The psychology of sleep and dreams

We've been through the archives of The Psychologist and the Research Digest to bring you our top articles on dream diaries, sleep paralysis, memory consolidation during sleep, insomnia and much more.

Here are our articles from The Psychologist archive...

Does dreaming have a function?
Mark Blagrove considers the evidence, and a new theory.

We also meet Mark, and Bryony Sheaves, in episode 36 of our PsychCrunch podcast, on the secrets of dreams and nightmares.

'We are interested in how the clock breaks down'
We meet Stephany Biello

Dreams and their relationship to waking life
Nikolay Petrov and Oliver Robinson

Five strange facts about dreams

Drifting minds - maladaptive daydreaming and hypnogogic state
Podcast

A databank for the nation's dreams and visions
Richard Wiseman on The Premonition Bureau

Is lack of sleep a problem?
Emma Young digests the research

Sleeping like a baby: Sleep in the first years of life
An exclusive chapter from Alice Gregory's book Nodding Off: The Science of Sleep from Cradle to Grave 

Reporting your 'dream self'
Christine Parsons and Melanie Rosen on how we construct an image by sharing activity data and dream reports

'Being a sleep researcher makes you very, very boring…'
… but Vicki Culpin is far from it 

A lullaby for a frenetic world
Pamela Jacobsen emerges well rested from sleeping with the fishes: experiencing Max Richter's 'Sleep' at Old Billingsgate, London

A brave new world of sleep?
Gareth Gaskell reviews the evidence on memory consolidation during sleep

The silent companions
Ben Alderson-Day considers explanations for 'feelings of presence'; see also our more recent interview.

Big Picture: The Sleep Paralysis Project
Image and text by Carla MacKinnon

Time and the sleeping brain
Penelope A. Lewis and Warren H. Meck argue that the importance of timing leads the brain to protect against damage to the system – while we sleep 

Terror in the night
Julia Santomauro and Christopher C. French examine the experience of sleep paralysis

Dreaming of a restful sleep
Ian Florance talks to Brad Martin about clinical practice, and his use of imaging rescripting therapy

Too stressed to sleep
Alice M. Gregory and Nicola L. Barclay on whether stress early in life is linked to later sleep problems

Dreaming – motivated or meaningless?
Mark Blagrove on a land still stubbornly slow to offer up its secrets

A cornucopia of sleep research
Jon Sutton talks to Jim Horne, Director of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University, about a varied and productive career 

An active, synthetic genius
Allan Hobson, one of the pioneers in the field of what sleep and dreaming are 'for', talks to Jon Sutton

Insomnia – Victorian style
As this year could be considered the 'centenary of insomnia', Jim Horne looks at how understanding of the psychological aspects was slow to develop 

Sleep on a Problem... It works like a dream
Josephine Ross with some fascinating anecdotal accounts of creative and scientific insights in dreams 

State of the art: Sleep
Jim Horne discusses the latest research on sleep, dreaming and sleep deprivation

Dreamwork in dream groups and psychotherapy
An exclusive chapter from 'The Psychology of Dreaming' by Josie Malinowski

We've also summarised plenty of studies about sleep on our Research Digest…

A lack of sleep causes anxiety — But don't worry about it
Freddy Parker

Researchers identify sleep as a key reason why personality traits predict longevity
Christian Jarrett

This diary study suggests it's probably not a good idea to use cannabis to help you sleep
Matthew Warren

Digital therapy for insomnia shows how technology can be harnessed to improve sleep and mental health
Jack Barton

'Insomnia identity' – Misbelieving you've got sleep problems can be more harmful than actual lack of sleep
Alex Fradera

Researchers say this 5-minute technique could help you fall asleep more quickly
Christian Jarrett

When you're sleeping, how much does your brain pay attention to the outside world?
Daniel Bor

Dreams aren't just visual - we often hear voices and other sounds too

Listen to an episode of our podcast PsychCrunch, 'How to get a good night's sleep', with guests Professor Kenneth Lichstein at the University of Alabama and Professor Penny Lewis at the University of Cardiff.