The Effects of Stress Films on Dream Affect and on Respiration and Eye-Movement Activity During Rapid-Eye-Movement Sleep.

The effects of stress on the affective content of dreams and on rapid-eye-movement (REM) period eye-movement activity and respiration were studied. The experiment was also designed to examine the similarity between waking and sleeping slates in the respiratory correlates emotion. Sleep records and dream reports were collected following the viewing of stress and neutral films. The stress films significantly increased dream anxiety and also Increased REM-period response irregularity among those Ss who, in the waking state, showed irregular breath patterns in response In stressful film scene. Some evidence was also found that dream affect is related to REM-period respiratory irregularity among the Ss who are waking responders. These data are interpreted as supporting the hypothesized congruence between the waking and dream states in the relationship between affect and hreathing Irregularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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