Professor Caroline Horton
Caroline joined BGU in April 2015. She is Professor of Sleep and Cognition, where she is director of the DrEAMSLab, Chair of BGU’s Research Ethics Committee, Lead for the Psychology, Health and Wellbeing Research and Knowledge Exchange Unit, and REF lead for Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience (UoA 4A) for BGU.
Caroline contributes to the undergraduate BA Psychology courses, having previous programme led the courses, as well as the PhD programme. (see: www.dreamslab.co.uk / @sleepandmemory).
More widely, Caroline is the Co-Director of the Lincoln Sleep Research Centre (LiSReC), the Treasurer and Trustee of the British Sleep Society, an elected committee member of the Cognitive Section of the British Psychological Society, where she is also a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol), and a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams Research Board. As a Committee member for the BPS’ Division of Health Psychology, Caroline is Co-Editor of the Health Psychology Update. Caroline is affiliated to research groups at the University of Lincoln, and Swinburne University, Australia. Caroline is a regular reviewer for several academic journals, a renowned expert in sleep, dreaming and memory, as well as on the Editorial Board for Sleep Psychology, and two of the Frontiers in Psychology journals. Caroline has been an external examiner at the University of Edinburgh (2019-2023; MSc Psychology of Mental Health) and is currently an examiner at the University of Derby (Psychology MRes) and Newman University (MSc Psychology (conversion)) and has externally examined several research degrees.
Before joining BGU, Caroline obtained her undergraduate (2003) and Master's (2004) degrees in Psychology from the University of Durham, her PhD from the Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds (2007), and a PGCHE from Leeds Metropolitan University (2008). Caroline has taught at the Universities of Durham and Leeds as well as the Open University, and predominantly at Leeds Metropolitan University where she was a Lecturer then Senior Lecturer (2007-2015).
Caroline’s research interests principally span the fields of sleep, dreaming, and memory, and the relationships between those concepts. She has pioneered and developed the Sleep Well programme, a behavioural sleep improvement programme, which is being rolled out to various populations, including young adults with anxiety, and people living with diabetes.
Caroline regularly features in the media, on BBC radio shows and international podcasts. She is the founder and host of the Sleep Science Pod.
Caroline supervises a number of doctoral students (as detailed below) and contributes across the BA Psychology suite of courses, specialising in Cognitive Psychology and Research Methods, and dissertation supervision. She contributes to the Education Doctorate (EdD), taught and research strands. She has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2009. Caroline previously acted as Academic Coordinator for the BA Psychology programme.
Caroline also acts as external examiner for MSc Psychology Conversion (Birmingham Newman University, University of Edinburgh to 2024) and Psychology MRes programmes (University of Derby).
Caroline has supervised 10 doctoral students through to completion, some of which are listed below for an indication of projects.
Caroline supervises both PhD and EdD students, and is always interested to hear from potential students who may wish to explore doctoral study exploring sleep and how to improve it, memory consolidation, dreaming and/or emotion regulation.
PhD: (Sept 2009-Nov 2012) Director of Studies (first supervisor) for Josie Malinowski’s PhD studentship, funded by Leeds Metropolitan University, “How and Why We Dream of Waking Life: An Empirical Investigation into the Continuity Hypothesis of Dreaming”. Passed viva March 2013.
PhD: (Oct 2016-Oct 2020) First supervisor (BGU) for Anthony Bloxham, “Dreaming and memory consolidation” Passed viva April 2021, corrections accepted June 2021.
PhD: (July 2016-Oct 2020) First supervisor (BGU) for Vytautas Nastajus, “Sleep-dependent episodic memory consolidation using virtual environments”. Passed viva May 2021, corrections accepted June 2021.
Fiona Henrich May 2017-present (“The adaptive function of dreams in PTSD”); Swinbourne University, Australia, external supervisor.
PhD (joined August 2019, full time) First supervisor (BGU) for Jo Cormack, “Parenting picky eaters: IPA approach”. Passed viva November 2021.
PhD (joined Sept 2022) First supervisor for Jess Vernon, “Motivation to learn foreign languages in secondary school”. Corrections accepted September 2024.
A fuller list of publications and outputs can be available upon request.
Horton, C.L. & Weighall, A.R. (2025) The nature of sleep and how to improve it. The Journal of Family and Child Health, 2(2). doi.org/10.12968/jfch.2025.2.2.79
Horton, C.L. Emotion regulation in dreams. (chapter) Cambridge Handbook of Sleep Theories and Models. Forthcoming: 2025.
Crawford, M.R., Winnebeck, E.C., von Schantz, M., Gardani, M., Miller, M.A., Revell, V., Hare, A., Horton, C.L. Durrant, S., and Steier, J. (In press; 2025) Response to Martin-Olalla and Mira’s letter to the editor “Seasonal Daylight Saving Time in UK: a long-standing, successful record with few reasons to alter”, Journal of Sleep Research.
Bloxham, A., & Horton, C.L. (2024) Enhancing and Advancing the Understanding and Study of Dreaming and Memory Consolidation: Reflections, Challenges, Theoretical Clarity, and Methodological Considerations. Consciousness and Cognition, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810024000862 .
Crawford, M.R., Winnebeck, E.C., von Schantz, M., Gardani, M., Miller, M.A., Revell, V., Hare, A., Horton, C.L. Durrant, S., and Steier, J. (2024) The British Sleep Society position statement on permanent Daylight-Saving Time. Journal of Sleep Research. DOI: 10.1111/jsr.14352
Pearson, E., Rao, N., Siraj, I. Aboud, F., Horton, C.L., & Hendry, H. (2024) Workforce preparation for delivery of nurturing care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: expert consensus on critical multi-sectoral training needs, Child: Care, Health & Development, 50(1), e13180. http://doi.org/10.1111/cch.13180
Horton, C.L. & Whitehead, J. (2024) Sleep well: The development of a behavioural sleep improvement programme in young adults without insomnia. Journal of Sleep Research, 33.
Horton, C.L. (2023) The neurobiology of dreaming. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences (IF: 3.47), 7(5), 477-486. doi: 10.1042/ETLS20230099. PMID: 38130166.
Horton, C.L. & Llewellyn, S. (2021) Editorial: Cognition during Sleep: Hyperassociativity, Associativity and New Connections, Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 4056. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.641547
Malinowski, J.E., & Horton, C.L. (2021) Dreams reflect nocturnal cognitive processes: Early-night dreams are continuous with waking life, and late-night dreams are emotional and hyperassociative, Consciousness and Cognition, 88, 103071. DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.103071
Horton, C. L., Llewellyn, S., eds. (2021). Cognition During Sleep: Hyperassociativity, Associativity and New Connections. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/978-2-88966-559-4
Horton, C.L. (2020) Key concepts in dream research: Cognition and consciousness are inherently linked, but do no not control “control”! Frontiers in Human Neuroscience: Cognitive Neurosciences. 14(259) 1-4. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00259.
Bloxham, A., Horton, C.L., & Durrant, S. (2019) reactivating and consolidating memories in sleep and dreams. International Journal of Dream Research, 12, S40.
Horton, C.L. & Malinowski, J.E. (2018) Emotion regulation in dreaming. In R. Hoss, K. Valli & R. Gongloff (Eds) Dreams: Understanding Biology, Psychology, and Culture (2018). ABC: CLIO.
Horton, C.L. (2017) Consciousness across sleep and wake – continuity and discontinuity of memory experiences. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 8, 159. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00159
Malinowski, J.E. & Horton, C.L. (2015) Metaphor and hyperassociativity: The imagination mechanisms behind emotional memory assimilation in sleep and dreams. Frontiers in Psychology: Psychopathology. 6, 1132. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01132
Horton, C.L. & Malinowski. J.E. (2015) Autobiographical memory and hyperassociativity in the dreaming brain: Implications for memory consolidation in sleep. Frontiers in Psychology: Psychopathology, 6, 874. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00874
Malinowski, J., & Horton, C.L. (2014) Differences in dreams of waking life from early-night to late-night sleep. Dreaming, 24(4), 253-269
Horton, C.L. (2014) Dream recall and confabulation. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 34(2),163-177.
Malinowski, J.E., & Horton, C.L. (2014) Memory sources of dreams: The incorporation of autobiographical rather than episodic experiences. Journal of Sleep Research, 23(4), 441-7.
Malinowski, J., Fylan, F., & Horton, C.L. (2014). Experiencing ‘continuity’: A qualitative investigation of waking life in dreams. Dreaming, 24(3):161-175
Malinowski, J., & Horton, C.L. (2014) Evidence for the preferential incorporation of emotional waking-life experiences into dreams. Dreaming, 24(1), 18-31.
Kahan, T.A,. & Horton, C.L. (2012) Methodological challenges in dream research. In D. Barratt & P. McNamara. (Eds). Encyclopaedia of Sleep and Dreaming, Greenwood, 418-421
Horton, C.L. & Malinowski, J. (2011) Re-defining discontinuity: Implications for the functions of dreaming. International Journal of Dream Research, 4(2), 78-80.
Malinowski, J., & Horton, C.L.(2011) Themes of continuity. International Journal of Dream Research, 4(2), 42-48.
Horton, C.L. (2011) Rehearsal of Dreams and Waking Events Improves the Quality, But Not the Quantity, of Autobiographical Recall. Dreaming, 21(3), 181-196.
doi: 10.1037/a0024860
Horton, C.L. (2011) Recall and Recognition of Dreams and Waking Events: A Diary Paradigm. International Journal of Dream Research, 4(1), 8-16.
Horton, C.L. (2010) A commentary on Blagrove et al.’s Dream-lag effect: Implications for memory sources. Consciousness and Cognition, 20(2), 392-393.
Parke, A.R., & Horton, C.L. (2009) A re-examination of the interference hypothesis of dream recall and salience. International Journal of Dream Research, 2(2), 60-69.
Horton, C.L., Moulin, C.J.A., & Conway, M.A. (2009) The self and dreams during a period of transition. Consciousness and Cognition, 18(3), 710-717.
Horton, C.L. & Conway, M.A. (2009) The Memory Experiences and Dreams Questionnaire: A Validated Measure of Dream Remembering. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 29(1), 3-29.