REM sleep and adaptation of psychiatric patients: an application of sleep studies

The authors used sleep laboratory data to predict responses to psychiatric treatment. The predictions were based on the assumptions that REM latency reflects the need for dreaming and therefore the need for adaptation and that REM time reflects the capacity for the adaptive work associated with REM sleep. Dream recall and dream content were considered indicators of psychological mindedness and the patient's current conflicts. With this material, statistically significant predictions of such outcomes as good response to psychotherapy, elopement, or need for medication were made. The results of this study support the hypothesis that REM sleep is involved in adaptation.