Dream Activity in Narcoleptic Patients During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy

• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.681569
• Publication Date: 2021-05-26T06:19:43Z
• Authors: Serena Scarpelli; Valentina Alfonsi; Anita D'Anselmo; Maurizio Gorgoni; Alessandro Musetti; Giuseppe Plazzi; Luigi De Gennaro; Christian Frances...
• Keywords: Lucid dream; Nightmare

Some studies highlighted that patients with narcolepsy type-1 (NT1) experience high lucid dream frequency, and this phenomenon has been associated a creative personality. Starting from the well-known “pandemic effect” on sleep dreaming, we presented picture of activity in pharmacologically treated NT1 during Italian lockdown. Forty-three completed web-survey Spring 2021 were compared 86 matched-controls. Statistical comparisons revealed that: (a) showed greater sleepiness than controls; (b) controls higher disturbances patients, result disappeared when medication effect was controlled; (c) reported frequency controls. Focusing dreaming found nightmare correlated female gender, longer duration, intrasleep wakefulness; recall, positively sleepiness. Comparisons between low dreamers more frequently experiencing dreams influence wakefulness, especially concerning problem-solving creativity. Overall, our results are consistent previous pandemic carried out healthy subjects. Moreover, confirmed link lucidity creativity patients. Considering small sample size cross-sectional design, findings cannot provide causal relationship COVID-19 Nevertheless, they represent first contribution to address future issue, suggesting some stable characteristics could interact changes provoked by pandemic.