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Continuity Between Waking and Dreaming: A Proposal for a Mathematical Model
Michael Scherdl Ph.D
The so-called continuity hypothesis of dreaming states that waking experiences are
reflected in dreams. The formulation of the continuity hypothesis is very broad and vague,
however, so that it seems necessary to investigate factors which might affect the
incorporation rate of waking-life experiences. A review of the different research
paradigms, e. g. assessing temporal references of dream elements, studying the effects of
the pre-sleep situation on dreams, will be presented. Various methodological issues which
limit the generalizability of the findings in this area will also be addressed. After this
overview, several factors such as (a) the time interval between waking-life experience and
dream occurrence, (b) emotional involvement, (c) the type of waking-life experience, (d)
personality traits and (e) the time of the night (time interval between sleep onset and
dream onset) for which empirical data indicates an influence on incorporation rates of
waking-life experiences will be listed. A mathematical model is proposed which should
enable researchers to identify influencing factors and their interactions making a more
precise formulation of the continuity hypothesis possible. (Sleep and Hypnosis
2003;5(1):26-39)
| Keywords: continuity hypothesis, dream content, dreaming, laboratory references, mathematical model |
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