Influence of computer games on the sleep quality and the nature of dreams in students

Abstract

This study explored the use of different forms of the virtual world among students and the study of its influence on unconscious processes in students. The test group was comprised of 141 participants who were second to fifth year students at a technical university of Minsk city. We found that 38.3% of the participants spent more than 40 hours per work in the virtual world and 26.2% spent 25–39 hours per week. Moreover, 90.8% of the students engaged in computer games and game plots were present in the dreams of 16.3% of students. Nightmares and incubi were the cause of being awoken in 71.6% of students. Moreover, 14.9% of respondents expressed changes in depth psychology. Computer games are especially popular in the students’ environment, and their substantial impact on the gamers’ sleep quality and the nature of dreams was observed.