Nighttime Comedy: The associations among funny dreams, various aspects of humor and dream characteristics

Abstract

While the parallels between humor and dreams were already noted by Sigmund Freud over a century ago, funny dreams remain largely overlooked in contemporary research. The present study aimed to assess the associations between funny dreams, various facets of humor, and dream characteristics, while also exploring how humor is expressed within the dream state. Data from 198 survey respondents revealed that the frequency of funny dreams was associated with all facets of humor, including an overall sense of humor and all humor styles. Humor creation and performance emerged as the strongest predictor of funny dreams. Additionally, dream-related variables, including dream emotional tone, the frequency of nightmares and lucid dreams, also appeared to be significant predictors. The frequency of funny dreams, however, was unrelated to engagement with comedy-related activities. Participants typically perceived dreams as funny due to humorous situations encountered rather than an intentional humor use within the dream. While the overall perception of dream funniness was similar across dreaming and waking, the evaluation of a particular dream differed between the two states.