Dreams and Nightmares in Early Pregnancy: A Comparative Study with a Control Group

This study investigated dream characteristics in women during the first trimester of pregnancy compared to a group of non-pregnant women, aiming to identify variables associated with the observed differences.

A sample of 100 pregnant women in their first trimester was compared to a control group of 100 age-matched non-pregnant women. Participants completed online questionnaires to assess dream activity, sleep quality, depressive symptoms, and sociodemographic variables.

Controlling for socio-demographic variables, statistical comparisons revealed that pregnant women reported fewer nightmares and showed less interest in their dream activity compared to non-pregnant women. Ordinal logistic regression revealed that being in the control group, greater attention to dreams, the presence of depressive symptoms, and a higher frequency of lucid dreaming were significant predictors of more frequent nightmares. Moderation analysis showed no significant interaction between pregnancy status and dream attitude.

Contrary to expectations, first-trimester pregnant women had fewer nightmares than non-pregnant women. However, the results are coherent with the finding that parasomnia-like events decrease during pregnancy. The rapid hormonal changes and specific sleep and emotional features of this stage of gestation may explain the lower presence of nightmares as compared to our control group. Moreover, we confirmed a crucial role of dream attitude in recalling nightmares, suggesting that some stable, trait-like features may contribute to nightmare experiences independently of pregnancy status. Our results also confirmed, according to the Continuity hypothesis, that depressive symptoms are associated with nightmares. Also, the presence of lucid dreaming in association with nightmares may be interpreted as an attempt to cope with unpleasant emotions. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine how dream activity evolves across pregnancy stages.