Sleep and dreaming in Holocaust survivors. Dramatic decrease in dream recall in well-adjusted survivors.

Abstract

Sleep data were obtained on 12 well-adjusted and 11 less-adjusted Holocaust survivors and on 10 control subjects. Each was also awakened from rapid eye movement sleep for dream recall. The less-adjusted survivors had more prolonged sleep latency than the well-adjusted and the control groups and lower sleep efficiency than the control subjects. The well-adjusted group had a significantly lower dream recall rate (33.7%) than the less-adjusted (50.5%) and control groups (80%). There were also significant between-groups differences in dream structure and dream content, in the direction of less complex and less salient dreams in the well-adjusted survivors. It is suggested that the decrease in dream recall is one of the forms of long-term adjustment to severe traumatic events.