EFFECTS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY ON REM LATENCY AND REM TIME

: This study investigated the effect of a functional psychotherapy on the sleep EEG patterns of 6 patients. Contrary to original expectations no significant group differences in REM time and REM latency were found between two nights following therapy sessions and two normal nights. However, across the 4 nights the patients exhibited an average REM latency of 71 min. which was significantly shorter than that recorded in an independent study with the same design and a similar subject population. Clausen, Sersen, and Lidsky (1974) reported an average REM latency of 107.3 min. for 10 normal subjects also recorded across four nights. This result is compared with those in several other studies and discussed in relation to possible changes in dream patterns.