The Ability to Recall Dreams: A Thematic Overview

Dreams are “a physiologically and psychologically conscious state that occurs during sleep and is often characterized by a rich array of endogenous sensory, motor, emotional, and other experiences” (APA). The ability of an individual to recall their dreams efficiently may be intertwined with their cognitive functions. This review paper seeks to study the different predictors on the ability to recall dreams. Research papers published between 2013 and 2023 were reviewed systematically and analyzed accordingly. Numerous findings were reported among which some researchers found intra-sleep awakenings are longer in high dream recallers than in low dream recallers. Significant differences in different sleep stages and brain reactivity were also described in some cases. Understanding the effects of various regions of the brain and effects of different cognitive factors may facilitate dream recall and enhance overall competency in various tasks.