Survey reveals associations between Big Five personality traits and nightmare coping habits

A recent study published in the Journal of Sleep Research explores the potential influence of personality traits on how individuals cope with disturbing dreams, known as nightmares. Researchers from Heidelberg University in Germany surveyed 411 adults regarding their personality traits, frequency of nightmares, distress caused by these dreams, and their chosen coping strategies.

Nightmares are vivid, terrifying dreams that often cause sleep disturbances, and while most people experience them occasionally, those with recurring nightmares may develop a nightmare disorder. Past research suggests that the "Big Five" personality traits—openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—can impact how individuals manage daily stressors, including nightmares.

The study's lead researchers, Julia Wiesenthal and Michael Schredl, hypothesized that certain personality traits might correlate with specific coping behaviors. They adjusted their models to consider variables such as age, gender, and education level. After analyzing the data, only one of their initial predictions— that extraverts would be more likely to discuss their nightmares—was supported by the survey results.

The findings indicated that extraverted individuals were more inclined to talk about their nightmares with others, while neurotic individuals tended to avoid situations that might trigger nightmares. Interestingly, neurotic participants were slightly more likely to seek professional help for their nightmares. Although the study identified several secondary associations, such as agreeable individuals preferring to discuss nightmares with friends and family, and openness being linked to practices like self-administered imagery rehearsal therapy, overall, talking about nightmares emerged as the most common coping strategy.

Other notable trends included female participants finding talking about nightmares more helpful than male participants, and younger individuals perceiving discussing nightmares and rewriting dream endings as less effective than older participants. Despite the rarity of specific treatments for regular nightmares, the study highlighted that medication was the least commonly used coping strategy, and no participants rated it as particularly helpful.