2 36 37 Neuropsychological evidence points to involvement of the anterior limbic system.Įxcessive dreaming may also be induced by withdrawal from certain medications. 36 37 Some brain-damaged patients also report more continuous dreaming-that is, dreaming the same content throughout the night, despite intervening episodes of wakefulness. Other types of excessive dreaming occur in patients with brain lesions 2 and include increases in both the frequency and the vividness of dream imagery. 33 Comparative studies of epic dreams with normal dreams, nightmares, and recurrent dreams might shed light on possible pathophysiologic factors, such as whether the repetitive motor imagery is an amplified form of motor imagery in normal dreaming 35 or whether epic dreams are a type of nightmare stripped of affective intensification. 33 PSG evaluation reveals no clinical abnormalities, etiology and pathophysiology remain unknown, and treatments (cognitive, hypnosis, relaxation, medications) have proved largely ineffective. Feelings of fatigue or exhaustion, as well as the recall of endlessly repetitive dreams, may produce distress and lead patients to seek help.Įpic dreaming is more commonly reported by women (85%) than men (15%). Thus, although excessive, epic dreams are paradoxically impoverished in some respects (see earlier). 33 Comorbid nightmares are reported by 70%, 33 although, unlike in nightmares, emotional arousal is strangely absent from epic dreams. Such dreams occur nightly in 90% of affected patients and 4 nights per week in the remainder. Intense sensations of acceleration or spinning can also occur. Patients have the impression that throughout the night they dream about activity that is continuous, trivial, or banal or physical in nature-for example, repetitive housework, endless walking through snow or mud. Apart from a subsequent case study published by our group, 34 this interesting category has not been further elaborated. Schenck and Mahowald 33 proposed the term epic dreaming to refer to complaints of both excessive dreaming ('dreaming all night long') and daytime fatigue. There are several conditions in which patients complain that their dreams are too abundant, too vivid, or unrelenting. Nielsen, in Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine (Fourth Edition), 2005 EXCESSIVE DREAMING 1, 31 Neuropsychological evidence suggests anterior limbic system involvement.Įxcessive, vivid, and early-onset dreaming can also appear after withdrawal from certain medications such as tricyclic antidepressants 32 and short half-life serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as paroxetine or fluvoxamine (see Chapter 48). 31 Some patients also report dreaming the same content throughout the night, despite intervening episodes of wakefulness. 29 Comparative studies of epic dreams and nightmares might clarify whether their repetitive motor imagery is a type of nightmare stripped of its emotions.Įxcessive dreaming characterizes some patients with brain lesions 1 and includes increases in both dream frequency and vividness. Cognitive, relaxation, and drug-based treatments and hypnosis have proved ineffective. No clinical abnormalities have been observed, leaving its etiology and pathophysiology unclear. The endless dreaming and feelings of fatigue can produce distress, which leads the dreamer to seek medical consultation. 29 Unlike nightmares, however, epic dreams can lack vivid emotion altogether. Such dreams occur nightly in 90% of affected patients, and comorbid nightmares are reported by 70%.

Sensations of acceleration or spinning are also reported. 29, 30 Patients complain of dreaming all night long about continuous physical activity, often of a banal nature, such as repetitive housework or endless walking through snow or mud. Epic dreaming refers to complaints of excessive dreaming combined with daytime fatigue. Several conditions are characterized by dreams that are excessively abundant or intense. Tore Nielsen, in Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine (Fifth Edition), 2011 Excessive Dreaming

Sleep now in the fire meaning