Available online at:
https://cc.arcabc.ca/islandora/object/cc%3Apsycjournal

J Camosun Psyc Res. (2025). Vol. 7(1), pp. 62-81.
Submitted Winter 2025; accepted May 2025.

What Determines the Dreams Recalled?
Authors: Bronwyn Hughes*
Supervising Instructor: Michael Pollock, Psyc 110 (“Experimental Psychology”)
Department of Psychology, Camosun College, 3100 Foul Bay Road, Victoria, BC, Canada V8P 5J2
*Corresponding author email: hbronwyn488@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
In this paper, I sought to understand what determines the dreams that are recalled so that I
could learn a possible way to relieve recurring nightmares. Previous research has predicted
dream recall frequency by variables such as time of day one is asleep, sleep awakenings, and
interest in dreams. In my correlational study, I tested the strength of these relationships by
examining naturalistic daily changes in their variables longitudinally over a period of 11 days. I
measured time of day one is asleep by bedtime and sleep duration, sleep awakenings by
recording awakenings during the night, interest in dreams by a daily assessment on a five-point
scale, and dream recall frequency by number of dreams recalled with and without content. A
significant correlation was found between sleep awakenings and dream recall frequency in the
study. This correlation suggests that one possible explanation for what dreams one recalls is how
many times one wakes up. This study provides an interesting starting point for future studies that
could be conducted to determine the reasoning behind this correlation between dream recall and
sleep awakenings.
1. Introduction
1.1 Research Problem
There are some people who do not
remember their dreams, some who
remember very vague and bland dreams, and
some who clearly remember strange dreams
almost every night. I believe that
understanding what causes these kinds of
dreams could be helpful for those dealing
with nightmares. Going to the root of the
issue and understanding what makes dreams
more “creative” could help, in turn, to keep
them less terrifying. Developing a better
understanding of this aspect of the human
mind could help reduce stress in many
people who suffer from such issues around

sleeping. A good night's sleep is paramount
to a healthy and productive lifestyle, so
solving this problem, and or finding ways to
mediate it, is equally important.
1.2 Case History
This study’s participant has had quite an
extensive history with dreams. They have
always experienced very vivid dreams that
are odd and sometimes off-putting. They, in
the past, have reached out to friends and
family inquiring about if this is a common
experience or possible reasonings behind
this. They received a variety of explanations
ranging from sleeping on your side, to eating
cheese before bed, and none of which were
very insightful from a psychological
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perspective. This participant’s interest in the
subject only grew when they started having
recurring nightmares, starting about 6
months ago. This caused a lot of stress
around sleeping for the participant as these
nightmares would of course be upsetting but
not only that, when they would wake up
from the nightmare they would be so
unsettled they could not get back to sleep,
virtually ruining their next day, as they
would be so tired. This, understandably,
caused even more anxiety around going to
sleep. The participant explained that they
experience these nightmares periodically
and no more than twice a month. They have
not looked into what could be the cause of
this other than so far as there seems to be no
apparent cause; the circumstances around
this aren’t easily identifiable as ‘happening
when they are more stressed’ or something
to that nature. They have started thinking if
it is a genetic predisposition or something to
do with their past, though they believe it is
more likely to be
circumstantial/environmental.
1.3 Literature Review
One factor previously found to predict
dream recall frequency is sleep
chronotype/circadian rhythms. For example,
in a survey/observational study by Choo et
al. (2023), researchers performed a crosssectional study – a study that took place at a
specific time, as opposed to over a long
period – in which they had 87 healthy
participants with no underlying sleep
disorders, fill out questionnaires about their
chronotype (i.e., at what time they naturally
go to sleep/wake up and sleep activity) and
then undergo a polysomnography - a
measurement that records body functions
such as brain waves, breathing, or heart rate
as you sleep. The study found that those
with the eveningness chronotype, who go to

bed and wake up later, were not only more
likely to have a recall of their dreams but
they also had a higher tendency to have
nightmares. Based on these results, the
researchers suggested that since those with
the eveningness chronotype sleep more
during the second half of the night and wake
up at an earlier time in the circadian rhythm
(physical and mental changes someone
experiences over a 24-hour cycle), they are
more likely to recall vivid dreams.
Another factor previously found to
predict dream recall frequency is
interruptions during sleep. For example, in a
correlational study by van Wyk et al. (2019),
researchers observed participants from two
groups: High Frequency Recaller (HRF) and
Low Frequency Recaller (LFR). The
participants spent two non-consecutive
nights in a sleep laboratory where they
underwent a polysomnography and then,
upon waking, were asked to fill out a form
on their most recently recalled dream.
Researchers found that participants who
were HFRs experienced significantly more
awakenings during Non-Rapid Eye
Movement (NREM) sleep than those who
were LFRs. Based on these results, the
researchers suggested that dream recall
frequency relates to the number of
awakenings during NREM sleep.
A third factor previously found to predict
dream recall frequency is attitude towards
dreams. For example, in a correlational
survey study by Schredl et al. (2019) that
took place over a period of five years,
researchers had participants fill out surveys
regarding their attitude towards dreams (e.g.,
how interested they were in dreams) and
their dream recall frequency. The results of
this were as expected; they found there was
a positive correlation between attitude
towards dreams and dream recall frequency
that was very stable over time. Based on
these results, the researchers suggested that
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changes in an individual's dream recall
frequency over time are likely due to an
interest, or lack thereof, in the subject.
1.4 Hypotheses
Based on the above literature review, I
predicted the following hypotheses:
● Hypothesis #1: If one goes to bed
later in the night then dream recall frequency
will increase.
● Hypothesis #2: If sleep awakenings
decrease then dream recall frequency will
decrease.
● Hypothesis #3: If interest in dreams
increases then dream recall frequency will
increase.

2.2.1 Time of Day One is Asleep
The participant kept note of when they
were in bed trying to sleep, the last recalled
time before they fell asleep, and the time
immediately as they woke up. They recorded
the duration of their sleep each night as well
as which hours of the day it took place over.
For performing correlations of bedtime with
the other variables, clock times were
expressed as the number of minutes after
midnight when the participant went to bed
for the night, where negative numbers
represent the number of minutes before
midnight and positive numbers represent the
number of minutes after midnight. If the
participant was awake for a long period of
time during the night, they took note of this
too.

2. Methods
2.1 Participant
The author of this paper served as the
participant in its studies. The participant was
18 years old at the time of this study, and is
female. The participant was an
undergraduate student at Camosun College
who completed the current study as a
research project for Psyc 110
(“Experimental Psychology”) due to their
interest in dreams.
2.2 Materials and Procedures
I performed a correlational study to test
concurrently all of our hypotheses by
examining naturalistic daily changes in their
variables longitudinally. The participant kept
a study journal with them at all times over
this study’s 11 day period in order to record
self-observations of the following four
variables: (1) time of day one is asleep, (2)
sleep awakenings, (3) interest in dreams, and
(4) dream recall frequency.

2.2.2 Sleep Awakenings
The participant recorded the number of
times they woke up during the night, to
measure sleep awakenings. They kept a
notebook and pencil nearby while they slept
so that anytime they were consciously
awake, they would put down a tally mark,
the total indicating how many sleep
awakening they experienced in the night.
2.2.3 Interest In Dreams
The participant used a 5-point scale ( 0 =
not at all, 1 = not much, 2 = slight interest, 3
= somewhat interested, 4 = interested, 5 =
very interested) to determine their interest in
dreams for the day and record it before they
went to bed.
2.2.4 Dream Recall Frequency
The participant kept a detailed dream
journal every morning, as soon as they woke
up, describing everything they could
remember from their dreams. The number of
separate dreams recalled was counted to
assess the degree of the dream recollection.
If the participant could not recall any dreams
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from that night then the entry was left blank
and the dream recall count was recorded as
zero, to indicate that no dreams were
recalled. The participant also recorded the
number of separate dreams they recalled
without content.
2.3 Planned Analyses
To assess the strength and statistical
significance of associations between
variables predicted by my three hypotheses,
I performed Pearson product moment
correlations of their predictor variables time
of day one is asleep, sleep awakenings, and
interest in dreams with their outcome
variable dream recall frequency. For testing
Hypothesis #1, I correlated separately
bedtime and sleep duration with dream
recall frequency using dreams just with
content, dreams just without content, and all
dreams. For testing Hypothesis #2, I
correlated the number of awakenings during
sleep with dream recall frequency using
dreams just with content, dreams just
without content, and all dreams. For testing
Hypothesis #3, I correlated interest in
dreams during the day with dream recall
frequency using dreams just with content,
dreams just without content, and all dreams.
A correlation coefficient was considered
statistically significant if the probability of
its random occurrence (p) was < .05 (i.e.,
less than 5% of the time expected by chance
alone).
3. Results
Table 1 lists the descriptive statistics for
the variables in this study. All variables
were normally distributed except for sleep
duration, which was negatively skewed due
to one outlier night with an extremely low
(330 minutes) sleep duration. At least one
dream could be recalled on 10 (91%) of the

11 study nights. On those 10 nights in which
dreams occurred, dream content could be
recalled for 75% of the dreams and not for
25% of the dreams.
As depicted in Table 2, the results of the
correlational study indicate that dream recall
frequency was significantly correlated with
sleep duration and sleep awakenings but not
with bedtime or interest in dreams. Bedtime
was not significantly correlated with dream
recall frequency when using dreams just
with content, dreams just without content,
and all dreams (respectively, r = 0.35, -0.20,
and 0.22, p = 0.31, 0.57, and 0.52; see
Figures 1, 2, and 3). Sleep duration was not
significantly correlating with dream recall
frequency when using dreams just with
content or dreams just without content
(respectively, r = 0.47 and 0.32, p = 0.15
and 0.34; see Figures 4 and 5) but was when
using all dreams (r = 0.68, p = 0.02; see
Figure 6). However, when the outlier night
with an extremely low sleep duration was
removed, that correlation was no longer
significant (r = 0.19, p = 0.62). Sleep
awakenings was significantly correlated
with dream recall frequency when using
dreams just with content and all dreams
(respectively, r = 0.65 and 0.79, p = 0.03
and 0.003; see Figures 7 and 9) but not when
using dreams just without content (r = 0.20,
p = 0.56; see Figure 8). Interest in dreams
was not significantly correlated with dream
recall frequency when using dreams just
with content, dreams just without content,
and all dreams (respectively, r = 0.18, 0.09,
and 0.24, p = 0.61, 0.80, and 0.49; see
Figures 10, 11, and 12). In a comparison of
all the correlations in this study, the
strongest correlation was between sleep
awakenings and dream recall frequency
using all dreams (r = 0.79).

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4. Discussion
4.1 Summary of Results
The first hypothesis predicted that if one
goes to bed later in the night then dream
recall frequency will increase, which was
not supported by the results of this study.
The second hypothesis predicted that if sleep
awakenings decrease then dream recall
frequency will decrease which was
supported by the results of this study.
Finally, the third hypothesis predicted that if
one’s interest in dreams increases then
dream recall frequency will increase, which
was not supported by the results of this
study.
4.2 Relation of Results to Past Research
Unlike previous studies, the current study
showed no statistically significant
correlation of time of day one is asleep with
dream recall frequency. Similar to this study
was a past observational survey study by
Choo et al. (2023). However, that past study
differed from the current study as it was
conducted with multiple participants, all of
which were over 18 years old. That study
took place at a sleep laboratory where
participants were monitored using
polysomnography. The age discrepancy and
different locations could be possible reasons
for the differing results. Future tests could
be done to determine if the difference in
results had to do with a confounding
variable such as age or location of the study,
by setting up two groups where the only
difference is the age or location of the study.
Another factor to consider would be the
outcome variable; in the previous study it is
never explicitly stated whether there was
differentiating between dreams with content
or dreams without as dream recall frequency

was recorded on a scale rather than number
of dreams recalled.
In accordance with another previous
study by van Wyk et al. (2019), the current
study showed a statistically significant
correlation between the number of sleep
awakenings and dream recall frequency. The
previous study was also a correlational study
where participants underwent
polysomnographic recordings for two
consecutive nights. Participants in the past
study were of the same age range or older,
and spent time in the sleep laboratory where
the study was conducted, prior to the study,
to familiarize themselves with the location
as well as the equipment. The metric for
measuring dream recall frequency was
different between the current study and the
previous one, however the recording of sleep
awakenings was similar (i.e., both recorded
the number of times the participants woke
up during the night). Overall, the
similarities between the two studies and the
precautions taken in the past study to
eliminate confounding variables, likely
contributed to their similar results.
Unlike a previous study by Schredl et al.
(2019), the results of the current study did
not show a statistically significant
correlation between interest in dreams and
dream recall frequency. The past study was
longitudinal correlation study, spanning five
years. The participants in that past study
were in the same age range as the participant
in the current study. However, the past
study’s methods were vastly different than
the one’s utilized in the current study; the
past study did not record daily interest in
dreams but rather had participants fill out a
survey on both interest in dreams and dream
recall frequency, twice over a five-year
period. Though they found a stable
correlation over time, the results of this
study do not suggest a day-to-day
correlation between the two variables.
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4.3 Implications of Results
This study was originally conducted to
find a way to control the vividness of
dreams and in turn reduce nightmares. I
sought to understand which dreams are
recalled by determining what factors are
correlated with dream recall frequency.
However, it would be hard to use the results
of the current study to produce any change
in one’s self in terms of which dreams are
recalled. In addition, this study only focused
on dream recall, not the vividness of dreams
or emotions attached to it. It remains for
future studies to see if there is an achievable
solution to regulating nightmares. That
being said, I believe this study showed that a
possible explanation to what dreams are
recalled is how many times one wakes up.
This could be due to having a chance to
consciously recognize the dream before
falling back asleep or something of that
nature. Questions such as that remain for

future studies to test. Overall, this study
provided an interesting start to a better
understanding of dreams.
References
Choo, Y. S., Hong, S. W., Koo, G. E., &
Han, S. H. (2023). The eveningness
chronotype is associated with nightmare
distress and dream recall: A crosssectional study. Sleep and Biological
Rhythms, 21(3), 329-335.
Schredl, M., Braband, M., Gödde, J.,
Kreicker, S., & Göritz, A. S. (2019).
Dream recall frequency and attitude
toward dreams: Stability over a 5-year
period. Dreaming, 29(4), 303.
van Wyk, M., Solms, M., & Lipinska, G.
(2019). Increased awakenings from nonrapid eye movement sleep explain
differences in dream recall frequency in
healthy individuals. Frontiers in Human
Neuroscience, 13, 370

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Table 1
Descriptive Statistics for Study Variables Across Days
Variable

n

Mean

Median

Mode

Minimum Maximum Range

Standard Skewness Kurtosis
deviation

Bedtime
(minutes
after
midnight)

11

-10.9

-10

-60, 0,
30

-60

40

100

35.1

0.0

-1.2

Sleep
duration
(minutes)

11

537.7

560

No
mode

330

620

290

78.2

-2.1

5.3

Sleep
11
awakenings
(frequency)

3.5

4

5

1

5

4

1.4

-0.5

-1.1

Interest in
dreams (05 scale)

11

1.8

1

0

0

4

4

1.8

0.2

-2.0

Dreams
11
with
content
(frequency)

2.3

2

1, 4

0

4

4

1.4

-0.1

-1.4

Dreams
11
without
content
(frequency)

0.7

0

0

0

2

2

0.9

0.6

-1.5

All dreams 11
(frequency)

3.0

3

4

0

5

5

1.4

-0.8

0.6

Note: n = number of days. Distributions were considered normally distributed if they had both
skewness (non-symmetry) values between ‐1 to +1 and kurtosis (peakedness) values between ‐2
to +2.

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Table 2
Correlations of Predictor Variables with Dream Frequency Across Days
Dream recall frequency
Dreams
Predictor variables
with content

Dreams
without
content

All
dreams

r

n

r

n

r

n

Bedtime

0.35

11

-0.20

11

0.22

11

Sleep duration

0.47

11

0.32

11

0.68*

11

Sleep awakenings 0.65*

11

0.20

11

0.79*

11

Interest in dreams

11

0.09

11

0.24

11

0.18

* p < .05.

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Figure 1
Association Between Bedtime and Dream Recall Frequency Using Dreams Just with Content

Dream recall frequency (# of dreams with
content)

4.5
4
3.5

3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

-80

-60

-40

-20
0
20
Bedtime (minutes after midnight)

40

60

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 2
Association Between Bedtime and Dream Recall Frequency Using Dreams Just Without Content

Dream recall frequency (# of dreams
without content)

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0
-80

-60

-40

-20
0
20
Bedtime (minutes after midnight)

40

60

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 3
Association Between Bedtime and Dream Recall Frequency Using All Dreams

Dream recall frequency (# of all dreams)

6
5

4
3
2
1
0

-80

-60

-40

-20
0
20
Bedtime (minutes after midnight)

40

60

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 4
Association Between Sleep Duration and Dream Recall Frequency Using Dreams Just with

Dream recall frequency (# of dreams with
content)

Content

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0

100

200

300
400
Sleep duration (minutes )

500

600

700

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 5
Association Between Sleep Duration and Dream Recall Frequency Using Dreams Just Without
Content

Dream recall frequency (# of dreams
without content)

2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

0
-0.5

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Sleep duration (minutes )

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 6
Association Between Sleep Duration and Dream Recall Frequency Using All Dreams

Dream recall frequency (# of all dreams)

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

100

200

300
400
Sleep duration (minutes )

500

600

700

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 7
Association Between Sleep Awakenings and Dream Recall Frequency Using Dreams Just with

Dream recall frequency (# of dreams with
content)

Content

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0

1

2
3
4
Sleep awakenings (# of awakenings )

5

6

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 8
Association Between Sleep Awakenings and Dream Recall Frequency Using Dreams Just
Without Content

Dream recall frequency (# of dreams
without content)

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0
0

1

2
3
4
Sleep awakenings (# of awakenings )

5

6

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 9
Association Between Sleep Awakenings and Dream Recall Frequency Using All Dreams

Dream recall frequency (# of all dreams)

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

1

2
3
4
Sleep awakenings (# of awakenings )

5

6

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 10
Association Between Interest in Dreams and Dream Recall Frequency Using Dreams Just with

Dream recall frequency (# of dreams with
content)

Content

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0

0.5

1

1.5
2
2.5
3
Interest in dreams (0 - 5 scale )

3.5

4

4.5

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 11
Association Between Interest in Dreams and Dream Recall Frequency Using Dreams Just
Without Content

Dream recall frequency (# of dreams
without content )

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0
0

0.5

1

1.5
2
2.5
3
Interest in dreams (0 - 5 scale )

3.5

4

4.5

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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Figure 12
Association Between Interest in Dreams and Dream Recall Frequency Using All Dreams

Dream recall frequency (# of all dreams)

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

0.5

1

1.5
2
2.5
3
Interest in dreams (0 - 5 scale )

3.5

4

4.5

Notes. Some data might not be visible in the figure due to overlapping markers.

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