Scary Games Don't Add Up To Nightmares

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
1
0
Scary Games Don't Add Up To Nightmares


Interesting new research from Germany indicates that scary videogames and movies don't actually give kids nightmares.

Conducted by Michael Schredl, head of research at the Sleep Laboratory at Germany's Central Institute of Mental Health [http://www.zi-mannheim.de/start_en.html], the study presented 252 children aged nine to 13 years with a questionnaire about "media use and nightmares." According to the results, there was no correlation between the frequency of nightmares and differences in TV watching or videogaming habits. In fact, according to the report, television shows including popular police and crime shows appeared to have no impact on dreams whatsoever. Reading, on the other hand, did appear to be connected with dreams, although researchers said the number of children affected is too small to be conclusive.

"It might make sense that not only the pictures themselves are of importance, but what children fantasize during the day," Schredl said in a Calgary Herald [http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=f2eff2d4-2fc0-4a3b-9505-142dfcfce80c] report. "They might be more stimulated by reading than by watching TV."

46 percent of the study respondents said they hadn't had any nightmares over the past few months, while 38 percent reported them "occasionally" and 16 percent suffered them at least once a week. Girls also appeared significantly more likely to have nightmares than boys, although Schredl claimed that could be because they remember more of their dreams, a pattern he said had emerged previously in studies of young adults.

While nobody is suggesting the parents send their seven-year-olds on a late-night romp through the Shalebridge Cradle, parents can at least take some comfort in the knowledge that a little time spent playing videogames won't come back to haunt their kids at night. The abstract of the study can be read at the American Psychological Association website [http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=2008-07366-001].

via: What They Play [http://www.whattheyplay.com/blog/2008/07/28/playing-scary-games-doesnt-cause-nightmares/]


Permalink
 

AmrasCalmacil

New member
Jul 19, 2008
2,421
0
0
It's worrying what scientists seem to get up to when they think no-one's looking.

I'm an absolute coward who, when the going gets tough, whimpers, starts saving constantly, and preferably has the beefiest weapon I can carry and after a while it just doesn't phase me until the next time I play.
 

Archaeology Hat

New member
Nov 6, 2007
430
0
0
This interests me, because while I don't get nightmares more often when playing scary games and watching scary films there does seem to be a link to the subject matter.

That said, I don't get nightmares much. I don't get nightmares to the extent that I'm shocked when I do.
 

HomeAliveIn45

New member
Jun 4, 2008
480
0
0
I would think that the "You'll get nightmares if you watch/play scary things" cliche is more of an expression than an actual fact.
 

varulfic

New member
Jul 12, 2008
978
0
0
HomeAliveIn45 said:
I would think that the "You'll get nightmares if you watch/play scary things" cliche is more of an expression than an actual fact.
When I first saw Nightmare on Elm Street, I had bad dreams for like two weeks. Of course, that could just be a huge coincidence and have nothing to do with that movie which terrified me so.
 

teknoarcanist

New member
Jun 9, 2008
916
0
0
Well being afraid and having nightmares are two different things. Nightmares are about as random and trivial as most dreams. I don't think I've ever seen a scary movie and then had a nightmare about it.
Now that said, a good scary piece of entertainment stays in your mind for the next few days. If you watch The Village, every still forest should give you the chills. If you read The Zombie Survival Guide, you should be looking down quiet suburban streets at night and expecting a moan.
Forget nightmares; it's daydreams that scare the piss out of me :p
 

Jumplion

New member
Mar 10, 2008
7,873
0
0
Huh, that's interesting.

Honestly, the reason why I never played too many horror survival games was because I thought it would be too scary and thus give me nightmares or something similar to it. It's still a possibility, but now that i'm getting old I might get into more horror survival games now.
 

Yechezkel

New member
Jul 29, 2008
35
0
0
teknoarcanist said:
Well being afraid and having nightmares are two different things. Nightmares are about as random and trivial as most dreams. I don't think I've ever seen a scary movie and then had a nightmare about it.
Now that said, a good scary piece of entertainment stays in your mind for the next few days. If you watch The Village, every still forest should give you the chills. If you read The Zombie Survival Guide, you should be looking down quiet suburban streets at night and expecting a moan.
Forget nightmares; it's daydreams that scare the piss out of me :p
This is it exactly. When I was a kid, I never got nightmares after watching a scary movie, although I admit I had a few sleepless nights.

Also, I've read that guide, and now there's this part of me in the back of my mind that sizes up every building I walk into defendability during a zombie attack.
 

Johnn Johnston

New member
May 4, 2008
2,519
0
0
I'm the kind of guy that, when he walks into a cave in Oblivion and comes across a zombie charging at him, kills it and then presses the Back button every 5 or 6 seconds, using it to see if there are any more close by.

But nightmares? Nah.
 

Mistah Kurtz

New member
Jul 6, 2008
435
0
0
I don't know about that, I saw the original scream when I was 8 years old and had nightmares for months about it, I even felt uneasy seeing trick or treaters wearing scream masks for a little while.
 
Mar 26, 2008
3,429
0
0
The Shalebridge Cradle scared the stuffing out of me at 28! Didn't give me nightmares but it had me looking over my shoulders at times.
 

orreso

New member
Jun 27, 2008
61
0
0
I have a very vivid imagination, so Scary movies and tv make me very on edge for a day or so but I never have nightmares, every, just very obscure dreams (which reminds me, I still need to chase down that god-damned purple dragon)
 

Mr.Pandah

Pandah Extremist
Jul 20, 2008
3,967
0
0
Its not the nightmares(as infrequent as they are) that really scare me, its just my imagination before i go to sleep. Thats what really scares the shit out of me.
 

jdguy

New member
Jul 28, 2008
61
0
0
You know... What we need to do is just scare the piss out of children to give them nightmares. Like I don't know pay parents to give their kids a good spook every now and then.

really though I am glad that once again science has slapped down scared over protective parents.

That being said I don't think an eight year old needs to play SE5 and I don't think Love Craft should instantly become required reading in classrooms. (not just because its scary but have you actually tried to read victorian lit... BLEH)
 

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
1
0
You know what gave me nightmares as a child? Mr. Clean. I shit you not.

I also had some serious issues with Big Bird.

Obviously I was a little younger than nine when these things were happening, but it's pretty clear the mind has its own ideas about how to scare the bejeezus out of you while you're asleep.
 

Johnn Johnston

New member
May 4, 2008
2,519
0
0
Malygris said:
I also had some serious issues with Big Bird.
It took me a while to realise you were talking about the Sesame Street character and not some WW2 Spitfire pilot. I was really confused.