Replacing Disturbing Nightmares With Enjoyable Dreams

UMKC researcher studies sleep as a solution to alleviate trauma

As a student dozes off into slumber, an auditory instruction is heard through a monitor.

"Think of a tree," says Westley Youngren, Ph.D., a psychologist, professor and researcher at University of Missouri-Kansas City, as he observes brainwaves from outside a laboratory that resembles a bedroom haven.

Instead of beakers and test tubes, the equipment in this cubed space includes a bed, nightstand, glowing salt lamp, a few serene houseplants and a two-way speaker for Youngren to communicate with his subjects. This time it's Bailee Ehlers, a junior studying psychology, who says she is thinking about a forest as she falls asleep with an eye mask and an EEG strapped onto her to measure the electrical activity in her brain.

The sleep lab is soundproof and darkness washes over when the door is closed, leaving only brainwaves for observation from the outside.

This is done as a part of Youngren's research to prove that imagery and thoughts can control what we dream. While dreams are a fun and happy adventure for him, he understands it may not be so for everyone - especially those who have gone through traumatic experiences, such as combat or sexual assault.

"There is a concept of how much we can control our dreams," Youngren said. "We've found that most people who have chronic trauma-related nightmares don't really feel like they have control of their dreams. It's our goal to show that we can control our dreams, or at least influence the content of them. Having that sense of autonomy could help with their treatments down the road."

Youngren and his research were recently featured in an American Psychological Association cover story about how disturbing dreams, like nightmares, heavily influence sleep quality, leading to long-term effects on individuals' mental, emotional and physical health.

"There's a good amount of research suggesting that treating sleep and nightmares can help trauma-related symptoms overall," Youngren said in the article.

Ehlers is not just a research subject, she is also one of Youngren's research assistants. Being on both sides of the research provided Ehlers with additional insight.

"I was a subject before a research assistant, so it helped me experience what other subjects feel when they participate in the study," Ehlers said. "Seeing that you can influence your thoughts resulting in a better quality of life is really interesting. When dealing with trauma, it can be easy to feel helpless, but this research can help show individuals the power to change the effect it has on them is within themselves. They just need to be shown how."

Youngren hopes to bring joy back to dreaming through his research.

"I think dreams can be a fundamental part of joy in life," Youngren said. "Some of my favorite moments in life are sharing the cool dreams I had with other people. So, a big picture of my research is asking how we can bring the joy of dreaming back into every individual's life."