Prevalence Rates of Frequent Dream Recall and Nightmares by Age, Gender and Sleep Duration in 16 Countries

The present study aimed to describe the prevalence rates of frequent (i.e., at least weekly) dream recall and nightmares with consideration for differences in age, gender and sleep duration in 16 countries using equivalent assessment methods. The study sample included 15,854 participants (69.9% women) aged 18-99 years (M = 42.39, SD = 16.43) collected by the International COVID-19 Sleep Study collaboration, which used a unified online survey to collect data from May to November 2021 across 16 countries. Participants provided demographic information as well as self-reported estimates of their dream recall and nightmare frequency and sleep duration in 2021 and retrospectively for 2019. Frequent dream recall occurred in 54.0% of participants in 2021 and 51.1% in 2019. Frequent nightmares were reported by 11.0% of participants in 2021 and 6.9% in 2019. Ad hoc regression models found dream recall and sleep duration to have a linear relation, whereas nightmare frequency demonstrated a quadratic relation to sleep duration. Frequent dream recall and nightmare prevalence rates are reported for each of the 16 study countries by age, gender and sleep duration. This is the first multi-continent study to estimate frequent dream recall and nightmare prevalence, which both provides updated prevalence rates during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as extends existing knowledge to previously never studied countries.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Sleep Research
Published
2025-04-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.70070
Primary Topic
Sleep and Wakefulness Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Prevalence Rates of Frequent Dream Recall and Nightmares by Age, Gender and Sleep Duration in 16 Countries

Courtney J. Bolstad, Brigitte Holzinger, Colin A. Espie, Tainá Macêdo et al.
Journal of Sleep Research
Sleep and Wakefulness Research
article

Prevalence Rates of Frequent Dream Recall and Nightmares by Age, Gender and Sleep Duration in 16 Countries

Courtney J. Bolstad, Brigitte Holzinger, Colin A. Espie, Tainá Macêdo, Michael R. Nadorff, Charles M. Morin, Ngan Yin Chan, Kentaro Matsui, Anne‐Marie Landtblom, Cátia Reis, Yun Kwok Wing, Maria Korman, Thomas Penzel, Yuichi Inoue, Ilona Merikanto, Adrijana Koščeć Bjelajac, Frances F. Chung, Bjørn Bjorvatn, Giuseppe Plazzi, Luigi De Gennaro, Sérgio Mota‐Rolim, Yves A Dauvilliers, Serena Scarpelli
article en

Abstract

The present study aimed to describe the prevalence rates of frequent (i.e., at least weekly) dream recall and nightmares with consideration for differences in age, gender and sleep duration in 16 countries using equivalent assessment methods. The study sample included 15,854 participants (69.9% women) aged 18-99 years (M = 42.39, SD = 16.43) collected by the International COVID-19 Sleep Study collaboration, which used a unified online survey to collect data from May to November 2021 across 16 countries. Participants provided demographic information as well as self-reported estimates of their dream recall and nightmare frequency and sleep duration in 2021 and retrospectively for 2019. Frequent dream recall occurred in 54.0% of participants in 2021 and 51.1% in 2019. Frequent nightmares were reported by 11.0% of participants in 2021 and 6.9% in 2019. Ad hoc regression models found dream recall and sleep duration to have a linear relation, whereas nightmare frequency demonstrated a quadratic relation to sleep duration. Frequent dream recall and nightmare prevalence rates are reported for each of the 16 study countries by age, gender and sleep duration. This is the first multi-continent study to estimate frequent dream recall and nightmare prevalence, which both provides updated prevalence rates during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as extends existing knowledge to previously never studied countries.

Journal of Sleep ResearchVol. 35(1)
Linköping University (SE), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT), Uppsala University (SE), University Health Network (CA), University of Helsinki (FI), University of Lisbon (PT), Inserm (FR), Tokyo Medical University (JP), Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK), Baylor College of Medicine (US), University of Toronto (CA), Université de Montpellier (FR), Universidade Católica Portuguesa (PT), Haukeland University Hospital (NO), University of Alabama at Birmingham (US), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (BR), University of Oxford (GB), National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (JP), Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (US), Invalidisäätiö (FI), Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna (IT), Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier (FR), Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health (HR), Université Laval (CA), University of Bergen (NO), Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (PT), Ariel University (IL), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE), Sapienza University of Rome (IT), Mississippi State University (US)
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, NIH Clinical Center
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 92%
Sleep and Wakefulness Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.