Neuroscientists discover a surprising key to remembering dreams

Scientists have long wondered why some people remember dreams in detail while others can't remember anything at all. A new study may help reveal this mystery.

Neuroscientists have found that factors such as sleep patterns, age, and cognitive tendencies play a significant role in memorization. The new study was conducted from 2020 to 2024 and included more than 200 participants aged 18 to 70, SciTechDaily reports.

The study by IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, conducted in collaboration with the University of Cameroon, encouraged participants to record their dreams every day for 15 days. Their sleep and cognitive data were tracked using wearable devices and psychometric tests.

Each participant was given a tape recorder to report immediately upon waking about what they saw during their sleep. They had to say whether they remembered the dream or not, whether they had the impression that they had dreamed, and describe the content of the dream if they could recall it.

During the study, participants wore an actigraph, a wristwatch for sleep monitoring that measures sleep duration, efficiency, and disturbances. They also completed psychological tests and questionnaires at the beginning and end of the dream recording period.

What affects dream recall

According to the researchers, dream recall, defined as the likelihood of waking up in the morning with impressions and memories from a dream, showed significant variability between individuals and depended on many factors.

The study found that people with a positive attitude toward dreams and a tendency to mind-wandering were significantly more likely to recall their dreams.

Sleeping patterns also played a crucial role: people who experienced long periods of light sleep were more likely to wake up with a clear picture of their dreams, experts say.

Interestingly, younger participants demonstrated higher levels of dream recall, while older people often experienced "white dreams" (the feeling that they had a dream without remembering any details). This suggests age-related changes in memory processes during sleep.

According to the neuroscientists, there were also seasonal fluctuations when participants reported that they remembered their dreams less in winter than in spring.

Conclusion

"Our findings suggest that dream recall is not just a matter of chance but a reflection of how personal attitudes, cognitive traits, and sleep dynamics interact," explained lead author Giulio Bernardi, professor of general psychology at IMT.

"These insights not only deepen our understanding of the mechanisms behind dreaming but also have implications for exploring dreams’ role in mental health and in the study of human consciousness," he added.

Another scientist and researcher at IMT, Valentina Elce, emphasized that the data collected in this project will serve as a reference for future "comparisons with clinical populations."

"This will allow us to move forward the research on the pathological alterations of dreaming and their potential prognostic and diagnostic value," the expert concluded.

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