The Effect of Time of Night on Wake-Dream Continuity.

Research has demonstrated a number of time-of-night and stage-of-sleep differences in dream content, such as that dreams from later in the night are longer, more emotional, and more bizarre. It was hypothesized that time of night may therefore demonstrate differences in the continuity of waking life into dreams. Participants (N = 16) were systematically awoken 4 times a night for 2 nights and rated their dreams for wake dream continuity on a number of dimensions. It was found that time of night affects wake-dream continuity overall, particularly showing an increase of bizarreness over time; that there were more references to waking-life media in the early than late night; that there were more references to waking-life activities and objects in the late than early night; and that the ways in which different types of wake-dream continuity correlate (such as continuity with present, past, and future waking life) change from the early to the late night. No stage-of-sleep effects were able to be demonstrated. The results support the hypothesis that time of night affects wake-dream continuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]