A LiveScience article published earlier this week detailed a couple of studies conducted by Gackenbach in 2006 and 2008 where she surveyed the dreams of gamers and non-gamers and examined the connection between gaming and nightmares. Some of the things she found:

--People who played games were more likely to report lucid dreams (the kind you can control as an observer while still being a participant).--Of people who reported lucid dreams, gamers "never had dream control over anything beyond their dream selves."--Gamers didn't code nightmares as "threatening." Rather, they seemed to be having fun.--Gamers' nightmares are more violent than non-gamer dreams (like, rated-R as opposed to PG-13).

Gackenbach hopes to bring her research to a sleep study lab, but funding is an issue. LiveScience suggests that her research may tie into treatment studies for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The concludes today.

Source: [LiveScience]