{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T14:27:16Z","timestamp":1782311236327,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,8]],"date-time":"2025-03-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741392000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>This preliminary study investigates the potential for a technique that enables purposeful guiding of dream content (Targeted Dream Incubation; TDI) to change the degree to which an individual feels in control of their dreams (Dream Self-Efficacy; DSE). DSE is a subset of a larger concept of self-efficacy relating to one\u2019s belief in their own abilities and competencies. Examining DSE may be quite important, as past research has demonstrated that DSE may be linked to positive treatment outcomes in specific therapies, such as interventions for trauma-related nightmares. Furthermore, prior research has found that decreasing feelings of helplessness related to sleep has been shown to improve insomnia symptoms and daytime fatigue. Thus, our study sought to examine the relationship between TDI and DSE. We enrolled N\u2005=\u200525 participants in a TDI protocol conducted during a predominantly N1 sleep nap, where participants completed surveys before and after a TDI paradigm. Our results revealed that TDI was linked to DSE, with individuals reporting significantly higher levels of DSE after the TDI protocol. These results provide preliminary evidence for a technique (TDI) that could increase DSE with the overall aim of improving the efficacy of specific sleep-related interventions, such as treatments for trauma-related nightmares. Future research should aim to further confirm these results with a control condition and examine the effects of TDI within the context of behavioral sleep interventions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/sleepadvances\/zpaf013","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,8]],"date-time":"2025-03-08T18:25:56Z","timestamp":1741458356000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Targeted dream incubation and dream self-efficacy"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0259-8689","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Westley A","family":"Youngren","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology and Counseling, University of Missouri , Kansas City, MO ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adam Haar","family":"Horowitz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Center for Sleep and Cognition, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Boston, MA ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Victoria","family":"West Staples","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology and Counseling, University of Missouri , Kansas City, MO ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michelle","family":"Carr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, University of Montreal , Montreal, QC ,","place":["Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Stickgold","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Sleep and Cognition, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Boston, MA ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School , Boston, MA ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pattie","family":"Maes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,8]]},"reference":[{"issue":"4","key":"2025042507323410200_CIT0001","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"372","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.2012.12040432","article-title":"Sleep disturbances as the hallmark of PTSD: where are we now","volume":"170","author":"Germain","year":"2013","journal-title":"Am J Psychiatry."},{"issue":"1","key":"2025042507323410200_CIT0002","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1037\/drm0000261","article-title":"Nightmare types and 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