[Spontaneous awakening and dreams of patients with psychophysiologic sleep disorders]

The effect of dreaming on the formation of psycho-physiological sleep disorders is studied by an investigation of 26 patients and 15 control persons who were interviewed as to the occurrence of dream memory after spontaneous awaking and after being awaken systematically in the sleep laboratory. It turned out that the patients had less dream memory than the control persons after spontaneous awaking from REM sleep, but they did not differ after being awaken. In addition, dream reports after spontaneous awaking from REM sleep contained more abstract dream thoughts and less visible dream action. These findings are interpreted as a manifestation of disturbed "dream work" in patients with psychophysiological sleep disorders, i.e. disturbance of connecting thoughts and scenes from the unconscious. Thus, awaking in sleep disorder is interpreted to be a progression into awakeness as a matter of defense.