nightmare frequency only in women with higher levels of alexithymia. These findings highlight the role of emotional regulation in dreaming during pregnancy, particularly among women exhibiting alexithymic traits and depressive symptoms. Nightmare frequency may serve as an indicator of impaired emotional regulation, emphasising the need for targeted interventions to enhance emotional coping strategies in this population. Future research should examine the content of nightmares to further understand their implications for maternal mental health.

Indexed as

Affective SymptomsDreamsPregnancy ComplicationsAdultCross-Sectional StudiesDepressionFemaleHumansPregnancySurveys and QuestionnairesYoung Adultalexithymiadepressiondreamingpregnancy

Identifiers

PMID39658302
PMCPMC12215283

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.