Nightmare Recall Affected by Sleep Apnea
Although forgetting nightmares might be considered a good thing for most people, those who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea may not benefit from it. Researchers from the Sleep Disorders Center of Southern Colorado at the University of Colorado School of Medicine released a study suggesting that OSA sufferers remember nightmares less frequently because the apnea suppresses restorative rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
Published in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, the study measured the recall of dreams and nightmares separately over a period of two years among 393 patients undergoing polysomnography at an American Academy of Sleep Medicine-accredited facility.
Authors J.F. Pagel, M.D., and Carol Kwiatkowski, PhD, found that study participants had more trouble recalling nightmares than the general population, and that nightmare and dream recall weren't associated with each other. Pagel and Kwiatkowsi suspect that this is because nightmares are generally tied to REM sleep. They note that the use of CPAP equipment helps restore normal sleep cycles. This gives individuals better REM sleep, restoring cognitive function and bringing back better nightmare recall.