Nightmare Disorder: Diagnosis and Treatment Strategies
How can clinicians distinguish nightmare disorder from sleep terrors, nocturnal hallucinations and REM sleep behavior disorder—and what treatments are supported by the strongest evidence? In this Mayo Clinic Sleep Medicine podcast, sleep specialists discuss the clinical presentation, differential diagnosis and management of nightmare disorder. The conversation explores psychiatric and medication-related contributors to frequent nightmares, idiopathic nightmare disorder, and the role of imagery rehearsal therapy as a practical behavioral treatment. The discussion also examines exposure-based therapies, cognitive behavioral approaches, lucid dreaming techniques and medications such as prazosin, including the limitations of current evidence for pharmacologic treatment of idiopathic nightmare disorder.
18 Sept 2026
The Use of Hypnosis in Sleep Disorders
Can clinical hypnosis play a meaningful role in treating parasomnias and other sleep disorders?
In this episode of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Medicine Podcast, sleep specialists discuss the principles, clinical application and emerging evidence surrounding hypnosis as a therapeutic option for parasomnias. Dr. Michael Silber is joined by Dr. Bhanu Kolla, a Mayo Clinic psychiatrist and board-certified sleep specialist with training in clinical hypnotherapy.
The conversation explores how clinical hypnosis uses focused attention, deep relaxation and therapeutic suggestion, along with what current research suggests about its potential neurologic mechanisms. Dr. Kolla also walks through a typical hypnosis session, including induction, mental imagery, progressive relaxation, therapeutic suggestion, reorientation and at-home self-hypnosis practice.
The discussion examines Mayo Clinic follow-up data involving patients treated with hypnosis for parasomnias, including non-REM parasomnias, overlap parasomnias and REM sleep behavior disorder. The physicians discuss reported treatment responses, limitations of the retrospective research, possible mechanisms of benefit and areas where hypnosis appeared less effective.
This episode is intended for physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses and other health professionals interested in sleep medicine, parasomnias and nonpharmacologic approaches to patient care.
7 Sept 2026
Sleep Disturbances in PTSD: Nightmares, Insomnia and Treatment
PTSD and sleep disturbances frequently overlap in clinical practice. In this episode of Mayo Clinic Sleep Medicine, Dr. Michael Silber speaks with Dr. Bhanu Kolla about the evaluation and management of sleep-related symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The discussion addresses PTSD-related nightmares, including the role of prazosin and psychotherapeutic approaches, as well as dream enactment behavior and trauma-associated sleep disorder. The panel also reviews insomnia in patients with PTSD, including cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), and considers whether early treatment of sleep disturbance after trauma could influence subsequent PTSD risk.
Additional topics include the relationship between PTSD and obstructive sleep apnea, other comorbid sleep disorders, and emerging research involving MDMA and psychedelic-assisted approaches for PTSD. The discussion emphasizes areas where evidence is established, where clinical uncertainty remains, and where additional research is needed.
Dr. Bhanu Kolla is a professor of psychiatry at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and a board-certified specialist in sleep medicine and addiction medicine.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
27
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
Contact Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
