Banca de DEFESA: GABRIEL AUGUSTO BAPTISTA CUNHA

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : GABRIEL AUGUSTO BAPTISTA CUNHA
DATE: 26/03/2026
TIME: 08:00
LOCAL: https://meet.google.com/ypq-uppe-dvk
TITLE:

Investigation of the influence of subjective experience with video games on subsequent sleep, dreams, nightmares, and dream incubation.

KEY WORDS:

dream incubation; dream recall; nightmare; sleep; electronic games; Threat Simulation Theory;

PAGES: 115
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Fisiologia
SUMMARY:

This study investigates how aspects of the subjective experience with electronic games — immersion, emotional mobilization (threat and reward), and novelty — influence dreaming activity (incubation, dream recall, and nightmares) and sleep quality on the subsequent night. Threat Simulation Theory (TST) proposes that dreaming functions as an adaptive mechanism where threatening events are simulated during sleep, contributing to the optimization of waking behavior. Electronic games emerge as interesting tools for studying TST in humans by simulating situations without offering real risks, being frequently recognized in the literature for their potential to promote associated dreams. An online experiment (N=158) was conducted in four stages. Participants filled out questionnaires before interacting with an electronic game of their choice, then played a title for the first time and reported their experiences through the First Game Session Evaluation (FGSE) questionnaire and the Post-Sleep questionnaire after the subsequent sleep period. It was observed that dream recall was positively predicted by feelings of relief and disorientation (feeling lost/confused), but negatively by joy felt during the game. Sleep quality was not influenced by the game, but by variables intrinsic to sleep itself. Dream incubation was associated with immersion, novelty, the sensation of being prey, and threat variables (fear, suspense, jumpscare, and frightening aspect), with the incubation of ecological dynamics standing out over sensory ones. Waking up thinking about the game presented itself as an indicator of incubation, even in the absence of content recall. Regarding nightmares, their occurrence was linked to the sensation of being prey in the dream, nocturnal awakenings, and extreme experiences of fear in the game, being mitigated by the incubation of pleasure and fun. In terms of genres, RPG, adventure, and sports demonstrated greater potential for dream influence. Semantic analysis via SBERT confirmed a closer proximity between dream reports and game descriptions in participants with high incubation. Our findings indicate that the experience with electronic games significantly affects dream content and recall, but not sleep quality.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Interno - 1721223 - ADRIANO BRETANHA LOPES TORT
Externo ao Programa - 1323908 - JOAO CARLOS ALCHIERI - nullPresidente - 1660044 - SIDARTA TOLLENDAL GOMES RIBEIRO
Externo à Instituição - WILFREDO BLANCO FIGUEROLA - UERN