How Often Do Adults Recall Their Dreams?

Herman, Steve; Shows, W. Derek

doi:10.2190/a3r8-c69h-13x5-p5v0

Cited by 35 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…They are especially consistent with the finding that this DRF decrease occurs in early-to-middle adulthood rather than in later years (e.g., Herman and Shows, 1983; Giambra et al, 1996). We also demonstrate that this DRF decrease is preceded by a significant increase during adolescence, i.e., during the transition from ages 10–19 to 20–29.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…First, the survey study cited earlier (Herman and Shows, 1983) reported a sudden decrease in DRF between 17–20 year-olds and those aged 30–69. Similarly, Kahn et al (1969) found that the biggest decrease in DRF occurred between 25 and 35 years of age, while Giambra et al (1996) found the decrease to occur between ages 20 and 38.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…One early study of 17- to 70-year-old college-educated participants ( n = 295) found that dream recall frequency (DRF) was at its highest level (9.8 dreams/month) in the late teens, progressively lower at ages 30–39 (6.1/month), 40–49 (4.2/month), and 50–59 (3.7/month) and then somewhat higher again at ages 60–69 (4.5/month; Herman and Shows, 1983). A second measure of dream recall in this study, the number of separate dreams recallable in 5 min, produced a clear linear decrease with age.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variations in Dream Recall Frequency and Dream Theme Diversity by Age and Sex

Nielsen

2012

Front. Neur.

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We assessed dream recall frequency (DRF) and dream theme diversity (DTD) with an internet questionnaire among a cohort of 28,888 male and female participants aged 10–79 years in a cross-sectional design. DRF increased from adolescence (ages 10–19) to early adulthood (20–29) and then decreased again for the next 20 years. The nature of this decrease differed for males and females. For males, it began earlier (30–39), proceeded more gradually, and reached a nadir earlier (40–49) than it did for females. For females, it began later (40–49), dropped more abruptly, and reached nadir later (50–59). Marked sex differences were observed for age strata 10–19 through 40–49 and year-by-year analyses estimated the window for these differences to be more precisely from 14 to 44 years. DTD decreased linearly with age for both sexes up to 50–59 and then dropped even more sharply for 60–79. There was a sex difference favoring males on this measure but only for ages 10–19. Findings replicate, in a single sample, those from several previous studies showing an increase in DRF from adolescence to early adulthood, a subsequent decrease primarily in early and middle adulthood, and different patterns of age-related decrease in the two sexes. Age-related changes in sleep structure, such as decreasing %REM sleep which parallel the observed dream recall changes, might help explain these findings, but these sleep changes are much smaller and more gradual in nature. Changes in the phase and amplitude of circadian rhythms of REM propensity and generational differences in life experiences may also account for some part of the findings. That decreases in DTD parallel known age-related decreases in episodic and autobiographical memory may signify that this new diversity measure indexes an aspect of autobiographical memory that also influences dream recall.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variations in Dream Recall Frequency and Dream Theme Diversity by Age and Sex

Nielsen

2012

Front. Neur.

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“…We initially investigated non-lucid dreams, and observed that most respondents claimed to remember dreams once or twice a week (Figure 2A), in accordance with similar studies on dream recall frequency (Herman and Shows, 1983; Schredl et al, 2003; Nielsen et al, 2006). The dream content, according to subjective point of view, was classified as first person dreams (active dreams “from within”, in which the subject makes decisions and acts at will), or as third person dreams (passive dreams, in which the dreamer participates “from without” as an observer, spectator or just another dream character).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Dream characteristics in a Brazilian sample: an online survey focusing on lucid dreaming

Mota-Rolim¹,

Targino²,

Souza³

et al. 2013

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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During sleep, humans experience the offline images and sensations that we call dreams, which are typically emotional and lacking in rational judgment of their bizarreness. However, during lucid dreaming (LD), subjects know that they are dreaming, and may control oneiric content. Dreaming and LD features have been studied in North Americans, Europeans and Asians, but not among Brazilians, the largest population in Latin America. Here we investigated dreams and LD characteristics in a Brazilian sample (n = 3,427; median age = 25 years) through an online survey. The subjects reported recalling dreams at least once a week (76%), and that dreams typically depicted actions (93%), known people (92%), sounds/voices (78%), and colored images (76%). The oneiric content was associated with plans for the upcoming days (37%), memories of the previous day (13%), or unrelated to the dreamer (30%). Nightmares usually depicted anxiety/fear (65%), being stalked (48%), or other unpleasant sensations (47%). These data corroborate Freudian notion of day residue in dreams, and suggest that dreams and nightmares are simulations of life situations that are related to our psychobiological integrity. Regarding LD, we observed that 77% of the subjects experienced LD at least once in life (44% up to 10 episodes ever), and for 48% LD subjectively lasted less than 1 min. LD frequency correlated weakly with dream recall frequency (r = 0.20, p < 0.01), and LD control was rare (29%). LD occurrence was facilitated when subjects did not need to wake up early (38%), a situation that increases rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) duration, or when subjects were under stress (30%), which increases REMS transitions into waking. These results indicate that LD is relatively ubiquitous but rare, unstable, difficult to control, and facilitated by increases in REMS duration and transitions to wake state. Together with LD incidence in USA, Europe and Asia, our data from Latin America strengthen the notion that LD is a general phenomenon of the human species.

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“…Regarding the effects of stress on DRF the results are conflicting (cf. Armitage 1992); if subjects, however, have been asked for factors which might be associated with periods of heightened DRF, they often report that stress is one of these factors (Cartwright 1979; Herman and Shows 1984).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model

Schredl

Wittmann

Ciric

et al. 2003

Journal of Sleep Research

138

110

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SUMMAR Y Previous research has indicated that personality factors such as openness to experience, creativity, visual memory, attitude toward dreams, and sleep behavior is related to home dream recall frequency (DRF). However, a study investigating all areas simultaneously within one sample in order to determine the percentage of variance explained by all variables and to take intercorrelations between the influencing factors into account has not been performed till now. The present study with 444 participants fills this gap. Using several indicators for each of the variables mentioned above, a structural equation model was tested. Although the model fit was satisfying, the four factors which were significantly related to DRF: personality (openness to experience, thin boundaries, absorption), creativity, nocturnal awakenings, and attitude toward dreams, explained only 8.4% of the total variance. As this value is considerably lower than those of studies investigating a single influencing factor and using similar measurement instruments in similar samples, one might speculate about possible expectancy effects in these previous studies, an effect which has been demonstrated for DRF in the laboratory setting.

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How Often Do Adults Recall Their Dreams?

Cited by 35 publications

References 15 publications

Variations in Dream Recall Frequency and Dream Theme Diversity by Age and Sex

Variations in Dream Recall Frequency and Dream Theme Diversity by Age and Sex

Dream characteristics in a Brazilian sample: an online survey focusing on lucid dreaming

Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model

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